Gothic fashion

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Gothic woman, traditional style, with big hair, spikes and piercings

Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture, known as Goths. It is stereotyped as a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress. Typical gothic fashion includes dyed black hair, dark eyeliner, black fingernails, black clothes, spikes, piercings (such as flesh tunnels) and chains. Styles are often borrowed from the Elizabethans and Victorians. The extent to which goths hold to this stereotype varies, though virtually all Goths wear some of these elements.

Gothic Fashion as extension of identity

Gothic fashion is a part of the identity practices of the goth subculture. As such, a person's style (including their clothing, hair, makeup, and accessories), is a major factor in determining whether the person will be perceived as "authentic" by others in the subculture. This is not particular to goth; rather, it is a feature of many subcultures. Members of the subculture may and often do have different ideas about what constitutes gothic fashion than members of the population at large, and some styles which read as "goth" to many people are seen as "outsider" by those in the scene. In his book Goth: Identity, Style and Subculture (Berg Publishers Ltd., Oxford, 2002), Paul Hodkinson talks about goths using their fashion choices to demonstrate commitment to the subculture. In particular, he asserts that more extreme, less easily concealed choices -- such as dyeing one's hair or shaving part of it off -- demonstrate greater commitment.

Typical look and colours

Typical goth dress usually consists of black clothing accessorized with silver and/or pewter, but can vary in the colour-schemes. The stereotypical gothic outfit, sometimes referred to as the "romantic" look, is limited only by what the wearer thinks he or she can pull off, and can (and frequently does) include elaborate gowns and corsets, veils, teased hair, eyeliner, black fingernails, fishnets, and styles borrowed from the Elizabethans and Victorians. Also popular are tight-fitting trousers, pointy boots, flouncy shirts in the manner of Lord Byron, and anything with buckles on it. The nature of the event will to some degree dictate the dress code, but expression of personal style is generally more important, and it's not unusual for several club-goers on a given night to appear dressed very formally or elaborately in a way unrelated to the specific event. But a goth is definately not limited to the above discription. All that is required is black clothing and the understanding of the culture (hence this article).

Variation and Cross-Influences

The simplicity of the style lends itself to variation, and it is often seen combined with elements of other styles (typically BDSM fashion). Various piercings and/or tattoos are not uncommon (though this is primarily a 1990s addition to gothic fashion), and both males and females often wear elaborate makeup. Hair is often dyed blue-black, and sometimes backcombed to give it a large, ratty appearance. There are a few similarities between goth fashion and the more masculine black metal fashion, which can make it difficult for someone unfamiliar with either fashion to discern the subculture of the individual. Like the punk subculture it grew out of, early goth fashion had a strong emphasis on the DIY ethic.

Iconoclastic taste valued

However, the core of gothic fashion is individual taste, as the gothic culture opposes conventions of how one must look. While recurrent themes can be identified, many different and highly unique outfits can be witnessed at events like the Wave Gotik Treffen in Leipzig and the Whitby Gothic Weekend in North Yorkshire, England, where the colour palette ranges across the spectrum from head-to-toe white to all-black. Between those two extremes, anything goes, be it modern, classic, conservative or ragged.

Alteration of clothing

Like the punk subculture with which it shares roots, early goth fashion had a strong emphasis on the DIY (Do It Yourself) ethic (this DIY approach is not as common as it was in the 1980s). [citation needed]

Post-Victorian Influence

The elegant, historically-inspired side of the subculture, often involving chiffon petticoats, antique lace, intricate brocades, and corsetry is another prominent style of gothic fashion. This is sometimes known as "romantic goth" or "romantigoth" [1]. Most variants of gothic fashion incorporate some facet of this classic style.

Goth Fashion Aesthetic

Goth style's rejection of mainstream values, emphasis on freedom of expression, and challenging taboos makes it difficult to define its aesthetic principles. Goth fashion emphasizes transformation of the body, elements of beauty, order, conscious eroticism and 'otherness' that flouts conventions.

While a member of the Goth subculture may or may not embrace nihilism, many are drawn to the fashion or music due to a sense of alienation, which may explain the style's fascination with morbidity or vampire style. Wearing black eyeshadow and shroud-like clothing that refers to the dead or undead, expresses grief, despair, mourning or deathwish. However, this is not necessarily an anti-life attitude. Rather, Goth fashion can be a positive transformation from alienation through self-expression via beauty and fashion, and through a sense of belonging to a community that shares the same sense of alienation. Alternately, the choice to embrace this fashion may simply rise from a far less complicated psychology, and reflect an attraction to Eros through Thanatos, an attraction to the 'darker' side of sexuality. The wearer may find the extremity, intensity or 'otherness' of the dark Goth look or preoccupations to be sexy or empowering.

Theda Bara's look has inspired some types of Goth fashion.

For women, Goth fashion embraces all body types, unlike mainstream fashion that relies on a hierarchy of beauty superiority based on body and hair type. Goth fashion privileges voluptuousness, sensuality and sexuality through its referral to fashions and even individuals of other eras that also prized these qualities. One famous female role model is Theda Bara, the 1920s femme fatale known for her dark eyeshadow, curves and smoldering onscreen presence.

Like the Urban Primitive movement, the goth subculture rejects mainstream conventions and encourages reinventing oneself by transformation or physical modification. That one may take total control of one's image is a powerful individual response to a society dominated by Photoshop images that prescribe a rarely attainable ideal of a faked 'natural' beauty. With its obviously dyed hair, pale skin, and differently-defined physical aesthetic, Goth fashion is a calculated rebellious response to the unattainable California Girls golden Barbie (or Ken) image.

Goth fashion can be recognized by its stark black or white clothing (or hair or makeup), often contrasted with boldly coloured clothing, hair and makeup in strong shades of deep reds, purples or blues, in fabrics and styles that evoke romantic eras as well as morbidity, that usually combine style elements that flow and drape as well as restrict or emphasize and sexualize a body part (i.e. corsetry or tight sleeves or trousers). Goth fashion further emphasizes the personal power of an individual, as the calculated juxtapositions of elements of the rugged accessories(i.e. metallic and leather), to that of the vulnerable, fragile and sensual restriction of body parts(i.e. lace, silks, high heels for either gender) communicate the will of the wearer to make conscious choices, and awareness that their non-"natural" fashion choices are gauged to elicit a strong response from non-Goth others. This form of dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion, along with the pale, untanned skin of the wearer, immediately identifies one as "Goth".

Goth fashion shows

As the size and sophistication of the goth apparel industry has grown (Batgear Beyond online directory, for instance, lists hundreds of goth shops and labels), in many places goth-specific fashion shows have sprung up. The mainstream fashion world pays little regard to goth fashion, and therefore independent gothic fashion events, or smaller shows that are part of broader fashion events, are necessary for goth designers to show their designs on the catwalk. Edge City, a large goth/alternative fashion show in Sydney, Australia was run as part of the Mercedes Australian Fashion Week in 2001 (2), and the last two Nocturnal Instincts/ Circa Nocturna Melbourne alternative fashion shows have been run as part of the arts programme of L'Oreal Melbourne Fashion Week.

While some fashion shows may only feature 5 or 6 designers, others can be quite large. Edge City (now no longer running) had at its biggest point 21 designers and 96 models(2). Attendance at these events can also be quite large. One of the current big fashion events in Melbourne, Nocturnal Instincts, can get several hundred in attendance(1). Gothique Fashion in Seattle is one of the longest running shows, and most frequently held, featuring two shows per year since 2003. Additionally, smaller fashion shows are often held in goth night clubs.

See also

References

External links

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