Gothic fashion Information & Gothic fashion Links at HealthHaven.com

Gothic woman.

Gothic fashion is a clothing style worn by members of the Goth subculture; a dark, sometimes morbid, eroticized fashion and style of dress.^[1] Typical Gothic fashion includes black dyed and crimped hair, black lips and black clothes.^[1] Androgynity is common, with both female and male goths wearing cosmetics, skirts or high heels. Styles are often borrowed from the Punks, Victorians and Elizabethans. BDSM imagery and paraphernalia are also common.^[1]

[edit] Characteristics

A male and female Goth couple, showing characteristics such as dark clothing, a Neo-Victorian look, dyed hair, lace, and dark nail polish and lipstick.

Cintra Wilson declares that "The origins of contemporary goth style are found in the Victorian cult of mourning."^[2] Valerie Steele is an expert in the history of the style.^[2]

[edit] Fashion analysis

Goth fashion can be recognized by its stark black clothing (or hair or makeup).^[1] Other distinctives are subject to interpretation.

[edit] Simon Reynolds

Simon Reynolds identifies the usual appearance of

“

deathly pallor, backcombed or ratted black hair, ruffled Regency shirts, stovepipe hats, leather garments, spiked dog collars, the ensemble accessorized with religious, magical or macabre jewellery (bone earrings, rosaries, pentacles, ankhs, skulls), typically made from silver.^[3]

”

Reynolds also notes "fishnet stockings, black leather thigh boots, [and] witchy eye make-up."^[4]

[edit] Ted Polhemus

Ted Polhemus described goth fashion as a

“

profusion of black velvets, lace, fishnets and leather tinged with scarlet or purple, accessorized with tightly laced corsets, gloves, precarious stilettos and silver jewelry depicting religious or occult themes.^[5]

”

[edit] Maxim Frank

Researcher Maxim W. Furek noted,

“

Goth is a revolt against the slick fashions of the 1970’s disco era and a protest against the colorful pastels and extravagance of the 1980’s. Black hair, dark clothing and pale complexions provide the basic look of the Goth Dresser. One can paradoxically argue that the Goth look is one of deliberate overstatement as just a casual look at the heavy emphasis on dark flowing capes, ruffled cuffs, pale makeup and dyed hair demonstrate a modern- day version of late Victorian excess.^[6]

”

Goth fashion is sometimes confused with heavy metal fashion.

[edit] Icons

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

One female role model is Theda Bara, the 1910s femme fatale known for her dark eyeshadow.^[7]^[8] Musidora, Bela Lugosi,^[9] Bettie Page, Morticia Addams,^[8] Nico, David Bowie,^[1] Lux Interior, Dave Vanian,^[10] Robert Smith^[11] are also style icons. Siouxsie Sioux was particularly influential on the dress style of the Gothic rock scene; Paul Morley of NME described Siouxsie & the Banshees's 1980 gig at Futurama: "[Siouxsie was] modeling her newest outfit, the one that will influence how all the girls dress over the next few months. About half the girls at Leeds had used Sioux as a basis for their appearance, hair to ankle."^[12]

[edit] Bibliography

Christoph Grunenberg, "Unsolved Mysteries: Gothic Tales from Frankenstein to the Hair Eating Doll", Gothic, Boston: MIT Press, 1997.
James Hannaham, "Bela Lugosi's Dead and I Don't Feel So Good Either: Goth and the Glorification of Suffering in Rock Music", Gothic, Boston: MIT Press, 1997.
Ted Polhemus, Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk, London: Thames and Hudson, 1994.
Valerie Steele and Jennifer Park, Gothic: Dark Glamour, Yale University Press and the Fashion Institute of Technology New York, 2008..

[edit] References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Grunenberg, p. 172.
^ ^a ^b Cintra Wilson, "You just can't kill it", New York Times, September 17, 2008. [1] Access date: September 18, 2008.
^ Simon Reynolds, Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-punk 1978-84, London: Faber and Faber, 2005, p. 423.
^ Reynolds, p. 436.
^ Polhemus, p. 97.
^ "The Death Proclamation of Generation X: A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy of Goth, Grunge and Heroin" by Maxim W. Furek. i-Universe, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-595-46319-0
^ Hannaham, p. 93.
^ ^a ^b Steele, p. 26
^ Steele, p. 18
^ Steele, p. 38.
^ Hannaham, p. 113.
^ Reynolds, p. 425.

[edit] See also

New Gothic Art

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gothic fashion

[grunenberg2-0] Grunenberg, p. 172.

[cintra-1] Cintra Wilson, "You just can't kill it", New York Times, September 17, 2008. [1] Access date: September 18, 2008.

[2] Simon Reynolds, Rip It Up and Start Again: Post-punk 1978-84, London: Faber and Faber, 2005, p. 423.

[3] Reynolds, p. 436.

[4] Polhemus, p. 97.

[5] "The Death Proclamation of Generation X: A Self-Fulfilling Prophesy of Goth, Grunge and Heroin" by Maxim W. Furek. i-Universe, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-595-46319-0

[6] Hannaham, p. 93.

[steele26-7] Steele, p. 26

[8] Steele, p. 18

[9] Steele, p. 38.

[10] Hannaham, p. 113.

[11] Reynolds, p. 425.

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