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Goth fashions have a range. You can wear black, or you can
wear black. All goths love black—it goes with the territory.
Much of the world holds to the tradition of black as a color reflecting
morbidity and mourning, if not death. Kali, that multi-armed Hindu goddess
of vast destruction, is all black. And so is the infamous Black Madonna,
as depicted in statues and paintings in Poland. Poland and other European
Christian countries—the one who is less ethereal and more physical.
But black is also sexy, mysterious, dangerous. Coco Chanel knew this when
she designed her "little black dress," still considered by many
women the world over to be the ultimate in chic. Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne
have brought everyday black out of the closet and into the hearts and
minds of TV viewers.
Goths utilize all of the above reverberations when they dress. Or dress
to kill, as the saying goes. Dressing goth usually requires a lot of thought
to achieve an effect. This is not a low-maintenance lifestyle, and leaving
a black widow/vampire count impression takes time.
One of the oldest remaining goth shops in the world is Toronto's Siren,
opened in 1988 by Groovella Blak, who says "I loved the aesthetic
and at that time there was not a gothic shop in Toronto. I traveled to
England
and, seeing the potential over there—the goth craze was huge in
London—I came back inspired and with a suitcase full of black clothing
to bring gothic fashions to this city."
Siren is an upscale goth shop, given to high-quality fashions and exuding
Victorian romance. Groovella—who herself personifies goth romanticism—sells
her own designs as well as a wide range of items by other designers. "The
change rooms are decorated in lush brocaded fabrics, with a turn-of-the-century
couch to recline on. I wanted the entire shop to be warm and inviting
and of another era ... an environment to lose oneself in."
Groovella, who was goth before opening her shop, says, "I may not
dress as elaborately and dramatically as I used to, but goth is more about
the inner expression which manifests into the outer expression. It is
a lifestyle. I remember in the early days an older woman saying to me,
'Oh, I love this store, it makes me feel so very young!' I felt this was
a wonderful compliment. If I can create such a feeling in people then
I consider that I have done a great job."
Ipso Facto is another long-time shop, opened in 1989 in Fullerton, California.
Terri Kennedy began creating her own fashions at the tender age of seven.
She loves dark literature, and went from punk to goth "later."
After working for eight years in the fashion industry, Terri opened Ipso
Facto, and now carries the most popular underground designers, as well
as a wacky and wild assortment of items like handcrafted wreaths with
animal skulls.
Terry says one element of Ipso Facto makes it stand out. "We pride
ourselves on being able to offer a place where like-minded people can
browse items of interest and feel at home, particularly when it comes
to recommending new music to customers, and we allow them to preview CDs
before they buy." They also cater to Divas with "Rubenesque
clothing, for the generously proportioned."
Shop-till-you-drop .. . dead—clothing, food, music, furnishings—is
a perennial goth pastime. Apart from the thousands of shops catering to
goths around the world, eBay is a goth buyer's and seller's paradise.
Type in "goth" or "gothic" on eBay and it's not unusual
for 20,000 items to be listed for sale, everything from fishnet and industrial
spiked collars to ninetenth-century French Gothic reliquaries.
Goths—especially those not living in major urban centers—learn
from
Basic goth wardrobe suggestions
from The Ice Princess,
Academia Gothica
• Black jeans/leggings.
• Long black skirt (and this can hold true for the boys as well
as the girls). Again, style and fabric are your choice: velvet, silk,
wool; straight, flowy, poufy...
• Black boots. Pointy-toed boots with lots of buckles and Doc Martens
are goth favorites, but you're by no means limited to those.
• Black coat Once again, choose what you like: leather biker jacket,
wool overcoat, oversized blazer. It should give you a silhouette somewhat
larger than normal, and if you can get that "billowing-in-the-wind"
effect so much the better.
• Interesting black T-shirt Shirts for goth bands are obviously
common, but this is a place where you can really exercise your own style.
Look for something not everyone has.
• Sunglasses.
I I
30 4- THE GOTH BJBLE
magazines about the latest fashions, particularly the latest cyber-wear,
the haute couture of the goth world. This fashion of the future, cybernetic
in design, is what H.R. Giger might create, if he decided to do clothing
instead of art.
Mehdown magazine has been publishing out of the UK since 1999. Founder
Natasha Scharf focused on the goth scene for a radio documentary she submitted
as part of her journalism degree, and the print publication grew out of
that. "I thought that if the scene had a more 'serious' and professional-looking
magazine, people outside would take goth more seriously, and see that
it wasn't just a sad, outdated musical/fashion genre. Also, it is a response
to mainstream negative press goth was receiving, mixing it up with blood-drinkers,
Satanists, and Marilyn Manson. I wanted to show what goth is really about."
Besides cutting-edge goth fashions, Mehdown covers beauty, culture, music,
film, literature, everything goth, particularly from a British slant.
Natasha believes "it's a good idea for goths around the world to
find out what's happening in other countries. There's some great stuff
out there one wouldn't necessarily hear about."
Another high-profile goth fashion magazine is Gothic Beauty, which conies
out of Portland, Oregon. Steven Holiday started the glossy with the idea
of bringing the goth community a quality fashion mag. "It began as
a Yahoo! club," he says, "then went to print in 2000."
He sees the role of Gothic Beauty as "bringing together all these
wonderful designers and giving them an outlet to an audience they might
not have had access to. Besides working with talented goths in the US,
I get to work with goths from across Europe, which has enriched me."
the Queen is VCi
Victorian is the standard to which many goths aspire. Lots of long dresses
made of velvet and lace and satin, adorned with beadwork, crochet, even
tatting. These are the gowns with hems and sometimes sleeves that sweep
the floor, that, whether worn on the lithe, languid frame or the Diva's
voluptuous form, cut quite a figure as a goth gurrl makes an entrance.
Vamp and vampiress and Morticia Addams hosting the Royal Tour! Goth boiz
of a Victorian turn favor mock greatcoats
LIVING FEAR,
'.down Magazine. Photo by Stephane Lord, model Marianne
Copyright Goth Beauty Magazine. Photo by Tyler Ondine Wkitmao
31
EVER uncHAnciriG FASHion
of heavy brocaded fabric, the frill of a ruffled shirt peeking out of
the sleeve, tight laced-up-the-side pants and high boots, fingers full
of silver rings to the second knuckle. These are dandies: elegant, romantic,
courtly, with understated (by comparison) eroticism and a lavish presentation.
The Victorian era emerged out of the sixty-four-year reign of Queen Victoria
(1819—1901)—the longest reigning queen of England. She has
been deemed one of the true prudes of history, and yet there is evidence
to the contrary.
Alexandrina Victoria was born in 1819. An only child, she ascended the
throne to be Queen of England in 1837. Surviving journals and candid letters
make it clear that Victoria was romantic, impulsive, and emotional when
she met and became betrothed to her first cousin, German Prince Albert
of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. They married in 1840.
Victoria loved Albert for the entire seventeen years of their marriage.
She depended on him utterly for clarity of judgment and companionship,
as well as the erotic encounters that are recorded in her private papers
with the utmost of discretion. His death left her devastated.
From the moment of Albert's demise, Victoria dressed for forty years in
what were known as "widow's weeds." The Queen withdrew from
public life, so much so that politicians became extremely worried about
the impact on her subjects. Never one to hide her grief, Victoria slept
nightly with Albert's freshly washed and ironed nightshirts. Images of
Queen Victoria attired from head to toe in mourning black abound.
Victoria stayed in deep mourning, making a fashion of mourning outfits
until she departed this mortal coil in January of 1901. During her eighty-two
years of life, Victoria presided over a style of manners, decorum and
subtlety hardly known today outside the goth world. In the twenty-first
century, we are more than used to the overt. While the Victorians covered
the legs of their chairs with skirts for the sake of modesty, today it
is not unusual to see fully naked strangers in every area of the media.
According to Linda S. Lichter, the Victorians had what our modern no-holds-barred
world does not. In the introduction to her book The Benevolence of Manners:
Recapturing the Lost An of Gracious Victorian Living, Lichter says, "We
devour the remnants of Victoriana in magazines and period movies because
they evoke far more than wistful images of safe, civilized streets, good
manners and stable families. We also hunger for an era when people lived
with dignity. ..."
Victonifln fTlouRjiinc Customs ano
• People died at home.
• Large copper pennies were placed on the eyelids to hold them shut
until rigor mortis began.
• Family and friends were notified of the death by notes written
on black-edged stationery, envelopes sealed with black wax.
• Postmortem photographs of the deceased were taken in the coffin.
Children were sometimes posed in lifelike positions.
• Mourners wore solid black: dresses, coats, trousers, gloves (kid
not permitted), hats and veils, black-edged handkerchiefs, walking canes.
• Black-plumed horses pulled black carriages and the hearse.
• Specified length of wearing black for mourning: Widows-two years
of deep mourning: first year solid black; second year black tempered with
gray, white or deep purple. Mourning a parent or offspring-one year. Mourning
a brother, sister, grandparent-six months. Mourning aunts and uncles,
nieces, nephews, and cousins-three months.
• Driveway strewn with straw to dampen sound of carriage wheels
and horses hooves.
• Crepe draped over doors and windows and black wreath on front
door, black antimacassars on backs of chairs.
• Mirrors covered, blinds drawn, lilies displayed in vases.
32
THE GOTH BIBLE
The best Victorian look tends to emulate actual Victorian styles, bustle
and all, and then takes them a step further, mixing up fabrics and shades
that would have left the Queen herself nonplussed. One imagines Victoria
never considered wearing a corset over her dress, although generations
before her in Spain they did just that!
Victorian Gothic Couture in Victoria, Australia, has been selling such
gothwear since 1999. Louise Favetto runs what she describes as a "dark
glamour" shop, awash in burgundy, black velvet, gold fringing, and
tassels. She designs all the clothing, including exquisite Victorian-style
dresses, and coats and jackets for both genders.
In her spare time Louise, who DJs at local goth clubs, has this advice
for anyone wanting to open a goth shop: "Do a. lot of research, work
ridiculous hours, and be prepared to give up your social life! And all
for minimum wage. It's definitely a job you do for love, not for money."
Gallery Serpentine, another Australian shop, in Sydney, excels at Victorian-style
coats, capes, and corsets—over- and underbust. Their Web site even
features a dog corset! Annette Magus has been running the fashions-made-to-measure
shop for six years, and 95 percent of the designs are her own. She works
with brocades, velvets, and PVC—for a modern spin on classic styles.
Annette has been goth for about sixteen years, and opened the store because
it "fitted in with my lifestyle, and I sort of felt driven to do
it." And she finds her customers refreshing. "One came to the
door one day and said, 'The rabbit ate my corset, could you fix it for
me?' " Her designs can turn outre easily. "I guess a Victorian
bustle made from PVC isn't the most common thing. And then there's the
transparent plastic hoop skirt with varnished toast visible inside."
Goths try to live with dignity. They aim to respect one another, to respect
all life on the planet. The Victorian goth is a genteel character, mourning
that environment which nurtured sensitivity and venerated consideration.
prokurun by nigbt
The Industrial/Military look is a more in-your-face approach to goth living.
Black, as basic as it gets. The fabrics are leather, black denim, cotton,
sometimes vinyl. Women wear low-cut tops and miniskirts of shiny latex
or cowhide, men prefer tight black jeans, plain or with side eyelets and
lacing, or paratrooper pants, and a simple black T-shirt, often with the
• Jewelry made and given to mourners as a keepsake, sometimes including
strands of hair of the deceased.
• Emergence of park cemeteries and the building of elaborate family
mausoleums.
* 33
EVER uncHAncmG FAsmon
34 *J* THE GOTH BJBLE
logo of a favorite industrial band. Of course, like all goth boiz, they
can also wear a skirt!
Accessories reflect a tough industrial element: black leather, metal rings
and chains, spiked jewelry. These are the fabrics of the 1930s through
the 1950s. Durable materials that last. No matter how plain the clothing,
the boots give it away—military, rugged, full of hardware. Like
the soldiers this look emulates, and the industrial workers the disciplined
attitude honors, industrial/military goth style says this: I am self-sufficient.
I am prepared to tackle concrete reality head-on. Try not to get in my
way. This is the edge of punk.
Industry and military mean getting the job done. It's a direct approach
to life. In much the same way that soldiers deal with the reality in front
of their faces, goths who favor such fashion tend to be practical and
pragmatic. More males than females choose the full-blown style, but there
are plenty of women who dress this way as well.
Industrial/military often embraces a German-soldier quality, and a style
with even a vague hint of Nazi Germany can frighten nongoths. A shaved
head accentuates this connection. It is the power inherent in industry
and the military that matters, not the politics. This is a pure aesthetic—
goth at its simplest and most masculine, salt-of-the-earth, no-nonsense.
What you see is what you get.
Lip Service, one of Southern California's premier designers, is one place
designer Industrial fashions can be hunted down. Many goth shops carry
Lip Service clothing. Rocker Drew Bernstein is founder, and self-described
rivethead Ebony Joseph (aka Webkatt) president of the Internet division
of this legend, which shut its real-time shop in 1992 and now runs retail
exclusively off the net and sells wholesale to shops throughout the world.
Ebony says they sell only their own designs. Besides Industrial, goths
can find glam and fetish fashions, like their Stretch F**k'n Jeans.
Lip Service makes "only a hundred pieces of each style," Ebony
says, "and they are rare and hard to come by, collector's items in
a way. We don't mass produce unimaginative pieces for the masses."
One of the drawbacks of limited editions is weird customers coming out
of the woodwork. "I have had crazed fans of bands write to me demanding
the same clothing we supplied their icons for their tour." On the
other hand, "Mostly I have customers who appreciate the customer
service we give them, and love the quality of our merchandise."
cyborgs Among us
Cyberwear splices futuristic fabrics like PVC and latex and sometimes
good old-fashioned rubber with odd-shaped designs that replicate the mysterious
workings of circuit boards and hard-writing, of scars and surgical sutures,
of beings of cybertronic and cybernetic origin. The Cyber look implies
the wearer is connected to a vast network behind the scenes, a technological
wonderland where anything goes and all is possible. The look is flamboyant,
and can bring out the feminine in men, and the surreal in both men and
women. Insect-pod backpacks, "moth eaten" PVC dresses, vinyl
corsets for men that run from waist to knees, "zombie-boy" shredded
shirts with PVC spiderweb overlays. These are costumes, and they are costly,
and consequently are not for everyone. A full-body suit tight as a second
skin, slick as black oil, or the muted black of rubber, with odd, disjointed,
asymmetrical lines, and angular appliques running through the fabric and
implying layers of hidden sultry power, can skyrocket to a thousand dollars
US. Most goths who love Cyberwear mix it with other styles, for instance,
a PVC and stainless steel corset over a Victorian long velvet dress. The
look is modern, passively defiant, futuristic, androidal space dweller
full of mystery and possibilities. David Bowie is father of modern Cyberwear.
He ushered in the look back in the 1970s, and goths have run with it since.
Diabolik of Montreal, Quebec, is one shop that specializes in cyber-wear
and goth tribalwear. In 1996 Sonia B., who moved to North America from
France fifteen years ago, opened this, the second of her goth stores (previously
she co-owned Cyclops Underground, also in Montreal). Sonia adores working
with latex and PVC. She creates most of her slick, sexy, macabre fashions
in the back room of her dark little shop and is famous for odd designs.
"My boutique continues the passion of my lifestyle," she says.
Her Web site features several video excerpts from fashion shows, one accompanied
by the band Cryterium and another from Le Bal en Noir fashion show featuring
the goth band Western Dream.
Cybergoths owe a lot to Fritz Lang. In 1927 he released the eerie silent
film Metropolis, which gave us the prototype for the classic cybertronic
look. In the mid-1920s, between two world wars, German film technically
surpassed that of all other countries. Lang's futuristic vision coincided
with the industrial movement that had overtaken the world in the late
1800s. The filmmaker saw the working class as being eaten alive by indus-
35
EVER UnCHAHGinG FASHiOtl
try, a continuous-motion machine that subjugated all for the enhancement
of technology. This idea was not specific to Germany. It was the era when
powerful labor unions blossomed around the industrialized world, out of
necessity. The goth Industrial/Military look stems from this era.
Germany of the 1930s was also the epitome of transgender and bisexual
decadence, a world of fiery excess with a cool emotional veneer. Cyber-wear
replicates that otherworldliness: I am here, but how did I get here? And
where is here again?
Cyberpunk is the term used to describe the groundbreaking novel Neu-romancer,
by William Gibson (and other works) focused around punk sensibilities
and human-machine interfacing. Goth emerged full-blown from punk. Cybergoth
formed out of firing neurons and sizzling electrodes that married man
and technology to birth grim cyborgs. Cybergoths are hardwired to technology.
They are frequently net.goths (see Chapter 9) who appear in real time
dressed like the Borg from Star Trek. Johnny Mnemonic happily living in
the Matrix.
Today, technology threatens to overtake humanity. Machines will drive
one another, we are told, so we mere mortals could become superfluous.
Even the great techno thinkers like scientist Bill Joy (who designed the
Berkeley UNIX system, the backbone of the Internet) predict a bad end
for Homo sapiens. Our culture is already littered with the notion of bion-ic
body parts, of machines implanted into the flesh that will ostensibly
heal us and possibly grant us something close to immortality, at the price
of sacrificing our autonomy. Joy warns us that future machines will replicate
themselves, and will be able to outthink human beings. The future will
see bodies implanted from birth with identification chips. What we once
considered sacred has already nearly vanished. Individuality, if not the
human race, may be becoming obsolete. Cybergoths are rabid individualists
who replicate this dark evolutionary prediction.
fashion politik
Some goths dress a cybertronic future misery—fashion as premourn-ing
in advance the loss of the human race, when machines will rule, and the
only way to beat them will be to emulate them. Other goths are aligned
with workers caught up in the cogs of an unfulfilling nine-to-five job,
victims of a routine that deadens the soul. And still others long for
a gentler
THE f SECTION ON WEARING THE COLOR BLACK
DJ Cilutu "Everyone asks me, what does it mean, all that black that
I wear on my body. It's the suffering that eats
away at me, the honesty which is missed, the hatred of human creative-ness,
the ignorance, lies and false promises, that is all black on me. Greed,
and
the shortsighted view, religion that breaks people, morals that kill,
hypocrisy that everybody knows, all that is black to me. The sense that
nothing will change, stupidity that reproduces itself... Black is
my view. Black conscience. Black resignation. Black isolation."
Ratroonun "It hides things-your
weight, your finances, how long it's been
since you've been to the dry cleaners."
I1!
has an unusual history with black. "I actually started wearing
black because of my work. Before
everything was done on computers, we
used rapidograph technical pens full of
India ink, and when the tips would clog,
we would drag it across our pant leg
and it would clear. Rather than ruin any
jeans, I began to wear black ones that
the ink would not show on, and
I liked the look on me."
Chc Crorc "[Black]...gives me
power and self-confidence, and
this beautiful dark feeling."
DJ CAlutu "Black protects me and caresses my soul. It creates a certain
36
THE GOTH BIBLE
space between me and the normally
dressed, which I need to feel
comfortable. Black means
understatement."
Cilboun "Wearing black takes on a
spiritual aspect. Black absorbs light.
Metaphorically that means I am
'absorbing' all that surrounds me.
Taking in everything."
C.B.
"Black makes you look thinner (and
paler!), and is very dramatic! The
only problem is that black fades and it
is hard to match sometimes-believe it
or not, there really can be thirty
shades of black!"
"It better reflects my naturally gloomy personality."
[wears black because] "I know I am going to die."
time, where subtlety and discretion prevailed, and a glimpse of an ankle
meant something.
But goth is not just about despair. Goths have a sense of humor too, and
many enjoy the joke that fashion plays, and that only other goths understand.
Fashion reflects at least the attitude if not the psyche of the wearer.
But it can also show irony. Goths choose to live with paradox, and taking
your look seriously while laughing at yourself is just one of the many
dualities they manage to balance. A favorite pastime at clubs is watching
to see who has put what together to create something original and special
while still under the Grim Reaper's all-encompassing goth black-lace mourning
umbrella. Victorian goths draped in industrial chains. Industrial goths
with Cyber hair spikes. Cyberwear that is ruffled latex, reminiscent of
an exotic fish in a Victorian fish tank. Goths are nothing if not creative
dressers. Fashion as living artform. Fashion as body politic.
n>ben colors collioe
Goth looks can range from lingering death to finally dead to eternally
undead, but black is the one constant, the color of choice.
Goths love black for any number of reasons. Black is the night, that time
when all might be as it is in daylight but the lack of light ensures mystery—what
goths crave. Those who long to be hidden can hide. When everyone is in
black, other senses besides sight are required, and that forces experimentation—maybe
even relying on that sixth sense, or second sight, which many goths seem
to possess.
All fashion roads in gothland lead to this supreme darkness. Goths use
black to express what they think and feel. To the world, that statement
is dismal. But almost all of The \ Section said they do not consider themselves
dismal. Most believe that exploring darkness allows one to appreciate
light. This is a sophisticated attitude, a Jungian concept, one that requires
thinking in dichotomy—you cannot know day without night, so bring
on the shadows!
Why do goths, whatever their predilection, dress in black? One of the
most common responses was as angelus says: "It just looks good on
me, and it matches everything I own."
The wearing of black can, by the world at large, easily be perceived as
an act of rebellion, or a scream for attention—after all, most people
will
* 37
EVER UnCHAHGinG FASHIOH
wear black occasionally, but not everything in their wardrobe is the color
of a raven.
Black has a solid history as a color. Besides the mourning Victorians,
and the Chanel elegance, some of Morocco's desert-dwelling Bedouin tribes
wear black caftans—as any goth will tell you, if a person is not
moving, black clothing blocks out sun and heat and keeps the body cooler.
Theda Bara, the originator of the word vamp, popularized black on the
black-and-white silver screen, as did Rudolph Valentine—when he
wasn't wearing a sheik's robe! Black was the uniform of the supercool,
existentialist Beatniks of the 1950s. Bikers favor traditional Harley
black garb and hogs. And black continues to remain the preferred color
for chic evening wear, largely because it does evoke a tremendous sense
of mystery and danger infused with eroticism.
While black is the predominant color in gothwear, including hair, lip
and nail color, as well as liner and eyebrow pencil, many will employ
other colors to accessorize. Silver, the more vibrant sister of grey,
the element of the moon, of Venus (along with copper, the metallic element
of blood), a soft feminine metal, one that reflects back like a mirror,
is de rigueur for accessorizing. Medieval superstition Barbara G. Walker
tells us in her Women's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects, held
that women would not get a good hearing by going directly to the patriarchal
God (represented by the sun). They'd do better praying to their own feminine
deity, using a piece of silver and calling on the moon. The fact that
goths wear an abundance of this traditionally feminine metal suggests
a lot about the essential core of goth, that it is generally nonpatriarchal.
It is a subculture where the feminine is loved—feminine as in a
universal nurturing quality and receptivity to emotional possibilities—by
both men and women. A life-oriented quality that allows personal freedom
and change and encourages experimentation and creativity.
Some goths will wear fabrics that come in silver, like silk, or PVC, or
mesh fabric with metallic threads. Makeup can be silver. Most accessories
tend to be black and/or silver, with leather and metal being favored materials,
and perhaps the odd touch of bloodred creeping in. Nothing is as startling
as a drop of red. The late artist Edward Gorey (see Chapter 11) made effective
use of this. In one of his many marvelous black and white sketches, a
vampire carries off his victim, with just one small red drop appearing
at her slender throat. The power of that dot conveys how the spar-
THE GOTH BJBLE
38
ing use of color can nearly overwhelm an image. And it speaks volumes
about the gothic use of red.
When goths wear an out-and-out colorful outfit, the most popular choice
of color is red, its various shades reflecting hemoglobin, life, vitality,
the direct connection to the vampire, who must steal the blood of the
living to survive.
Powerful, mainly unconscious symbolism surrounding blood pulls on the
fears of all human beings, like the universal terror of losing it. Goths
who are drawn to the seam between life and death have an especially strong
fascination with blood. If we exsanguinate, we expire.
It is from the Judeo-Christian Bible that Dracula quotes when he reminds
us, "For the blood is the life." The ancient Mayan priests cut
out the hearts of human sacrifices as an offering to the gods, then placed
the bloody organ into the bowl the Choc Mool holds on its stomach for
later consumption. The Hindu goddess Kali, who symbolizes the dark side
of creation, destruction—the natural dissolution we all face—sips
the blood of those she slays. The Christian religion believes that Christ
shed his blood to intercede for mankind with his Father, and atone for
the sins of the world. The holy Eucharist, that mysterious process of
transubstantia-tion employed during communion, turns bread into the body
of Christ, and wine into his blood, to be drunk by the priests and the
congregation. The Jews, under the domination of the ancient Egyptians,
were instructed by God to paint the blood of sacrificial lambs above their
doorways so the Angel of Death would pass them by.
In the past, Gypsies—tribes rooted in ancient India—upheld
a wedding tradition wherein the couple ate bread with a drop of the other's
blood to ensure they became one flesh. Sometimes they mixed the blood
of the blissful couple from wound to wound. The blood bond has been part
of many cultures through the ages. Goth couples who undertake Wiccan Handfast-ing
ceremonies frequently incorporate variations on this tradition.
Ancient cultures believed that a woman stopped menstruating in order to
retain her monthly blood, which then coagulated and formed a baby. For
the nine months of our prenatal life, and during the excruciating trauma
of our birth, we are surrounded by blood, intuitively sensing the power
of its flow, goths involved with Wicca (see Chapter 13) as well as most
women are keenly aware that the monthly menses, which continue to menopause,
are a powerful reminder of both birth and mortality.
39
EVER uncHAncmG FAsmon
Today we are bombarded with the knowledge that blood can carry HIV, hepatitis,
and a variety of other illnesses. Goths, who travel the darkest roads,
have a perpetual fascination with blood, and many of The \ Section have
cut themselves, particularly as teenagers. The wearing of red holds all
this symbolism and more, especially as it screams to be heard, in sharp
contrast to black.
Purple is the other end of the spectrum from red and goth Divas love it
for its dramatic effect. Daevina says, "Very very rarely I'll wear
burgundy-colored velvet skirts, or a plum-colored shirt with black pants.
But there is always one article of clothing that is black." The color
is a favorite with Medieval goths. In Shakespeare's time, blood was called
"purple." Traditionally, it has been the color of royalty in
many lands. Ancient Roman emperors wore a deep wine red (derived from
the Murex mollusk, found only in Mogador). In Latin,purpureus means extremely
holy.
Gray lies somewhere between black and silver. The gris gris (gray gray)
of vodoun (voodoo) blends herbs, seeds, hair, and other elements into
an amulet that is worn in order to work magic spells, both white and black
magic. Gray is the institutionally drab dress Wednesday Addams prefers,
an outfit sought after by goth gurrls. Gray is the color of the shadow,
the part of the soul the ancients believed was detachable. It is the twilight
and predawn, when the birds do not yet sing, and the squirrels sit stunned
in the trees. The time when the spirits can slip unseen between realms.
For many cultures, the hair turning gray signifies wisdom.
Gray is also an acceptable color when one is required to blend with the
mainstream. As Paola says: "I can only tolerate a sharp gray suit
if I am meeting a client or discussing our mortgage at the bank. I may
be goth, but I'm also practical: In the really important occasions of
life you do have to look conservative. Hindering your career or being
refused a mortgage because of your looks is not worth it."
Many goths like shades of blue to contrast with the black in clothing,
for a nice bruised look. Thyssen wears "Dark blue and dark green
clothing sometimes ... I like to combine them with neat suits."
Occasionally a goth will venture into green, shades ranging from new mold
to the pea soup that Megan from The Exorcist regurgitated. It's a problematic
color for many goths, since it often brings out a sallow quality of the
skin, a bit of jaundice, and for many that seems unbecoming.
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THE GOTH BiBLE
Tank Boy
Those who tackle green usually prefer the darkest shades, like forest
green, which museumbitch prefers.
For some of The f Section, like Elusis, color has to do with the day.
"I don't dress in black all the time. I almost always have something
black on, but it's more typical for me to wear black and red, black and
burgundy, black and green, black and purple, black and white. On the days
when I am in monochrome, it's usually just because it's easier."
Colors you almost never see on a goth include gold, the color of the sun
god, of daylight, of ostentatious wealth. Goths, being nocturnal creatures,
are drawn to darkness, to what is hidden. The reflection of the silvery
moon offers a chance to use the imagination, to romanticize. Sunlight
causes melanoma, or simply hurts the eyes, especially coming out of a
club at dawn! Still, gold trim on a Medieval gown is not unheard of, and
more than one goth has painted a wall black, or deep red, and used a gold
leaf trim.
You rarely see a goth in brown. Somehow brown, the color of mud, seems
a poor substitute for black. But brown has a tradition in the Victorian,
Edwardian, medieval, and Renaissance eras, and with the Greek and Roman
styles, and goths love costumes.
Outside of period costumes, goths rarely appear in yellow or orange, unless
they are headed to a rave, in which case you might see those colors in
the strands of their hair. TankBoy takes a sensual approach to color and
mixes wine red and purple with black, or will wear "a simple white
shirt. You can mix and match not only colors but textures and sensations."
rinaedin doesn't believe goths need to dress in all black to be goth.
"I dress in whatever suits my mood, mainly dark colors."
But leaving black behind is not easy. Daoine o' admits, "I've been
tempted to buy something colored, so I do, but I end up never wearing
it, and I get rid of it."
For Sally, all black "is a habit. Sometimes I want to change but
the black's always back."
And rinding clothing other than black to wear can be a major headache.
Ariana says, "Going to a 'normal' friend's wedding is a bitch!"
Regardless of color or lack thereof, goth fashions are not usually cheap.
But goths ferret out alternatives, like Morticia's Attic, an online shop
run by Karina, which for four years has sold recycled clothing. And Shadow
EVER UnCHAHGinG FASHiOn 4- 41
Clad, an online goth flea market owned by Dragonbach for two years. There
is also competition for eBay with GothAuctions, where goths can auction
off previously loved items. The technically inclined can sew their own.
Many goth fashion patterns are available on eBay.
if 1 trcAr bkck, can 1 be gotb?
From time to time, goth fashions hit the mainstream. Angelina Jolie, among
other film stars, wore goth black to the Oscars. Fashion models can look
gothish, and musicians who play nothing close to goth or related music
can assume the look.
It's a paradox in a way. A person can be goth and dress nongoth, but can
a nongoth dress goth and be goth? Likely not.
Goth is far more than fashion. For most goths, fashion reflects an aesthetic
that permeates their entire existence. It is a thought process. A reality
base. A way of life that includes what you wear as an expression of a
deeper realm, embraced on a soul level. Tossing on a black velvet dress
does not a goth make any more than wearing a training suit means the wearer
is an athlete. But it might be the first step to unearthing the goth within,
that dark being lingering by the crypt door, waiting patiently for it
to be flung wide. Opening up the possibility for a flight one evening
into the darkly moonlit night.
URLs
alt.goth.fashion www.ice-princess.net/gothfash/faw.html
Academia Gothica www.ice-princess.net/academia.html
Siren
www.sirenweb.com/index1024.html
Ipso Facto www.ipsofacto.fateback.com/
Fashion Nation = Vixens & Angels www.vixensandangels.com=
Victorian Gothic Couture www.vicgothic.com/
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THE GOTH BJBLE
Gallery Serpentine www.galleryserpentine.com.au/
Lip Service www.lip-service.com/
Vixens and Angels www.vixensandangels.com
Diabolik www.diabolik.ca/
Cryterium www.cryterium.org=
Western Dream (via Golem Records) www.golemrecords.com
Meltdown magazine www.meltdownmagazine.com/
Gothic Beauty magazine www.GothicBeauty.com
Morticia's Attic MorticiasAttic@aol.com
Shadow Clad Flea Market www.shadowclad.com
GothAuctions www.gothauctions.com/auction/XcAuctionPro.asp
Gothic Fashion Sewing www.josienutter.com
Gothic Cyber Fashions-how to make them www.sc.essortment.com/fashioncybergo_rfdx.htm
Darkthreads: The Bay Area Gothic Sewing Circle www.sfgoth.com
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EVER UnCHAHGinG FASHiOH
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