The Goth Guide 16: The Gothy Getup

 Goth Slang Word of the Day

• Gother-Than-Thou:  A sarcastic notion that is a knock-off of "holier than thou" in which someone is acting too seriously about being gothic.

Goth Band of the Day

• Gene Loves Jezebel [formed in 1980, British]

I am sure that I do not need to remind you that the clothing of the goth fashion is important.  It is no less crutial and needed than the hair, makeup, accessories, etc.  The clothing is much more varied however, considering all of the options of style.

For both men and women, tops, jackets, coats, pants, skirts, shoes, and in so many different designs and fabrics, there are of course going to be endless amounts of style.  However, what style is right for you?

It's not so hard to find out what attire you will most likely be wearing. If you know what subgenre, i.e., cyber, romance, etc. you fall into, if you lean to one at all, then you will have more of an idea of what the fashion should be already.

To aquire said look is not going to be easy either--at first. If you are on a low budget, the age-old expression "do it yourself" works wonders. If you can't seem to afford those fishnet shirts or gloves, buy some cheap fishnet stockings at the local wal-mart and make your own! It doesn't have to be expensive to be goth.

Now, yes, there are a few people that say that it's what is on the inside that counts, but this is once again, up for debate. It is common knowledge that the clothing helps heighten your chances of looking like a .net goth or poseur.

Also, bear in mind that we all have work uniforms, so there if there is just no way you can wear your gothic attire at work, then that is fine. Everyone has to sacrifice their fashion sense for a few hours a day to earn money. This is the society we live in.

However, there are a few jobs out there that allow you to wear your clothing, such as desk jobs, if you stick to the dress code and go corp goth, modeling jobs for gothic wear, art jobs where it doesn't matter what you are clothed in, Band jobs, if you have joined a local band and get earnings from that, etc. I, myself work as a secretary so my clothing choices are a bit more varied.

The Goth attire back in the 80's when the subculture first became known was inspired by the bands themselves and what they were wearing when they took on goth title.

Basically, what you need to know about traditional goth wear is to think 80's.  Big cobweb backcombed hair, leather coats, PVC boots, ripped fishnets and occasional red lipstick.  These fashions can go for both men and women.  The Cure's lead singer, a man named Robert Smith, was known for wearing bright red lipstick on some, if not most, occasions.

RomantiGoths, VampGoths, Steampunk Goths, Ethereal Goths, as well as a few others can fall into this category.  Styles such as these were brought out by the combination of the lore of vampires and the romantic era, but also by the bands who dressed this way, such as Emilie Autumn, GPKism, and Rasputina.

Clothing in this category is much more various, containing silken medieval dresses, PVC corsets, chokers, tall boots, victorian coats, cloaks, capes, black veils, flowing skirts, and even wings can fall into this area.  Lace, silk, and felt are good cloth choices, along with the colors of black, blue, red, purple, silver, and even white.

These styles of clothing, in my opinion, seems to be the more varied of the other styles of choice, and carry a lot more possibilities of fashion within them.

Cyber is the most diverse, as we have learned from seeing their hair and makeup style. Now, we talk about their clothing options.

They tend to wear industrial clothing, ranging from items such as goggles, fur boots, PVC corsets, PVC skirts, as well as carry futuristic items for their attire. They also tend to add in a bit of the traditional wear with fishnet shirts and black leather gloves.  Apocalypse items as well, such as gas masks and breathing tubes can accent their outfits.

Color abounds in the cyber style, most of it being a combination of multiple neon colors meshed with black in both hair and clothing.

Just as there are different pieces of clothing found within the closet of a mundane that match and coordinate to become a theme if worn properly, so also are there themes for a goth to use.

I have already gone over a few of said themes, such as a black widow theme.  Black spider earrings, cobweb hair and makeup, along with black and red attire, complete with spiderweb panty hose.  Good themes for goths are always spiders, as well as skulls, blood, black cats, snakes, and even butterflies and ravens.  It just depends on what strikes your fancy for that day.

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