The legacy of Goth

I used to be a Goth. Well, kind of; as far as a middle-class, grammar school and Pony Club Camp-attending Home Counties teenage girl could be. I was in love with Peter Murphy - surely The God of Goth - convinced myself I liked Bauhaus, wore the pointy shoes and dyed my mid brown hair as dark as I could get past my mum. Oh and I also used the razor comb I used on my pony on the sides of my head and then crimped the top with hairspray so it was as vertical as could be. My form teacher however, was not supportive of my Gothyness and on a few occasions, scrubbed my make up off with school soap and paper towels and brushed out my carefully cultivated spikes.

I eventually got myself a Gothy boyfriend who was skinny and wore black tight jeans and that successfully put me off. He was all a bit earnest and slightly joyless and I realised I could never be a true Goth when I found myself looking longingly at my friends wearing colour and going out with boys who didn’t want to talk about inner torment.

However, once a (sort of) Goth, always a Goth. The legacy continues to play out in clothes (although I do like to listen to ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’ from time to time) and although I do wear less black these days, the modern Goth look isn’t just confined to black but encompasses cream, grey and wonderful wispy textures, teamed with harder edges and spikes.

Sheer Luxe did an article on Glam Gothic recently which had me pretty ecstatic and sifting through my wardrobe trying to recreate the looks. I’m annoyed I didn’t get amongst the H&M x Vampire’s Wife collaboration recently - cape shown in article. Although, in a reality check moment what use do I actually have for a cape..? Glam Gothic lends itself well to winter, due to the pallor obviously but the monochrome and the perpetual velvet and the diaphanous dresses and boots combination. Just keep the colour palette monochrome plus maybe a deep red and a certain shade of green (dark not Shrek) used sparingly.

On wearing black. It’s a well-known but cruel fact that, with age, some skins tolerate black worn near to the face less well than others. I have that skin, sadly. Black with a pattern helps as it breaks up the density. Black velvet is a bit of a killer from that point of view but can be lifted with a different textured or coloured top worn underneath if it’s a jacket. Red lipstick (when you find the right shade) also helps enormously. Or just say “fuck it” and embrace the deathly look. Very Goth…