Black robes, Victorian lace, silver jewelry, pale skin, a mysterious look - these are the Goths. Fans of this trend look unusual, like aliens from the other world. Each of their appearances in public is a fashion event. People cannot take their eyes off this bewitching, truly devilish beauty. The Gothic style in clothing, shoes and accessories has several directions, but any image is a rare combination: high sorrow and cold beauty.
Representatives of this subculture have a gloomy image and may show an interest in mysticism, horror music, and gothic rock. They are often mistaken for Satanists due to the clichés that have formed in society and their gloomy appearance.
Gothic: history of style
The Gloomy Middle Ages were a time of crusades, knightly tournaments and the all-out struggle of the Catholic Church against heretics. Any manifestations of human sensual nature are prohibited. Strict vertical lines dominate in architecture and clothing: people want to rise up and become closer to God. The color black, which embodies grief and sadness, is held in high esteem. It was believed that clothing in dark colors emphasized nobility and elegance and indicated a high social status. Although bright colors and floral patterns were quite acceptable. In the Middle Ages, it was quite possible to wear a black outfit with bright embroidery.
The Renaissance, which replaced the Middle Ages, brought with it a fresh wind of change. People remembered beauty and wanted to enjoy life again. Interest in everything ancient is awakening, culture is experiencing a rebirth. All previous ideals are recognized as barbaric. Humanists of the Renaissance also treated the Goths, who destroyed ancient civilization. This is where the name of this period comes from; it is referred to as “Gothic”. Over time, this style was forgotten, briefly resurrected at the turn of the 18th - 19th centuries and again sank into oblivion.
This style owes its popularity in the modern world to the desire of young people to stand out and loudly declare themselves. Back in the 70-80s of the last century, the Goth subculture conquered the streets of London and continued its victorious march throughout the world. Young people drew inspiration from Victorian fashion and works about vampires. These ideas turned out to be quite fresh and relevant on the threshold of the new millennium. In the 2000s, dark romantics - goths - conquered the catwalks around the world.
Characteristic features in modern times
The modern Gothic style has several directions and bears little resemblance to the classic style that prevailed in medieval Europe (we’ll talk about this later in the review). In that distant period, as the description of those times says, women wore dresses with long trains and pointed headdresses. The narrow bodice did not emphasize the beauty of the breasts, but rather tightened them and made them invisible. But the lush folds in the abdominal area added volume to the figure. The silhouette of the dress was supposed to create the appearance of pregnancy. After all, motherhood is the true virtue of a believing woman. Modern Goths strive to convey deep sadness, universal sorrow with the following fashionable techniques:
- Dark color scheme. The predominant color is black in combination with white or red; purple and burgundy are slightly less popular.
- Complex cut. A combination of clothing with loose and fitted silhouettes is relevant. For example, a tight bodice and a flowing skirt, a loose T-shirt and tight leather trousers. A corset is often used.
- Noble fabrics. These are mainly dense fabrics: velvet, taffeta, satin. Transparent materials: chiffon, veil, organza. The use of lace and leather is encouraged.
How to create a gothic look?
Dressing in a gothic style is quite easy, whether it's a casual look or a Halloween party costume. However, looking like a goth and being a goth are completely different things, because this subculture involves a whole way of life that its representatives follow. the following recommendations will help you create the right costume in the Gothic style
Try to wear exclusively black clothes. If black is not your favorite color, then dark crimson will be a good alternative. Add lace, ruffles and leather to your look. Black leather pants, a lace top and a distressed black shirt will look great together. Add black flat boots and you're ready for a gothic look! A great option for women would be black and red corsets combined with ripped jeans, skirts and black mesh tights. You can also add black gloves, which will add some color to your appearance.- Goth men typically wear black ripped t-shirts, shirts and long sleeves, pairing them with black trousers.
- For footwear, high black combat boots are suitable, which are good for both men and women.
- Accessories for a Gothic look: all kinds of crosses, pendants with spiders, skulls and dragons, silver chains and massive rings. Decorate your neck with a spiked collar. Facial piercing would also be appropriate: pierce the nose, lip, eyebrow, make many piercings in the ears. You can also use jewelry, but it is better to avoid jewelry with rhinestones and other elements of a glamorous style.
- Both men and women goths choose large black backpacks decorated with spikes or patches. They may be made of leather or fabric, stained with paint, or slightly torn.
- Goth makeup always includes heavy eyeliner with a black liner or the use of black eye shadow. Black lipstick or lip gloss is appropriate in both women's and men's looks. Avoid using blush and try not to sunbathe to keep your skin tone as pale as possible.
- A goth look is unthinkable without black nail polish. It can be applied in several layers, sloppiness is welcome. If over time the manicure partially peels off, then your image will be even more colorful.
- Take care of your hair. Paint them black or dark red, or better yet, use paint in several dark tones at once. Hair should be a little dirty.
Popular style trends
There are the following branches:
- Antique. The most romantic trend, outfits in the spirit of the Victorian era: corset, fluffy floor-length skirt with frills, gloves, hats with a veil. You can complement the look with a lace umbrella.
- Vampire. The main difference: the bias towards the vampire theme. A combination of two different textures will help create a fatal look: leather and thin lace. Additional accessories: cape, long cloak and hat. A prerequisite is red lipstick. By the way, on the pages of our website there is a separate fashion review on the vamp theme.
- Gothic Lolita. Japanese goths are inspired by anime characters, so their outfits are designed in the style of cartoon characters. Lolita style look: short fluffy skirt, ruffled blouse, dress with frills and ribbons, chunky platform shoes, long knee socks.
- Business goth. Clothes in this style are quite suitable for office work. These are formal clothes with a classic silhouette: a blouse, a pencil skirt or tight trousers, a jacket.
Cloth
Appearance - clothes and shoes, hairstyles, paraphernalia - is one of the most important components of the Gothic subculture and can be of paramount importance in the eyes of its bearers. Abroad, the term “mall goth” has even arisen, which mockingly refers to those who purchase the most affordable and not always “truly gothic” items of clothing in regular stores, rather than ordering them from designers; in fact (due to the high cost and complexity of such orders), even the most picky Goths cannot afford to dress entirely from designers.
The trendsetters of gothic fashion were musicians whose appearance their fans were guided by. At the early stage of the development of the gothic subculture, certain elements of the punk image were typical for its representatives - from this movement the goths borrowed piercings, hairstyles in the form of high “spikes” and mohawks. Gothic fashion The 1980s was much more extreme and shocking than can be seen now, and developed on the basis of the “do it yourself” principle - its fans sewed their own clothes and made jewelry from scrap materials, and items purchased in stores were most often either remade or “modified” in every possible way: torn, decorated with stripes and safety pins
Clothing can be either emphatically tight, tightly fitting the figure, or quite loose or even open. As for footwear, high, pointed leather boots (for women - usually with a thin stiletto heel), heavy boots (sometimes of the army type, often on a high platform) are common. Women. very often they wear corsets made of various materials - velvet, brocade, vinyl, leather, latex; a men's suit most often consists of trousers and a shirt, and their appearance depends on the specific style direction to which the goth belongs.
Some representatives of the subculture prefer clothes stylized in the fashion of the 18th-19th centuries (the so-called “Victorian Goths”, English Victorian Goths, and “Romantic Goths”, English Romantigoths). Women who adhere to this style usually wear long dresses, corsets, lace veils, long gloves, decorative umbrellas, while men wear tailcoats and top hats or “romantic” blouses. The formation of a typically Gothic female image was largely influenced by the image of the “femme fatale,” which originated as early as in the Victorian era and popularized by film noir
The “vampire” type of appearance, partly similar to the “Victorian” one, is also widely popular. Many women choose a style inspired by the images of Morticia Addams, Vampira and Elvira. For men who adhere to this trend, examples are charismatic vampire characters, for example, Lestat de Lioncourt. Representatives of this style, as a rule, wear ankhs.
Among some Goths, Western aesthetics are popular—cowboy hats, leather vests and fringed pants, and boots. It came into fashion thanks to the bands Fields of the Nephilim and The Cult, who used a similar image to create the image of romantic loners, daring outcast rebels. The wide-brimmed hat was also worn by Andrew Eldritch from Sisters of Mercy to shade his face.. Fans of Western goths join gothabilly, whose clothing style can vary, but is most often based on an ironic reinterpretation of retro aesthetics. The formation of the female image among representatives of this movement was greatly influenced by the famous pin-up model Bettie Page...
Gothic fashion can be closer to the clothing styles of other trends - for example, rivetheads or fans of metal music: goths also often wear leather clothes, chains and metal accessories. Sometimes sadomasochistic attributes are used, for example, collars - these elements first appeared in the image of Susie Sue and were intended to emphasize her image of a “vampire woman”[88]. Latex clothing is no less popular among goths than among rivetheads and BDSM lovers, since fetish fashion has become widespread in gothic fashion since the early 1990s and specialized fetish clothing stores like Demask have appeared
Today, the gothic and fetish subcultures have become closer and have become so friendly that representatives of the latter often hold their events in gothic clubs. Gothic fashion influenced the developing steampunk subculture, the aesthetics of which are in many ways close to representatives of the “Victorian” and “romantic” movements; According to sociologist and literary critic Michael Du Plessis, all steampunk fashion is basically based on Gothic fashion, except that instead of black it uses brown more often.
In the 1990s, a kind of “subculture within a subculture” arose - cyber-goths, whose fashion is something between gothic and industrial, emerged as a separate style direction. Representatives of this style use bright “acid” colors in their clothes, prefer clothes made from non-natural fabrics, wear high platform boots, and often use elements of cyberpunk aesthetics. Many cyber goths wear dreadlocks.
cybergoths
There are also more eccentric styles of clothing - for example, “fairy goths” are sometimes identified as a separate trend, striving to resemble the classic fairies from Celtic folklore and dressing accordingly, even using artificial “wings.” In Japan, gothic style is partly mixed with the local Visual kei subculture , which gave rise to such a clothing style as “Gothic Lolita”. As a rule, “lolitas” wear Victorian-style knee-length dresses with frills and crinolines, hats, decorative umbrellas and platform shoes with rounded toes; there are many brands of clothing designed specifically for representatives of this style, which is gradually becoming popular in the West
Currently, many representatives of the subculture do not maintain the image constantly, but dress in the Gothic style only when they go to concerts or other themed events - they are sometimes ironically called “Tuesday Goths”; on Tuesdays, some nightclubs hold gothic parties).Nevertheless, even in cases where the goths cannot afford to constantly maintain the chosen style, they try to preserve at least its individual elements in their appearance. Goths working in establishments with strict dress control may use a “corporate” style with a minimum of jewelry and makeup (the so-called “Corporate Slave Goths”). Attitudes towards such representatives of the subculture within their communities may vary, but they are usually perceived normally, without prejudice.
It is interesting to note that at the present stage, Gothic fashion can influence “high” fashion and even compete with it. Some famous couturiers, for example, John Galliano Alexander McQueen, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Yohji Yamamoto, at different times created collections clearly inspired by classical gothic image, and fashion designer Rick Owens openly admitted that he sympathized with the subculture and experienced it
Current color range
The favorite, undoubtedly, is the black palette, which can be complemented by red tones (burgundy, scarlet, crimson). It is not uncommon for black color to be complemented with white, which is present only as a tint accent, on the sleeves, collar or small, subtle pattern. Gothic also loves the dark purple palette, which is the color of kings, and also accepts the use of a rich blue palette.
Ideal fabrics
Most often, massive fabrics are used to make clothes, such as brocade, velvet, and corduroy. Well, translucent, weightless fabrics can be distinguished: organza, chiffon, veil, lace. Organza is most often used, as it clearly holds its shape and drapes beautifully. It is ideal for sewing petticoats and various veils for headdresses. Also, the Gothic style of clothing involves wearing things made of leather, mesh and vinyl.
History of Gothic fashion
If the Goth subculture appeared only at the end of the 20th century, then the Gothic style has existed since the early Middle Ages. It was a terrible and at the same time romantic era: brave knights fighting for the heart of a beautiful lady, witch hunts and the ruthless Inquisition, the struggle of the Catholic Church with the monarch for power. It was then that the Gothic style appeared in clothing, architecture, and art. One of the first countries in which it arose was France. French fashionistas showed the whole world its dark, bewitching beauty. The following became incredibly fashionable: corsets, pointed headdresses and long trains, uneven edges of sleeves, an abundance of frills, lace and ribbons. The Gothic style of clothing and the Middle Ages have become inextricably linked in people's minds. However, fashion does not stand still. The Renaissance began, in which the feminine Renaissance replaced the gloomy toilet.
It was only at the end of the 20th century that the Gothic style in clothing for women and men again became popular. At the beginning of this century, he was completely recognized by fashion designers and conquered the world's catwalks.
Matching Accessories
Here it is important to immediately note that representatives of this subculture wear exclusively silver jewelry; they categorically do not accept gold, since it is associated with a symbol of everyday life and hackneyed values, as well as with the sun; naturally, the sun is alien to the children of the moon. Rings, bracelets, pendants can be made in the form of swords, skulls, shields, crosses, crowns, coats of arms, bats, spiders, vampire fangs. Belt buckles should be massive and impressive, and neck chains should be thick and heavy. Rings are most often complemented with stones; pearls used to be especially revered, and now they are still relevant, but rubies, diamonds and emeralds are also popular.
Goths also appreciate knee socks, Fedora hats, leather belts with massive buckles, studded leather bracelets, black knitted snoods, as well as headbands with openwork inserts or cobweb designs.
Shoe selection
Usually these are massive leather shoes, complemented with spikes, rivets, chains, and silver buckles. Knee-length boots with laces are often worn; boots with rough soles and low heels or square chunky heels are also popular. Platform shoes are still in trend, they are always complemented by buckles and laces. Black sneakers are also in demand among representatives of this trend.
Matching bags
Gothic fashion is sensitive to black handbags made of leather or suede. Well, in order for the product to correspond to the style idea, it is complemented with chains, studded rivets, thematic badges or patches with skulls. Also, we must not forget about keychains in the form of skulls, bats, skeletons, crowns or scarab beetles. The bag can be equipped with a long strap and be small or medium in size. Frame products are also in demand, and, of course, small backpacks.
Makeup and hairstyle
The make-up is made in dark colors, it is important that the makeup consists of the following elements: white powder on the face, coal-black eyeliner and lips. Long black arrows are often drawn on the eyes, but smokey eye makeup is also welcome. Goths can paint their lips in a range of lipsticks from bright scarlet to jet black.
Hair is most often straightened and dyed black, white, purple, blue and red. It is not uncommon for a hairstyle with black background hair to be complemented by dyed bright strands: red, purple, blue.
Selection of accessories and emphasis on makeup
Properly selected shoes, accessories, and makeup will help maintain the integrity of the goth or goth image and harmony.
Shoes
Perfectly highlight the non-standard goth outfit:
- boots on a wide, massive platform;
- high army boots;
- sandals made of rough leather with wide, massive heels;
- pointed-toe high-heeled pumps.
Accessories
A goth look won't be complete without the right jewelry. Stylish leather bracelets or neckbands with metal spikes, silver pendants, ornate rings and earrings are ideal accessories.
It is worth noting that products made of gold and precious stones are unacceptable in the Gothic style.
All accessories are made predominantly in black tones. Each piece of jewelry is the embodiment of a non-standard idea. Most often, earrings, rings, and pendants are made in the shape of a cross, crucifix, or unusual ornaments. It is allowed to use inserts made of stones: jade, agate, pearls (black), opal.
A goth bag is a backpack or an elegant travel bag. Headwear - wide-brimmed hats, small hats. The gothic style feature is a black lace umbrella.
Makeup and hairstyles
When creating a goth look, special attention is paid to the hairstyle. Hair is predominantly long (for both men and women). Hair color - black (sometimes coloring is allowed). The classic goth hairstyle is straight hair parted in the middle. Only for women who want to create a romantic goth image, curls and voluminous hairstyles are acceptable. Goth men can shave their temples, making intricate patterns on them.
Goth makeup is a thick base of white on the face, no blush. Manicure should be done in dark colors. A special chic is a slight carelessness in hair and makeup, giving the goth image a special flavor.
The Goth image is original and unique. It is ideal for bright personalities who challenge society with all their thoughts and actions. Not every person can try on the image of a goth, but if you have the courage, dark clothes, non-standard accessories and makeup will help you create a unique gothic style of eternity.
Additional photos
Clothes in the Gothic style at first glance seem gloomy and cold, but if you look closely, you can see incredible sensuality, depth of thought and philosophical notes in its presentation. Share the review with your friends, let them also learn more about this interesting style direction, click on the social network buttons!
Goths: a modern interpretation of the Gothic style
Because no matter how cyclical fashion may be, what returns to it from the depths of not even decades, but centuries, undergoes changes, due to which only the original idea of style is noticeable. It is not for nothing that when mentioning Gothic, what most often comes to mind is not so much the attire of that era, but rather Gothic buildings. After all, it is with them that the clothes of modern goths have most in common: gloom, solemnity, multi-layeredness, tragic grandeur, but at the same time defiant flamboyance.
Moreover, the male Gothic style of clothing is very similar to the female sad images. That’s why the strong male half, having chosen a gothic orientation for themselves, also uses makeup and intensively lines their eyes with black.
At the same time, Gothic clothing can be stylized to resemble medieval outfits with gloves, tailcoats, men's pointed hats, top hats, lace cuffs and other elements of romanticism that were inherent in neo-Gothic. Here again we need to thank Queen Victoria, with whose light hand such luxury in clothing appeared. Sometimes the Victorian style of clothing with a gothic twist has brutal attributes, such as chains, chokers, etc. The basis of the Gothic men's wardrobe are:
- black shirts;
- leather pants;
- white, reminiscent of women's blouses with a frill collar, inherent in romanticism and neo-Gothic style;
- frock coats and raincoats;
- hats;
- gloomy makeup: pale face and dark hair.
In general, the image should be mysterious and mystical. Add a little metal and, of course, maximum black color - and you have a gothic look ready.
In general, the Gothic style of clothing has been rethought many times over the past decades, adapting to the times. But he remained invariably loved by everyone: both subcultures and fashion-loving people and designers. After all, it is not at all necessary to completely dress up in a medieval costume or become a goth. It is enough to use some bright detail in the Gothic style in your image to look bold, catchy, gothic, but relevant in 2020.
Source:
https://style4man.com/moda-stil/goticheskij-stil.html
