Thursday 22 March 2012

Gothic Chic

When faced with the concept of gothic fashion I imagine most people conjure up images of firstly Marilyn Manson, secondly someone resembling a vampire and thirdly a bearded man in baggy jeans and a band t-shirt.  None of these assumptions are necessarily wrong but there is a lot more to gothic fashion than these three stereotypes.




At some point in my life I have fit neatly into all three mentioned categories.  Minus the beard, obviously, however on maturing and opening my mind to a wide mix of fashions I now enjoy the fashion statement I like to call ‘gothic chic’.

I’d love to say I created this trend and claim it as my invention but I did not.  It is merely just what I named the style both I and others on the gothic scene follow.

 The style draws inspiration heavily from traditional gothic trends and the rockabilly movement –think Dita Von Teese but with more wear ability.




It could also be called simply Sophisticated Goth – no striped tights or dog collars but black lace and polka dots.

It is a style that you can wear every day – well if you are the daring sort.  Replace the stereotypical black lipstick with pillar box reds and deep purples and were on to something.  Unless your place of work deems black lipstick acceptable, then work that look.

The rock chick/gothic chic trend is rather vampy but what came first the Goth or the vampire that is the question?  The fact that spell-check on Microsoft work highlights that Goth should have a capital letter answers that question for me.

The style is founded on individuality though and personal style – it is not really about what you actually wear but how you wear it and the attitude that comes with it.

Carrie Borzillo illustrates this plainly in her book Cherry Bomb- The Ultimate Guide To Becoming a Better Flirt, A Tougher Chick, And A Hotter Girlfriend, And To Living Life Like A Rock Star.  A book every rock chick or chick with a little bit of a tough rock attitude should own.


For fashion section of her book she calls in advice from designers and friend Betsey Johnson, Anna Sui and rock stylist Cynthia Freund as Borzillo has proclaimed herself that although she is a bona fide rock chick, she is no fashion expert – a little like myself.

Anna Sui Advert

Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx

Betsey Johnson

Cynthia Freund the stylist of the likes of Tommy Lee and Nikki Sixx gives the advice of knowing what works for your body and ‘You have to wear your clothes. Your clothes can’t wear you’.  You need to buy clothes that you like and feel express your individuality.  There is no point in buying an outfit straight off a mannequin because it might not work.

Designer Anna Sui gives the advice of ‘experimenting with new ideas, have some fun, and don’t take yourself so seriously’.

Certainly rocking the Goth look of any variation demands that you not take yourself too seriously and I’d give that advice to anyone who wishes to embrace a personal style that is not straight from the cover of cosmopolitan. Not every outfit will work but you just need to run with that until you hone in on which styles suits both your shape and personality.
 You might work this out pretty quickly or it might have a few hit and miss moments which result in times cringing at tagged photos on Facebook but let’s face it you are going to need to produce some sort of photographs for your future kids to mock.



1 comment:

  1. Wow, Great text! You're expressing exactly what I feel.

    ReplyDelete