Help me get my Goth on.

September 20, 2007 7:50 PM

Help me get my Goth on.

"Let's see what you've goth! Get dressed in your finest moody goth clothes and come to the GothBQ/housewarming this Saturday starting around 4. Eat bats and whatever you bring to throw on the grill."

Beyond a black tee shirt and eyeliner I goth . . . nothing.

Please help me assemble a suitably impressive outfit in the next 36 hours. And bonus points for creative grilling/potluck ideas.

posted by donovan to clothing, beauty, & fashion (17 comments total)

My ex-goth girlfriend recommends painting your nails black, wearing lots of rings, and maybe a magnetic labret.
posted by solipsophistocracy at 7:56 PM on September 20, 2007

one word: guyliner.
posted by Mach5 at 8:03 PM on September 20, 2007

If there's a Hot Topic near you, you're all set. But if you don't want to shop:

You must wear all black. There's no question. You could possibly get away with red pants, or animal print, but really, you've got to have on black jeans or black shorts or black cargo pants (or leather or vynl). Black boots or shoes or converse sneakers.

If you're Caucasian, rub some baby powder on your face for extra pallor. Lipstick optional, but you'll get more points if you wear it if otherwise your outfit is lacking. If you don't have black hair, maybe a scarf or hat? Long black trench wouldn't hurt.

Accessories: gloomy mood, silver jewelry, especially crosses and insects. You could find lots of stuff in a Halloween store, or the Halloween aisle of your local drugstore.
posted by xo at 8:08 PM on September 20, 2007

things you might find at the thrift store:

black lingerie (to wear alone or over anything)
pleather pants (too small? too right!)
furry anything
hose (to make into arm warmers or fingerless gloves)

makup options:
red eyeliner
black eyeliner
black lipstick
some kind of super-stylixed makeup drawing, ie tears, crow-lines, stitches-for-brows, be creative.
fake fangs

put a bunch of gel in your hair and pick a direction: up, down, back, whatever. just own it.

for uber-realism, something pink or pale blue. tiny. like a sticker or a button. one little smidgy thing. hey, maybe bring a teddy bear?

that sounds so fun. wish i could go!
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 8:12 PM on September 20, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

Electrical tape. Seriously. Remember this movie?

Tight clothing is better than loose. Goths don't usually go for loose-fitting jeans. Silver jewlery.
posted by lekvar at 8:19 PM on September 20, 2007

you can't go wrong with fishnet stockings, arms or legs
posted by waxboy at 8:34 PM on September 20, 2007

Please, for the love of all that is, don't dress like the Crow. Please.

You could do worse than learning from the A to Z of Goth Fashion here

Seriously, Goth is/was about expressing yourself. Albeit in a dark way. Fishnets are always good for a shirt (cut out the crotch!), a pair of boots, and some tight black pants.

And muss up that hair.
posted by khaibit at 9:15 PM on September 20, 2007

Ditto waxboy. Get some black socks, cut off the toes, and cut a hole for your thumb. Wear as fingerless gloves/arm-warmers.

Oh, and draw a tear in black eyeliner under your eye. Or a heart, or a star.
posted by fuzzbean at 9:17 PM on September 20, 2007

Men can usually get away with kilts. (Not that kilts are goth, but skirts are comfy and you can always point out that it's not a rectangle, it's a square!) Otherwise in a pinch fitted black slacks if you don't have and don't want to buy fitted black jeans or bondage pants.

Black lipstick, yes, but on top of it put black lipgloss (the kind that comes in a tube with a wand). Of course that'll wear off in three seconds, but they'll be three shiny seconds. You might want to smudge out your eyeliner a little, too.

Boots of any kind so long as they're dark.

A gothy band tee-shirt is a pretty safe choice.

If you're OK with submission, add a collar--either a proper bondage-y collar or a leather dog collar type.

Don't powder your face for something that's outside during the afternoon, it will just look like you were a victim of a flour factory explosion.
posted by anaelith at 9:48 PM on September 20, 2007

put a bunch of gel in your hair and pick a direction: up, down, back, whatever. just own it.

I never would have thought to phrase it that way, but damn if that isn't perfect.

Yeah, don't do the Crow, it's still tacky. But it does give me an opportunity to tell my favorite Halloween story; A few years ago at the semi-unofficial Halloween festival that rocks Madison, WI every year, I decided to follow my namesake an go as a harlequin. Unfortunately by it's very nature, the costume was quite Crow-like, but I decided to throw good taste to the winds, and use this to my advantage.

So my friends and I are walking down the street, enjoying ourselves immensely, along the way we counted several different people dressed as Brandon's final roll, there was the Short Crow, the Angry Crow, the Pretty-Good Crow, the Last-Minute Crow, and then I spotted him: the Angsty This-Is-My-Real-Face Crow, and I knew I had found my man.

I fell in to place behind him and started miming his movements, dressed as I was, this drew a few laughs from passersby. But it was when I pulled the crow call I had purchased from the hunting store that the fun really began. I would give a 'caw' then quickly turn away to hide who did it. He would look around confused and wonder why everyone was pointing and laughing.

This went on for far longer than it should have, and finally realizing that I was openly mocking him, in a huff he stormed off down the street.

My very favorite part came when I realized that a bunch of the other Crow costumed folks I had seen earlier had gathered around to watch the fun. I looked at the wooden call in my hand, and said "Well fuck me, this thing actually worked!"

So yeah. If you dress as the Crow, there is a slim chance some ass might stand behind you and make fun. Better to not take the chance. Hit Goodwill, buy some black lace, visit the Halloween stores and get some black lipstick, and by god follow AVs suggestion and do something cool with your hair.
posted by quin at 9:56 PM on September 20, 2007 [6 favorites has favorites]

Old goth or 'spooky kid' goth. I have only older goth advice, spooky kids are just spooky kids.

Black fishnet stockings, minus crotch, wear like a shirt. Black gothic-ish band shirt over stockings, Bauhaus or The Cure or The Legendary Pink Dots... Black tights if you can pull it off. Doc Martins or similar Black military type boots. If you're brave, boys in black lace skirts are way goth. Black nail polish (or deep dark red). Black eyeliner (also doubles as lipstick and works much better than lipstick). No 'tears or hearts or stars...' that's spooky kid stuff. Forget crosses, go for a Silver Ankh, avoid Gold anything. Rings are good.

No fangs! alt.vampire is two doors down on the left.
posted by zengargoyle at 9:57 PM on September 20, 2007

Amphetamine sulphate.
posted by pompomtom at 10:13 PM on September 20, 2007

Great suggestions so far ... having been a frequenter of the goth scene in my younger days, I'd recommend sticking to zengargoyle's suggestions; you don't want to look like a Marilyn Manson knock-off. Fishnets are cheap and easy to find, a t-shirt can be found in a thrift store. $0.99 eyeliner and cheap lipstick can be found at drugstores everywhere. Think Bauhaus-era Peter Murphy.

For quick'n'dirty, check out the first episode of the fourth season of ALIAS: they transform a character from a suit-wearing straightedge into a Shanghai goth/punk clubber in 30 seconds with on-hand items in a dirty bathroom. Old-school awesome. (Did a cursory search for the clip--gotta leave for work--but came up empty)
posted by the luke parker fiasco at 11:08 PM on September 20, 2007

a decade ago i was an honest-to-goodness teenaged goth, in:

maroon 18-eye doc martens
salvation army pin-stripe trousers
clear acrylic suspenders, down-hanging
black oxford button-up
silver needle thin necktie
nails painted in (inside to outside) black, purple, green, silver, black
crucifix hanging from left ear
bleached tips
elmer's glue and/or gelatin fauxhawk
eyeliner

imaginary girlfriend :(
posted by mr. remy at 11:14 PM on September 20, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

If you have facial hair, ignore all the lipstick advice. Nothing looks sillier than a goth boy with a goatee and lipstick. Goth make-up is about androgyny; if you've got a beard, you're already not going to get that David Bowie and Peter Murphy thing going, so skip the lipstick and shoot for something like Trent Reznor in "The Perfect Drug."
posted by infinitywaltz at 11:37 PM on September 20, 2007

black tee isn't all that goth - yes it's common daywear for the lifestyle goth just throwing something on to run down to the grocery store, but for goth nightlife where people are trying to be a bit dressier, it tends to be more what the metal crowd wears (at a wide-appeal events with multiple bands for example, I noticed that t-shirts tended to align reasonably closely with people's music affiliations :)

At short notice on the cheap, if you don't mind browsing the women's section of thrift stores, you'll likely find a few more interesting things that are sufficiently andro for a guy to look good in.
posted by -harlequin- at 3:41 AM on September 21, 2007

Gothesque in my younger days, I also second zengargoyle's advice and infinitywaltz's lipstick caveat.

If you're not feeling the lace or skirts suggestions, just stick with tight black jeans, combat boots or docs or dress shoes (anything but sneakers!) aforementioned fishnet-stocking t-shirt, eyeliner, black nail varnish. Presto-gotho.
posted by desuetude at 6:46 AM on September 21, 2007