ALTERNATIVE MASTERCLASS

So, I've seen alot of people on here asking about how to be/look more alternative, so I've decided to make this big post with information about fashion, music, makeup etc. to help out. It'll mostly be focused on emo/goth, (but I'll try to inculde Vkei and punk) as I am a former emo, and now goth, so I have some ground to stand on. ALSO i want to note that this is meant for anyone who wants to be alternative, not just people who 'fit the mold' of altness, so there will be accommodations for people with strict jobs/parents and etc. also most of this will NOT be expensive. 

I would like to add that my word is not gospel, you can dress how ever you'd like, this is just advice for people who are first getting in to being/looking alternative. Clothes are the least important part for a lot of alt subcultures.

MUSIC

For almost all subcultures, music is one of (if not) the most important parts. I could go in to great detail for quite a few of these, but I'll just drop some recommendations, but maybe I'll make a follow-up explaining all the genres. 

GOTH:

Bauhuas, Siouxsie and the banshees, The sisters of Mercy

PUNK:

S*x pistols (sorry, don't wanna risk getting this taken down), Bikini kill (more riot grrl but whatever), the ramones

EMO/SCENE:

My chemical romance, pierce the veil, the used

VKEI:

buck-tick, malice mizer, gackt

Clothing

"Where do I get goth/emo/grunge/alt clothing?" good question my dear friend, and I fear my answer is going to sound repetitive. DIY and thrift. I KNOW I KNOW! Now, in some countries it's near impossible to thrift. I don't live in a country with a lot of thrift stores, but we do have secondhand clothes being sold at the market, so if you have a big market like that, I'd recommend checking it out. If you don't have those, learn to sew. I fear sewing is very important to alt culture. Hand me downs are also your friend. You can also get stuff from grocery stores, if push comes to shove. 

"How do I find alt clothes at the thrift? All the thrift stores in my town only have old lady clothes." Dw my friend, I'll help you out. Alt people have been thrifting for a long time. Imma be real, its very unlikley that your thrift will have lipservice or vintage hot topic, so you have to keep an open mind. look for stuff like buttons ups, leather, skinny jeans, plain/graphic t shirts, long skirts (if you like skirts) Velvet, satin, lace, etc. also look specifically for colors/patterns that you like. 

 now DIYS and outfit ideas

For diys im going to mostly talk about goth, but this can apply to a lot of alt styles. 

DIY #1

this is super easy, cheap, and requires 0 sewing. all you need is one plain colored shirt (color of your choice) and paint (color of your choice). Get your shirt, and find the logo of a band you like. if you're a good painter/dont have a printer, you just paint that design on the shirt. If you don't want to free hand you can take that design and print it out to make a stencil. paint over the stencil on she shirt and BAM! band shirt, you're instantly cool. you can also cut the collar off and make it off the shoulder

DIY #2 

patches are super easy to make, and you can put them on anything. just get some scrap fabric, paint a design on it, sew it on to something, and now you have crazy aura. Plus, if you have a shirt with a design that you dont like, you can just cover it with a big patch. The tank top i am wearing rn used to be a makers mark tank to that I never wore, but I decided to make big Siouxsie and the banshees patch to cover the logo. Now I wear it all the time.

now, I do have more diys, but I need to move on. If you'd like some more ideas just comment. 

NEVER underestimate the clothes that you already have. you don't need a whole new closet. a lot of stuff just needs to be styled or modified, so I'm going to list some outfit ideas using clothes that you might already have/be able to make.

A band shirt and black jeans is a classic. The shirt doesn't even have to be black. you could also switch the jeans out for a skirt or shorts. add a leather jacket or hoodie, necklaces, a belt, and combat boots (if you'd like)

a black dress is also easy to gothify. Take your dress, put on every belt you own, some bracelets (if you have any), maybe a sweater and ripped tights, necklace. 

A blouse and skirt is also a good option. A long black skirt and a black blouse is a classic but you can also spice it up with patterns and textures. I think that polka dots would be really cute for a little strawberry switchblade moment. 

I'd like to add that you can be goth and not wear only black. I love color and experimentation within the genre, Im gonna put some references in.

accessories are very important to make your outfit read as "goth". you can find black beads in a lot of places, you can buy spiked dog collars to make into bracelets, and you can make belts into chockers. belts are great, especially if you don't want/can't get a corset. they add alot of interest to the outfit. you can make belts out of chains from home depot/ construction stores.

Hair

Hair is a fun way to express yourself, but teasing/excessive dying can damage it (my hair is VERY crunchy). of course, you can dye and tease it, but I honestly just wanted this section to be hair ideas and inspiration for people who don't have the typical goth/emo hair (eg curly/coily, light colors, etc.)

Make up

This is going to be mostly a tutorial for basic goth makeup. now, if you have strict parents, I'd recommend doing a smokey eye and maybe red lipstick. 

Now for big goth eyeliner, you want to use liquid eyeliner (doesn't have to be but its my favorite) determine where you want the wing to go up to, I usually do it just past my brow or almost all the way to the side of my hairline. Draw a big line from the decided spot and drag it down to the outside of your eye. repeat this line on the other side and make sure that the lines are even. then make it in to a wing by turning that line in to a big triangle. make sure that the entirety of your eye is outlined. add a little triangle on your inner corner if you'd like. 

Now for lipstick I like to draw two lines coming out of my cupids bow with eyeliner. connect them in the middle so that they look like an "M". next outline your lips with the black eyeliner. try and connect that m in, so that it looks something like this

Outro

alrighty, that's all for now. This wasn't as detailed as it could have been, but I hope that it was helpful. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to comment. ALSO reminder that this was primarily about alt appearance, but for a lot of alt subcultures YOU DO NOT HAVE TO LOOK 'ALT' TO BE ALT. Especially with goth, there isn't one correct way to be goth, this is just my advice for newcomers. thanks for reading, bye!

(all pics from google/ pintrest)