Good Goth

I have a confession: My road to being your geeky Fashionista has been a long and arduous one. Had you met me about 9 years ago you would have asked me if I had  knife on me before you even thought to ask me if you should go for the low-rise or the boyfriend cut; I wish that was an exaggeration but it isn’t anywhere near (see photo below). My wardrobe in Jr. High and most of high school (until the brown phase senior year) consisted of black, some red, black, some neon, black, gray, maybe blue, and you guessed it black. It wasn’t that I lacked imagination, most of my shirts had some design on them and my pants (along with just about anything else) were all covered in studs, zippers, chain, if it falls in the hardware category my clothing was embellished with it. It could quite literally be said that it was a dark time in my personal fashion history, not because I have anything against the ‘goth’ look but because I was so boring with it. If someone had introduced me to the more refined generas of the goth style perhaps my wardrobe would have been a bit more interesting, I would have been spared a ‘mall goth’ past, and I wouldn’t have destroyed my mom’s leather seats with my Tripp pants (true story). Read on for some awesome ‘goth’ inspired looks for the inner goth girl who has survived in you!

Being a lifelong history nerd, I’ve always been somewhat obsessed with the Victorian era in many ways, so how exactly the Goth Victorian fashion eluded me back in the day is puzzling. Goth Victorian can be anything from full Victorian era reproduction clothing (a mourning dress for example) to more modern gothic looks with Victorian elements incorporated. I’m a fan of the functionality of a more modern look. Etsy has many lovely Victorian inspired skirts like the one below matched up with the blouse of your choice (I love the look of the sheer/lace one), of course no Victorian look is complete without some form of corset. With a look full of so many textures and details it’s best to keep the accessories to a minimum but they don’t have to be boring. One more thing to keep in mind is that with any Victorian inspired look the beauty is in the details. For example, the fabric of the corset below is actually skeletons placed in a classic print; find gems like that and your look will be showstopping.

Sheer Black Lace Top houseofcircums… $44.00

Skeleton French Twall Corset… TwinkleLilBat $95.00

Gloomth Opiate Gothic Victor… gloomth $99.00

Victorian Blood Red Drop Ear… RosebloodandMo… $16.50

Another style set that I wish someone had brought to my young attention is Goth Lolita. I think Sweet Lolita is a fun look but the lover of all things dark within me can’t do all the pastels. Basically if you take the typical Lolita look and flip it on it’s head you get it’s wicked twin, Goth Lolita. You still get lots of bows, frills, lace, and generally girly things but instead of candy coated and colored deeper shades and little skulls abound. I think the Goth Lolita look is a great look for summer if you pair down the layering just a tad. The sweetheart dress below is a perfect Lolita piece with a lot of bounce and youthfulness but in a much darker color scheme, throw a little lace bolero in the mix and some accessories like a bow and maybe some fingerless gloves and you’re left with a simple Goth Lolita look that won’t have you fainting in the summer heat.

Black bridal lace bolero wed… maryandangelik… $65.90

Sweetheart Ribbon and Bows D… skycreation $85.00

Nocturnal Supremacy Lace Fin… ZenAndCoffee $20.00

Bow Hair Clip: Black Lace Azalope $4.00

There are so many other subsets of goth fashion that I could dive into but I will leave those for another time. As with anything these looks are only limited by your imagination and what you’re willing to put into them because over the top is sometimes completely ok (especially when it comes to lace, you can never have too much lace)! Until next time my lovely geeky fashionistas!

Mad Scientist Spats Medium U… StraightRazorS… $40.00	Knee-Length Circle Skirt wit… CharmCityCurio… $65.00	Lolita skirt red with lace e… dashAmbler $45.00	Ivory steampunk mini bustle … blackmirrordes… $66.00
Black Lace Choker Necklace -… Arthlin $30.00	Victorian Gothic Black Lace … TheBohemianGod… $159.00	Steampunk Bustle Skirt Victo… lovechildboudo… $75.00	Skirt Silene, Fantasy, Victo… SomniaRomantic… $149.00

Tags: bow, bustle, corset, elegant, fashion, geek, girly, goth, goth lolita, goth victorian, gothic, gothic lolita, Gothic Victorian, lace, lolita, victorian