Trad Goth Outfit

I'm gonna be so real with you. I know very little to nothing about the rise of post-punk, dark wave and goth music in the 80's. Whenever it comes to music and fashion subcultures, I always get confused and lost between the 70's and the 90's. I listen to Bauhaus, The Cure, Oingo Boingo, Joy Division, The Smiths, Siouxsie and the Banshees, She Wants Revenge, Depeche Mode, The Cramps, and ONLY Rock Lobster by the B-52's. I'm sorry, I never really got into Love Shack.

Of all things, I grew up obsessed more with gothic art, architecture, literature, entertainment and fashion. Oh man, don't get me started on how geeked I was over Edgar Allen Poe and The Addams Family. But as I learn more and more about all of theses different bands that usually don't even label themselves as goth yet fall into the category of what goth music became, I come to realize that a lot of art can barely be contained into one genre and is more so grouped by the messages and sounds they mix into. I'd go so far as to even say some of Lady Gaga's earlier art was bleeding into gothic (crazy take, I know). If anything, I should start listening to the Cocteau Twins.

Whatever, I did a Trad Goth look today because I haven't done one in so long and a close friend of mine was really getting in tune with his gothic side and my brain went "ykw. hell yeah." If anything, I consider myself more of a romantic or a whimsigoth because it's much easier to manage daily and just because I own a lot of lace black and white outfit pieces.

Let me walk you through how I made this up-cycled simple look with make up.

Well, I have a history of being a cosplayer which definitely helps make-up wise, but also clothing wise because I cut out this skirt from an old Morticia dress I had since quarantine (this is where the Addams Family obsession aids). I am particularly a huge fan of mermaid skirts and didn't want to waste money buying more clothes than I need and can afford, so while I no longer have an Addams Family cosplay, I now have a black velvet mermaid skirt and a fun V-neck long sleeve top to pair with my other mermaid skirts!

I got lucky with the shirt being my size and possibly very stretched out to fall off of my shoulders and create a bell sleeve without any alterations needing to be made. To make the top more interesting, I wore a black sports bra / binder so the straps created an interesting shape to go with the beaded shirt. I found it in my school's thrift? It's a free thrift.

(I have a bunch of these images, I gotta reuse them all.)

Accessorizing, I added my famous steel boned corset that I never complete any outfit without because it's not a gothic outfit without a corset, am I right? Probably not. I don't have many chains on me, but I am looking into piecing together an economical and ethically sourced recreation of the infamous killstar ankh belt. My studded belt was a birthday gift from hot topic, so I slapped that on over the corset. The cross necklace was a DIY, my mom does a lot of witchcraft and she had the pendant just lying around so I attached it to an old chain using a keyring. It says it's from Italy, it's fairly impressive to me. The choker is also from hot topic, I've had it since I was a freshman in high school (it is definitely falling apart, but somehow still holding on by its leather boot straps). Speaking of boot straps:

My shoes are Arizona, I got them from JCPenny's on sale and have been wearing those bad boys down every single day.

Because it's extremely cold outside, I topped it off with my trench coat that I have also had since high school (got it off of amazon... I think.. I don't remember.. I probably did..) and that's the whole look.

I can't really explain how I did the make up besides saying I started with a white faceprint base, utilized black matte lipstick, liquid eyeliner and a lot of eyeshadow. When it comes to face paints, powdered make up is definitely your best friend. It can definitely get very messy (and itchy, I touched my face a lot today) so I'd say if you don't have setting powder or know it's going to get dirty, embrace it and use it for texture. What I've noticed with trad make up is that trends usually follow dramatic shapes, heavy contour and unique textures to highlight and exaggerate facial features. That's why I like to group it with drag, clown and cabaret make up, it's a performance make up of its own to me.

I feel like a telltales character. Okay, bye.

XOXO