Stripy Tights and Dark Delights

Outfit post: random

2012-02-24T16:55:00.000Z

Time for another outfit round-up.

Panic! at the Disco gig

Bow: charity shop
T-shirt: Panic! gig
Tights: no idea
Shorts: Topshop
Mesh shirt: charity shop
Bat necklace: The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Boots: Camden

Bellydance class and sleepover at Jo's

Necklace: Coven of Witches
Choker: is actually a chain off a skirt
T-shirt: AppleSnow
Skirt: vintage shop (bit of a cheek as it's from Matalan!)
Lace tights: Stinky Fish
Boots: Tesco
Coat: Topshop
Gloves: Claire's

At work

Shirt: charity shop
Waistcoat: charity shop
Brooch: ...you guessed it, charity shop
Jeans: Tesco
Boots: Tesco

A cup of tea with Bronwyn

Hairclips: George at Asda (Halloween)
Collar: Double Discount
T-shirt: Gothic Beauty (obvs)
Necklace: gift
Gloves: Claire's
Skirt: charity shop
Tights: Marks and Spencer

Be part of Sary's art recording on the subject of subcultures

2012-02-23T08:53:00.000Z

The lovely Sary of The Walrus Room has asked for help from fellow Gothy types and other alternatives to take part in a recording for her art major work (the end-of-school final assignment that will help to earn our dear Sary a university place). Sary's project is on the subject of subcultures, namely, 'the misconceptions and isolation they face every day', and she intends to create an audio file in relation to her artwork.

Sary says, "I want to have alternative people's (not just Goths) voices talking about themselves and what they face in everyday life because of the way they dress."

All you need to do is record yourself answering Sary's questionnaire, which you can find here, in an audio or video file, and then you can e-mail her or put it on YouTube and send her the link. If you are uncomfortable with your voice being used for this project but would still like to help out, you can send her a written response and she will ask somebody else to read it on your behalf.

You can contact Sary with your recordings or questions at NailsDevil@gmail.com.

GPOY

Gothic guest houses

2012-02-22T10:27:00.000Z

What with Goth clubs, Goth magazines, even knitted Goth boots for babies, it was probably only a matter of time before Goth hotels started springing up. Some of these hotels are run by Goths, mainly for Goths, and tricked out in the latest of dark home decor. Some are simply decorated in the finest Gothic tastes; well, they do say black goes with everything.

The most well-known Goth hotel is probably the Bats and Broomsticks bed and breakfast in Whitby, which entirely unsurprisingly caters most often for attendees of the Whitby Gothic Weekend, although I would suspect they are booked up well in advance. Bats and Broomsticks is entirely decorated in Victorian Gothic splendour.

Also in the UK there is the Chiroptera Gothic Guest House in Scarborough, also within sensible travel distance of Whitby. To judge from the gallery on their website, Chiroptera's decor is absolutely phenomenal, with a main colour scheme of black on black (and a hint of red).

Those travelling abroad can also find themed hotels to suit the darkest of tastes. Whilst not specifically catering to a Gothic palette, the Night Hotel in New York is entirely decorated in monochrome with an 'urban Gothic' feel.

In Propeller Island City Lodge in Berlin, you can book the "Gruft" or 'coffin room' (that's room 31, by the way) in which you will find two coffins to sleep in. (Although there is also a conventional bed if you should get nervous...) This hotel may be of some interest to creative types anyway, as it is designed to be a work of art that you can live in.

The Witchery in Edinburgh is a restaurant with rooms available, located amongst a collection of ancient buildings in historic Old Town and close to the city's castle. It has eight gorgeously Gothic suites, decadently decorated and utterly flamboyant.

We all know that weird things happen in Las Vegas... and at Ron Decar's Las Vegas Hotel you can choose from a myriad of themed rooms. However I'd bet that 'Disco' and 'Gangster' would be less up your street than Gothic (featuring a bride-and-groom coffin bed, gargoyles, tombstones, and even a coffin-shaped bath tub) or Egyptian (filled with golden fabric, 'ancient' relics and heiroglyphs).

I'm now really wishing I could afford a holiday...

Double review: The Woman in Black and Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

2012-02-21T12:15:00.001Z

Warning: may contain spoilers

Having read Susan Hill's ghost story The Woman In Black I was excited to see the recent movie remake starring Daniel Radcliffe. I was surprised to see that the movie was only rated 12a because the book was so frightening, and after watching the movie I can safely say that had I been under twelve I probably would have had to leave the cinema.

The film is beautiful despite (or perhaps because of) its chilling tale, with lots of brooding shots of the English countryside in the rain and plenty of Goth-friendly eye candy in the form of Mr. Radcliffe's lovely sideburns and dashing suit (I firmly believe that more men should dress in Edwardian-style suits, oh yes).

Wonderful costume...
Source: Google

Horror fans may be pleased to note that this film is brought to the big screen by none other than the infamous Hammer Horror, and I feel that they have mostly done justice to a classic story. At first I was a little annoyed to see that they had not kept more closely to the tale as Susan Hill wrote it, wherein the 'hero' Arthur Kipps (played by Radcliffe) is pestered for a festive fireside ghost story by his wife and children, but refuses to tell as he has been left almost scarred by his own experiences at Eel Marsh House, and writes down the story instead. But on reflection, doing away with this framing does the story good as it makes it relevant, present, rather than something that has already happened and the danger has passed (or so you think...).

I don't want to give too much away from either book or film but I will note that the ending is also slightly different than in the original novel.

In The Woman In Black, Arthur Kipps is a young solicitor mourning the recent death of his wife who is sent to sort the papers of the deceased Alice Drablow. Mrs. Drablow formerly resided in isolated Eel Marsh House, cut off from the mainland and nearest village by marsh and by tide. What Kipps does not know is that Eel Marsh House and the surrounding land (complete with woodland cemetery; cue many eerie shots of gravestones listing amidst the ivy) are haunted, and that every time the spectre - a woman in black - is seen, a child in the village dies. Horribly. The most spine-chilling part of the tale is, of course, the night Kipps finds himself spending in Eel Marsh House... alone.

I will be honest and say that I found this movie absolutely terrifying. It's highly suspenseful, designed for thrills and chills and as such there are many moments intended to make you jump (all of which hit their mark, I add) but there are some genuinely horrifying moments and images that have, rather unfortunately for my sleeping patterns, emblazoned themselves in my brain. The entire film is permeated by a sense of dread, and the director understands that things glimpsed in the shadows can be far more terrifying than to reveal all. A brilliant movie, and Radcliffe does well as mournful Kipps, but one of the scariest I've seen for a while.

(There is, by the way, another, older, movie of The Woman In Black, which I have not seen but which others have highly recommended.)

The other movie I saw this weekend was Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 3D. Like the first Ghost Rider movie, it's not especially intelligent, nor does it bring anything particularly new to the world of Marvel comic movies, but for an hour-and-a-half of chases, special effects and Nicholas Cage on a motorbike it's harmless fun.

Source: Google

Cage plays Johnny Blaze, a daredevil biker who signed a contract in blood and became the devil's bounty hunter. Blaze now shares his body with a demon, known simply as the Rider, who is unleashed in the presence of evil and reduces it - and everyone close by, usually - to ashes. In this sequel, Blaze makes a deal to protect the son of the devil from being used by his father, in return for being released from the Rider. Unfortunately, he has to use the power of the demon to keep the devil's human offspring safe.

There are no great surprises in this movie and frankly it could have done with a considerably less cheesy script (there are one-liners that will make you wince). There are attempts at character development and we learn more about the mythology of the Rider, but it's a tad obvious and clumsy. The 3D is mostly irrelevant; all right for car chases in the mountains but otherwise adding nothing to the entertainment value of the film.

Cage's performance? I can never quite make up my mind whether Cage's kookiness is fun or irritating, but on the basis of this film I'll just heed my mother's advice: if you can't say something nice, say nothing at all.

The plot is all-too-obviously contrived, which would be all right if, like similar deliberately-trashy movies it was tongue-in-cheek, but sadly not. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this movie, but mainly because it provided the opportunity to switch off for a while whilst watching a flaming skeleton riding a motorbike. Fun but ultimately pointless.

Egads! The Steampunk World's Fair

2012-02-20T18:15:00.000Z

A festival that on its webpage describes itself as 'the greatest steampunk festival in the world' either has its tongue firmly in its cheek or some fairly (no pun intended) big ideas. It is, reportedly, the largest steampunk festival in the USA (Somerset, New Jersey, just FYI) and its makers are also held responsible for their annual Wicked Winter Renaissance Faire and Kinky Geek Event. And technically, most of the other steampunk events are technically conventions, not festivals, so they're probably right anyway.

If you've ever fancied any of the following:

an absinthe tasting hosted by Voltaire
a band who write about pirates and metaphorical hats and use Tupperware for their percussion section
partying, 'not simply like it's 1899, but like it's 1899 and it's extra awesome because we've got steam-powered laser weapons'

then this is a festival you should probably be checking out if you're stateside, or have the funds to be so at any point in the future. (Incidentally, something I find especially awesome about SPWF is that they are an outdoor festival, and instead of being worried about rain, they are more than prepared for it. They have a series of events planned to take place only if it rains. Including a Steampunk Gene Kelly sing-a-long karaoke, a Cthulhu Slide, a Torrential Tea Party, a Rainy Day Burlesque and Airship Pirate Bombing Raids. That, kids, is what I call squee-worthy.)

Incidentally, I was forwarded the following by a very charming intern at the company responsible for such shenanigans:

"Spreading the steampunk love

"With the Steampunk genre’s infiltration of mainstream media, many artists of the movement are seeing their work lost in the explosion of new Steampunk art. The Lost Treasures of Steampunk, the newest program initiated by the Steampunk World’s Fair, is designed to prevent these works from being overlooked by sharing them with the greater Steampunk community. Steampunk creators are seeking to gain legitimacy as artists and the Lost Treasures will work to prove that legitimacy. Selected applicants will have their work featured at the Steampunk World’s Fair this coming May, and more will be awarded scholarships to further their artistic endeavors.

"Event organizers are devoted to bringing this program to life by utilizing fundraising and a portion of the fair’s budget for its success. Event creator Jeff Mach explains, "We’d like to prove that Steampunk is not only a legitimate artistic genre, but an intensely creative one, as well." As head of an event that attracts the attention of Steampunks nationwide, he has witnessed innumerable creative endeavors that don’t get the attention they deserve. This inspired Mach to put together the Lost Treasures of Steampunk, for which creators of all steampunk art, from fashion to literature, are urged to apply.

"Besides the Lost Treasures of Steampunk to look forward to, this year’s Steampunk World’s Fair will be packed with pleasures. Steampunk is a genre best described by author K.W. Jeter as "mad Victorian fantasy". Over 3,000 Steampunk enthusiasts are brought together at the World’s Fair each year along with hundreds of performers, artisans, writers, and creators from across the country. But the fair is not solely reserved for the loudest fans; anyone with the least bit of interest in Steampunk is invited to pop on a top hat and join the masses in celebration of steampunk and its artistic culture."

Unexpected Goth encounters and equal ops for body modders

2012-02-19T10:35:00.000Z

Following on from the idea of yesterday's post, I was wondering how many of you guys had ever found a fellow Goth, alternative fashion or body mod enthusiast where you really didn't expect one. No, I don't mean in your back garden at three a.m., stop being ridiculous.

For example, you may remember when I worked in the arts office for my local council I was mildly surprised (although not that surprised, it was the ARTS department after all) to find out that I had a closet Goth, an ex-Goth and one full-blooded, clove-smoking, wearing-New-Rocks-under-my-suit Goth as fellow employees.

Frank the Baptist

I was surprised, recently, to discover that my regional support manager in my current job also describes herself as an ex-Goth, albeit a reluctant one - she told me that she only let the fashion and lifestyle slide because she found no one would give her a job. (After work that day I stopped by to speak to my manager and tell her that I appreciated her giving me free rein to wear whatever I choose, even though I'm in a customer-facing role. She said that she didn't think it should matter what a person wears.)

Does your dentist, doctor or bus driver have spooky tendencies? Does your child's primary school teacher have purple hair and tattoos on her arms under her smart blouses? Do you or have you had a punk or Lolita as a boss?

Oh! That reminds me! Whilst we're pointing out that people with unusual fashion choices, strange hair and, yes, even tattoos and piercings can hold down a job as well as the rest of us, I'd like to draw everyone's attention to the following petition (yes, another one). This petition was created by Patrick Hogan and is possibly an issue dear to many of your hearts.

I think by now most of us are resigned to the fact that covering up tattoos, dyeing our hair back to natural colours and taking out piercings is a part of life for many alternative lifestylers when they reach the job market. But unless your body mods or manner of dress pose potential dangers or hazards in your chosen field of work (bustle skirts and agriculture do not, generally, mix), they don't actually affect your ability to do your job. It's not like in school where drawing pictures on your arms could be a 'distraction' to the kid next to you - the tattoos are permanent now and the guy in the next office chair is probably not too freaked out by your half-sleeve to carry on with his own work.

There is a common sense element involved - if you want to work with small children, huge gauges in your ears might not be the brightest idea and if you have offensive tattoos (e.g. sexual imagery) I don't recommend you take up a positon doctoring old ladies unless you're willing to cover your tatts. But astonishingly enough most of the alternative community can understand such issues and would be more than likely to take steps to avoid causing any harm or offense.

Having pink hair, nose rings and a tattoo of Jack Skellington is not hurting anyone and I personally don't feel it should be an issue when employing someone. No, not even in a customer-facing role. Waitrose, for example, do not employ people with facial piercings, which frankly I feel is highly unneccessary and discriminatory as even the clientele of Marks and Spencers are unlikely to require the application of smelling-salts at the sight of an eyebrow ring.

So! Please sign the petition for including body modification in equal opportunity employment, and share your tales of either a) body modification discrimination or b) unexpected encounters of the Goth kind.

Positive experiences and unexpected compliments

2012-02-18T20:11:00.001Z

This week I received a lovely e-mail from Kassandra, who said, "I have seen the many entries regarding the bullying, incidents, discrimination and attacks of "normal" people to members of the Goth community. And something happened to me yesterday; something entirely different from this kind of thing. I was leaving a café where I had just a cup of tea, and upon saying goodbye to the waiters, one of them said to me with a smile: "I wonder what has happened in Heaven for angels to be wearing black". I was wearing a long black lace skirt, a black wool turtleneck (it was cold!), a red and black corset, and a long black coat. I was very surprised by the lovely and unusual compliment (I obviously thanked him profusely), and then I thought: "Certainly I cannot be the only one that gets compliments from people outside of the community".

"And I thought it could be nice to write about good moments that Goths may have had with non-Goths, such as this one. Maybe you could talk about something good that happened to you, or maybe ask feedback from your readers...

"I think that Jillian Venters is right about being polite and gracious; a smile can have a powerful effect on people. Of all the incidents I have had regarding my attire, I have only been once shouted "Halloween is over!". The rest have been people talking to me about my pretty outfit, an unusual hat, or where did I get that jewelry? (I am a Victorian/Romantigoth almost in my forties, by the way).""

Kassandra, by the way, also has a blog which you can find here.

Black Tape For A Blue Girl

I thought this was an absolutely wonderful idea for a post; and quite timely, as today I had an experience of my own which made me smile. A regular customer at work teasingly called me 'the lady in black'. A friend and co-worker who was within earshot wasn't aware that I half-knew the chap and immediately sprang to my defense with the retort, "Black or not, she always looks gorgeous!" Perhaps it's a silly thing but I always feel a little bit touched when people who wouldn't choose this lifestyle or manner of dress for themselves stick up for and support those who do. :-)

After reading Kassandra's e-mail I enjoyed thinking over my own positive experiences and I hope you don't mind me sharing a few with you!

When walking with friends, a little girl came up to me and shyly told me that she liked my shoes. The shoes in question were a pair of New Rocks decorated with flaming skulls, chains, and spikes!
The same boots sparked off the following comment from an old lady in the theatre, "Are those Gothic boots? Good for you! I wish I'd done all that when I was younger!"
Recently I was stopped by a lady in the supermarket who wanted to tell me how 'beautiful and striking' my outfit was.
I love it when friends and co-workers tell me that they 'look forward' to seeing what I'll be wearing when we see each other.
Random photo ops! I know some people find this annoying after a while but the novelty hasn't worn off for me yet - I have had people ask me to step outside at work to take a quick photo ('because you look so fashionable') and been stopped at a train station in London by a photography student who needed a picture of someone 'unusual'. I just wish I had copies of the photos! >.<

So, what about you guys? What have been your favourite compliments, most unexpected positive remarks and other generally uplifting experiences from those outside the alternative community? Do share!

Blackest Black review

2012-02-17T17:38:00.002Z

I have made a resolution as part of the no-more-procrastination programme to start working through the two black sacks and one suitcase of assorted garments I've put aside with the vague notion of one day DIY-ing them. I figured that since this is the year of the Filthy Victorians, the Victorian replica bloomers I purchased from a theatre company might be a good place to start.

The first and most important thing I needed to do with these bloomers was to dye them black. No, not to make them more ooky-spooky (surprisingly) but because the first time I put them on I discovered they were see-through.

The dye I used was called Blackest Black, which claims to produce a deeper colour than "all-purpose" drugstore dyes and last longer without fading. Its makers also boast that 'after extensive research, we believe we've found the blackest clothing dye'. Could this be the perfect Goth DIY product? Well, being the helpful girl that I am, I've put it to the test for you.

Blackest Black seems to be generally designed for restoring your faded black clothing to its former midnight hue, with one bottle capable of dyeing 6-9 T-shirts or 2-3 pairs of trousers or jeans. The instructions told me to double the dose for coloured or white items, but since I was only dyeing one garment I thought I'd see if I could get away with using half a bottle.

I have to say, I found the product really easy to use - I was even sent my own stirring stick along with my little dyeing kit. The only thing I had to purchase separately was salt, which most people would probably have in the house anyway.

I has a stick

The dyeing process was incredibly simple, helped along by clear, friendly, jargon-free instructions (step two: RELAX) and the fact that there is really nothing difficult about stirring stuff in a bucket. Preparing the mixture and saturating the garment with dye does take half-an-hour or so, including the recommended twenty minutes of gentle stirring, so it's handy to pop on a CD or something whilst you stir away.

The results after using half a bottle of Blackest Black looked like this:

Blacker than the original product, certainly, but I didn't feel they were quite deserving of the 'blackest black' moniker yet, and in natural daylight the colour looked faded and a tad patchy. So I bunged them through another dye bath, using another half a bottle of dye.

The result this time was much closer to what I'd been hoping for:

Unlike dyeing your hair, it doesn't matter how much extra time you leave your garments to soak for, which was lucky because both times I wandered away, got distracted and left the bloomers for half-an-hour to an hour longer than the recommended 30-60 minutes.

I was really pleased with how easy the product was to use and the final colour result (or lack thereof, to be more precise, with black not being actually a colour and all). I liked that Blackest Black is made by a friendly company with a sense of humour (their FAQ, in case you think I'm joking), which as you can see is a lovely even velvety black, and will be saving my other bottle to re-vamp a faded jacket or two.

My bloomers now need a bit of stitching at the sides and a zip putting in (they are designed to be laced up but since I intend to wear them as outerwear that's not going to work) and then they will be ready to wear, without baring my bum cheeks to all and sundry. :-)

EDIT: Blackest Black have kindly offered a discount code to readers of Stripy Tights...! They say, "If you would like to give us a try, you can use the coupon code "DARKDELIGHTS" for a 10% discount (after the current Valentine's Day special ends)."

"Goth will destroy your child"

2012-02-16T11:38:00.000Z

All right, I'll put my hands up and admit it... when I was about sixteen, I wrote a four-page e-mail to God Hates Goths, hoping to make them see the error of their Goth-bashing ways. I got a short note in reply telling me that they didn't bother to read the entire e-mail, and calling me 'Ashley' (close enough). You can imagine how embarrassed I was when several months later I finally figured out that God Hates Goths is a satirical website, and as such my militant mallgoth rage was entirely redundant.

So I am therefore approaching this post (requested by Kitty Lovett) with some trepidation, although I am (somewhat) reliably informed that the following site is nothing less than the genuine article. After spending half an hour reading about how Sabrina (the teenage witch) is 'evil', tattoos are 'marks of Satan' and Guitar Hero is 'of the devil', I'm not entirely convinced, but let's go for it anyway!

Jesus Is Savior is a Christian (although I am using the term loosely here) website, which, if it is genuine, does not do much for promoting the tenet of 'loving thy neighbour as thyself'. I find it hard to believe that this is not satirical; the obsessive zeal and alarming ignorance remind me of other satirical sites such as Landover Baptist and the abovementioned God Hates Goths. Its slightly hysterical tone and fanatical standpoint are used against everything from Wicca to Roman Catholicism, from TV (known as 'devilvision') to, of course, Goth culture.

Source: Jesus Is Savior

As someone who attended a church school, lives in a predominantly-Christian parish and counts several Christians amongst her closest friends, I find the tone of this website perhaps more offensive in its projection of Christianity as bigoted and intolerant than in what it has to say about Goth culture. However, there have sadly been incidences where 'Christians' have taken it upon themselves to attack or bully Goths - notably young Goths, rather than adults more capable of defending themselves - such as the case of twelve-year-old Tempest Smith who was driven to suicide after relentless bullying from her 'Christian' classmates, and another twelve-year-old girl who was stoned by the congregation of a Baptist church as she passed by.

In general, I don't feel that the disgusting behaviour of such bigots is representative of Christianity - I'm sure that the large majority of those who follow a religion based on peace, love and forgiveness would think that stoning a child in the street is abominable. As such, as I think I have mentioned before, I hesitate to refer to those who propagate such sickening acts as 'Christian', because I strongly feel that there's more to being a 'good' Christian than simply standing in a church once a week.

Views like those of the writers at Jesus Is Savior are likely to be just as offensive to Christian Goths than the Wiccans and Satanists whose beliefs are attacked therein, because statements like, "Goths are all obsessed with death and despair, with terror and violence, and most Goths use drugs as a form of everyday life," undermine the values and faith of those who consider themselves both Goth and Christian.

The above quote was taken from an article on Jesus Is Savior, entitled Goth Will Destroy Your Child, by David J. Stewart. Here, for your amusement and daily face-palming workout, may I present a few more highlights from this article:

"Goth is a deplorable type of heathen culture that glorifies everything that is vile and unholy. The dictionary defines "Goth" as: A crude uncouth ill-bred person lacking culture or refinement. This pretty much sums up the Goth culture today. Goth glorifies things that are sick, nasty, improper, freakish, and downright demonic. Goth is NOT just the music. In fact, not all Goths listen to Goth music."
"The term "Goth" refers to all categories of Gothics, from Emo 'Goths' to black metal 'Goths' to vampire 'Goths; from thrasher 'Goths' to punk 'Goths' to industrial 'Goths.' "Goth" is just a word the media uses to group a certain type of people together. The Goth culture includes Emos/ punks/ Wiccan witches/ self-abusers/ thrashers/ grungers/ heavy metallers, et cetera. This includes the Marilyn Manson, AC/DC, Smashing Pumpkins, Van Halen and Ozzy Osbourne crowd as well." EVERYBODY IS A GOTH!!!
"Goth causes teenage girls to become whores, depresses kids to the point of cutting themselves, and turns otherwise normal kids into Columbine shooters. The Goth culture is obsessed with death and the darker side of life, which is clearly evidenced in Goth music. Goth is of the Devil. Goth in itself is a mental illness, a sickness of the soul, mainly affecting teenagers in the same way as schizophrenia would, although to a greater extent. Its symptoms range from isolation and negativity to aggression and hate for humanity, depression, violent outbursts, low self esteem, self-loathing, self-harming and suicide. Many Goths turn to a life of crime to feed their addiction to drugs, sadism, violence and perversion."
"Goth deliberately crosses all the lines of proper dress, manners, refinement, and decency. Goth picks up where Rock 'n' Roll leaves off, offering a course in advanced rebellion, sexual immorality, and Satan worship. The Goth crowd is truly living at the bottom of the barrel of life, right where Satan wants them."

Sadly, whether this is a genuine site or not (and I am told that apparently the author of the article runs a ministry) the fact that articles like these abound on the internet does nothing to help Christian Goths to be accepted by their fellow churchgoers.

"‘It’s just sad the modern church is keeping within it’s boundaries,’ adds Billie. ‘Jesus went specifically to the outcasts in society, in this day and age, that doesn’t seem to happen.’ While Christian gatherings specifically for alternative people are one answer, neither thinks this is a reason for the ordinary church to turn their backs. There is a universal call for the Church as a whole to be less condemnatory and more inclusive. In Ash’s view this is something that Goths often get right and Christians do not. ‘It’s about inclusiveness. A Goth will sit down and talk to you, find out where you’re coming from.’ She has had no problems with her non-Christian Goth friends accepting her faith, but lots of problems from the church accepting the way they look. Marcus thinks it is essential that people get over the issue of what people look like. ‘The big problem, and challenge, is to try not to be judgmental about the way somebody dresses. You have to see what is good in them, not try to change them, but make them realise that Jesus is alongside them. They’ll find God on their own terms.'" - from Spirituality and Goths, Christiangoth.com.

Lolita fashion is not about paedophilia!

2012-02-16T09:41:00.000Z

Apologies for my absence yesterday... the lovely boyfriend shared his sickness bug with me and I was sadly bedridden... ugh. :-/

SmashedDoll brought to my attention the following petition regarding the poster for a documentary due out this year, entitled Are All Men Pedophiles?, which features a young girl with a 'teasing' expression, clad in Lolita fashions.

Unfortunately the name Lolita and the associated childlike elements in Lolita fashion have often led to misunderstandings between aficionados of this Japanese street fashion and those in Western society who assume that this Rococo-inspired frilly fashion is intended to be sexual, largely due to the book Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov. As the book pre-dates the Lolita fashion and community, the title clearly does not refer to what we generally think of as 'Lolitas' but simply to the nickname of a character in the book.

The book is about a less-than-appealing subject matter; paedophilia, to be precise. I did once try reading it as it is considered to be a classic, but it made my skin crawl and I didn't get halfway through. Since the publication of the novel, the word 'Lolita' has become commonplace to describe sexually precocious young girls, which strikes me as ironic since the fashion of the same name has enormous focus on modesty and decorum.

Holly Reynolds, organizer of Lolita fashion shows and proud Lolita herself, says, "There’s been a lot of disputes with where [the name] came from, but usually people think the Japanese just took the word as an association with being youthful and not really how it’s interpreted in Western society."

Such misunderstandings about Lolita fashion and those who wear it are unlikely to be helped much by the Are All Men Pedophiles? poster. Isa Baca has created a petition at Change.org to ask for the removal of the misleading poster and an apology from the movie's director, Jan-Willem Breure, and the production company, JW Productions.

The offending poster

She says, "The community has been fighting really hard to make people understand that, no matter the personal idea of what Lolita is (a fashion, a lifestyle, an aesthetics), it is NOT about sexualising women, but completely the opposite, it is about women feeling comfortable with themselves in clothes that make them feel pretty and that do not relate with attracting men. Moreover, Lolita is not about ageplay. It does not try to make young women look like little girls, hence it's not focused on attracting pedophiles. It might make the girls look a bit childish depending on the style, but that is not the point for a lolita.

"With the promotional poster in which a girl is shown wearing Lolita clothes, her expression being overtly provocative and teasing, the productor and director are causing a massive harm to the Lolita community, leading people who does not know the movement to think that it's about sex and ruining the hard work that thousands of girls have done during years. Due to this, we ask for the removal of the poster plus a formal apology from both of them."

Comments on the petition include the following:

Agnes Lopez: "Do you have any idea what harm this would do to a wonderful street fashion (and to the MEN who are married or dating women who wear lolita) if it continues to circulate? My husband is not a pedophile, when we married I didn't even wear lolita; I would like to see this apology through, because I have no idea what my friends now think of HIM. "

Amy Brewster-Cotell: "Paedophiles are attracted to prepubescent children, not grown women in flouncy dresses! What a ridiculous and offensive idea to be propagating, this poster can only spread misunderstanding and reflects very badly on your documentary."

Please click here to sign the petition.

Vampire's Day Soiree: Top ten vampire romances

2012-02-14T11:18:00.000Z

I am one of the many, many bloggers taking part in Holly's Horrorland Vampire's Day Soiree today! First of all I'd like to wish everyone a happy Valentine's day, and hope you have a little better luck than me (the boyfriend is sick, so it'll be takeaway tonight rather than the date we were planning XP). Anyhoo, the Vampire's Day Soiree is an alternative Valentine's Day event for us bloggers, and you don't win any prizes for guessing the theme...

For my vamp-themed V-day post, I'm going to cover vampire romances (of course!), specifically ten vampire or vampire/human couples from the world of fiction (movies, TV and books) whose stories I could recommend sinking your fangs into... yup, cliches galore...

Eve Rosser and Michael Glass (The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine). Goth girl meets ghost-turned-vampire hottie musician. I personally love the Morganville series; yes, they are a bit cheesy but I'm a self-confessed Rachel Caine addict and it's impressive when a young adult vampire series can keep going for so many volumes without losing any of its pace or sparkle.
Sookie Stackhouse and Bill Compton (True Blood by Charlaine Harris). My friends and I are all addicted to the TV series of True Blood, but I really enjoy the books just as much, if not more. The course of love certainly does not run smooth for Sookie and Bill (and ends in disaster, in fact...) but as the telepathic-waitress/brooding vampire relationship is the catalyst that, essentially, sparks all the action that is to follow, it deserves a mention.
Buffy Summers and Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Old, yes, but Buffy won the hearts of teenagers of my generation everywhere and still remains my favourite slice of comfort TV. Angel, despite not being my favourite vampire bloke from the show (Spike, your black nail varnish and sexy cheekbones clinched it for me), provided a conveniently broad-shouldered, leather-jacketed portion of angst. Who didn't shed a tear when Buffy had to send her 'one troo wuv' to the depths of hell?
Selene and Michael (Underworld). Ice queen vampire Selene meets her match in the human Michael when she discovers him being tracked by her kind's sworn enemies, the lycans. Of course, Michael becomes a lycan-vampire hybrid by the end of the movie, which makes their forbidden relationship a touch complicated.
Kerry and Ethan (Companions of the Night by Vivian Vande Velde). Sixteen-year-old girl meets handsome vampire stranger at the laundromat. As you do.
Count Dracula and Mina Harker (Bram Stoker's Dracula). Another film remake of the quintessential vampire tome, Gary Oldman's Dracula proves irresistable to the swooning Mina. And there was me expecting the ending to match that of the book. Silly me...
Etienne Argeneau and Rachel Garnett (Love Bites: Argeneau Vampires by Lynsay Sands). Incidentally, this book was a present from the boyfriend. Cute vampire fluff, played for laughs not thrills and chills, and none the worse for it. Etienne is the hapless but hunky vampire looking for a soulmate, Rachel the confused vampire fledgling in his care.
Raven and Alexander (Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber). On the subject of fluff, another Goth-girl-meets-gorgeous-vampire romance series. Not for the serious-minded but great fun for younger Goths and packed with band-name-dropping and black lipstick.
Effie and Alucard (the Brenda series by Paul Magrs). A VERY unconventional relationship from the master of offbeat black comedy. Effie, an old lady living in Whitby, is besotted with the slightly sinister Kristoff Alucard, who prefers a nice warm jugular to a cup of tea.
Drusilla and Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Probably the vampire couple that most appealed young Gothy fans of Buffy; the dark and deranged Drusilla had her perfect counterpart in bad boy Spike...

Now come along to Holly's Horrorland to meet the other bloggers participating in this soiree...

Dru and Spike <3

The Schwarze Szene: Goth without limits

2012-02-12T17:04:00.001Z

A lot of you have been worried that I am changing the name of the site because I feel under pressure to not call myself a Goth. Well, I can promise that that is not at all the reason for the change. Yes, a name like the Ultimate Goth Guide received its fair share of outrage, not surprisingly, but I'm not assuming that changing the name of the site will change people's opinions on what I have to say!

As I stated in my previous post, On Self-Identifying As A Goth, there have always been and always will be debates ranging from the intriguing to the increasingly petty on what, precisely, can be considered 'Goth'. In my younger years, around the age of sixteen or so, I spent a lot of time trying to make myself into the 'perfect Goth', and it's only over the last couple of years or so that I decided that I was going to experiment more and stop sticking so closely to 'the rules' regarding music and fashion. This led to the discovery of a whole range of 'dark alternative' fashion styles and music genres that I was interested in and felt inspired by; such a mix of influences can be accepted and appreciated by some who consider themselves Goths (i.e. you guys, most of whom I have noticed from reading your blogs and bios have an equally versatile, mix-and-match approach to music and personal aesthetic), but not all.

Which is fair enough, because when one is devoted to such a melting pot of inspirations and influences, it does push the boundaries of 'Goth culture' if you consider the original, literal, and admittedly quite narrow, definition of 'Goth' itself.

But what options does this leave someone who feels a strong appreciation for Goth music, its related culture and aesthetic? Stop experimenting and delighting in other areas of dark and alternative culture in order to better fit an adopted label? Continue exactly as you are and take flak from elitists on all sides? The second option sounds preferable to me as I am not in favour of adapting your personality to fit a social label, but in the end I find it leads to disillusionment with Goth culture and the community therein. You start to wonder what is the point of belonging to a supposedly non-conformist, alternative subculture when you feel attacked for having your own tastes and ideas.

In the end, thanks once again to Darling Violetta, I believe I have found a suitable direction, both for myself and for this blog. It's called the Schwarze Szene.

Source: Wikipedia

Schwarze Szene translates roughly to 'black scene' or 'dark culture', which has been used as a bit of a catch-all term by Goths and other alternative types for a while to refer to something that is often enjoyed by Goths without fitting neatly into the Goth bracket itself. For example, music genres like Neofolk, Industrial, Darkwave, and dark electronic types of music would come under this umbrella term. The Schwarze Szene as a movement, I learned, has been around since the 1990s, when it developed in Germany "as a way of describing several different dark musical genres and lifestyles. It is not a genre in itself nor a club with set rules and boundaries but rather a term that defines several different styles. The underlying unifying thread within this movement was an interest in dark, alternative culture." (From Dominion Magazine.)

Dominion Magazine, who describe themselves as a Schwarze Szene publication, have the following to say about the movement, "There are a number of other excellent reasons to look outside this narrow definition [Goth]. Many of the bands most people would associate with goth have never identified as such, most of those 'seminal goth acts' predate the existence of the term (the etymology of which is itself disputed) and some artists, for example The Sisters of Mercy, go to lengths to distance themselves from being included under the goth umbrella.

"Goth doesn't adequately describe the music that people within the UK's Schwarze Szene are listening to, or the shows they are attending, or the music that is being played in the clubs and festivals. With Deviant UK, Devilish Presley, Faderhead, Gene Loves Jezebel, Luxury Stranger, Zombina & the Skeletones, Pro-Jekt and Zeitgeist Zero, the line-up of York's DV8 festival in 2010 contained some goth artists, yet the mixture of acts was decidedly in keeping with Schwarze Szene. The central message behind Dominion's identity as a Schwarze Szene publication is a positive message of unity."

I cannot explain how excited and delighted I was when I read Violetta's post (I highly recommend you read it too!). The Schwarze Szene sounds like exactly what I have been looking for since I realised that my love for the dark, Gothic aesthetic and culture extends beyond the actual definition of Goth. I am thrilled that there is a dark alternative movement that, in theory, should be able to transcend elitism and genre boundaries; allowing people into any and all of these subgenres and sub-sub-genres to explore and enjoy whatever they so choose without, as Violetta puts it succinctly, "the pains and internal struggle of the "not-a-Goth" syndrome."

I reiterate that I still feel comfortable to self-identify as a Goth, for ease of explaining my tastes and preferences to those not entirely clued-up on the ins, outs and social politics of alternative subcultures and because of my undying fondness for the label and all it covers. But I am utterly enamoured of the wider-reaching, boundary-free Schwarze Szene and look forward to exploring it further. I am glad that there are others out there who feel that their interests should take priority over the label they fall under and that the creativity and passion so many of us feel in relation to dark culture has led to the development of such a movement.

It's a fine line between being serious about your dark aesthetic and lifestyle and taking it too seriously. A movement like the Schwarze Szene provides those of us who don't want to argue about what is and isn't 'Goth enough' room for freedom of expression without having to compromise on our 'Gothiness', give up, and become 'normal'. Sounds pretty much perfect to me - I hope this will strike a chord with some of you as it did with me.

On self-identifying as a Goth (and blog title changes)

2012-02-11T17:37:00.003Z

Hey! You changed your blog name...

I have indeed! I've changed the title from 'The Ultimate Goth Guide' to 'Stripy Tights and Dark Delights' (although this may be subject to change in the near future, I have changed it three times today already), because after giving it some thought over the last couple of weeks I've concluded that this is not, strictly speaking, a 'Goth blog'.

Voltaire says, "Goth is what you make it." Jillian Venters says that her usual answer to the question 'is music or fashion more important when it comes to being a Goth?' is "fashion [...] it takes dedication to bring your closet over to the dark side." But assorted folks have argued that Goth is ultimately a music-driven subculture, a view that on the whole I tend to agree with.

Unfortunately, the debate does not end there. What is Goth music? The obvious answers - The Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Cure - have been denied over and over by the musicians themselves. 'Goth music' is often used as an umbrella term for other genres including Industrial, synthpop, darkwave, deathrock and post-punk, and people will, and do, spend hours arguing (usually on the internet) about whether or not this is accurate. Add Gothic metal into the debate and things get even worse. So even when we manage to agree that it's a music-based subculture, we can't agree precisely what that music is.

If the term 'Goth music', when used properly, refers to trad Goth and Gothic rock alone, is knowledge and appreciation of some of this music enough? You might think so, but there are some who firmly feel that 'you must listen to THIS MUCH Bauhaus to be a 'real goth'.' Or that owning a My Chemical Romance album automatically cancels out the rest of your Goth cred, despite the fact that nowadays you can often hear the strains of My Chem, Evanescence or even, yes, Marilyn Manson in Goth clubs up and down the UK alone.

For every group of people who look at their subculture of choice as versatile, dependent on their own tastes, preferences and opinions, and that the 'rules' of said subculture are (like the Pirate Code) more guidelines than rules, there are those who hold that being part of a subculture means fulfilling a certain criteria (dressing a certain way, listening to certain music) and then sticking more-or-less rigidly to those boundaries.

By which criteria, this is not a Goth blog, because it covers cyber, Industrial, steampunk, some metal and Lolita, as well as a wide range of things that would come under the vague, far-reaching label of 'dark alternative'. I previously referred to this in the header of the blog, "Everything about Goth and dark culture," and have simply made it a bit more obvious that this blog covers more subjects than those which can be considered arguably, even undeniably, Goth.

There is another, slightly more petty reason why after using the Ultimate Goth Guide moniker since the age of sixteen, I felt I wanted to change it. When people offline ask, "What's your blog called?" I have started to feel a bit of a twonk saying, "Um... the Ultimate Goth Guide." I have learned that blog titles that are thought up as a sixteen-year-old pretentious young Gothling on Piczo are perhaps not as appropriate for a supposedly-more-experienced twenty-something, no matter how tongue-in-cheek and ironic you think you are being!

I have not changed my URL or e-mail address because frankly I think it's somewhat discourteous when people are linking to you.

So are you a Goth or not then?

That depends very much on your perspective! I had been thinking lately about whether or not to continue self-identifying as a Goth since by some people's criteria the label might not be strictly accurate. This dilemma was summed up very nicely by a couple of comments on my recent post, The Gothic Metal Debate.

Cassandra said, "After much soul-searching, it is debates like this that have made me decide not to self-identify as goth. That actually won't change much of anything for me. I'll continue wearing my black-lace-coated outfits, wearing theatrical makeup any hour of the day I please, listening to whatever music I please, reading delightful goth blogs like this one [thank you!], signing my e-mails "sanguis fluit," and generally indulging my penchant for "The Dark Side."

"I just feel like if I start calling myself goth, I'm going to get into a senseless argument with someone (probably multiple people) eventually, and it's just not worth it to me. If someone else identifies me as goth, I probably won't argue with them. If someone else tries to tell me I'm not goth, I don't feel the need to defend anything I'm doing aesthetically to anyone. Now that I think about it, this is kind of a liberating decision. I was kind of sad about it up until now."

Darling Violetta responded, "I agree with this 100%! People want to classify something that, as far as I can tell, was very much an organic thing. From what I can tell there weren't any rules on what is and isn't goth back then. Actually (from what I read and have heard from people who where there) people back then didn't call themselves goth. Someone else (i.e. the media) did and many back then rejected the term because it was the media's attempt at confining a very much amorphic movement.

Where I live people aren't concerned about what is or isn't goth. You do what you like and happen to find others who share your interests. It just happens that what we all have in common is a common draw to a particular aesthetic that shows up in many of our interests (i.e. fashion, literature, music, movies). Sure, we may like similar bands. But, the only thing connecting these bands would be the aesthetic not the genre classification. Honestly, as much as we argue online about what is or isn't goth it doesn't change anything in real life. People will still dress in their black clad finery, listen to bands like Mandragora Scream, Blutengel, and Deathstars regardless if someone thinks they're goth or not, and hang out with others who do the same. To all of you out there who don't fit the traditional more narrow defintion of Goth there's a whole group of wonderfully dark and whimsical people who couldn't care less. Where do you think the Schwarze Szene came from? ;)

Cassandra, you're not alone in your decision. Really, most people I know don't consider themselves Goths. Yet, are the delightful ookie spooky people I know them to be. I feel that's the point of it all, really. Defining Goth isn't as important as it is to define yourself. :)"

Unlike Cassandra, I have decided to continue referring to myself as a Goth, as a useful way of describing a large proportion of my interests and the like-minded community that I am a part of both on and offline. Ultimately my interests and passions are more important to me than what label people choose to put on them. At the end of the day, the fashion and music that I love, Goth and otherwise, give me pleasure and I have no intention to put limits on what I will and won't enjoy in order to fit someone else's Goth policies. If that makes me 'not a Goth' in some people's eyes then so be it.

Very special thanks to Darling Violetta for summing this up so beautifully.

What does this mean for the future of this blog?

Um... not very much, really. These small changes are simply so that I can continue writing what I enjoy without having to quibble over whether it's 'Goth' or not. The content will stay pretty much the same; I can't think of any radical changes that will be occuring, although I intend to edit my 'What is Goth?' and 'Site Policies' pages to avoid causing any confusion.

I'm really very excited about the new title, because I now feel I can continue to cover a broad range of topics without making anyone uncomfortable. :-)

Same stuff, more accurate title, really. Worry not. ;-)

February linksplosion: a dark Valentine

2012-02-10T16:49:00.000Z

Scarlet's Remains

Themed linksplosion! But firstly, before we get onto the V-day gifts I'd be drooling over (hint hint ;-)), I've got a massive backlog of amazing posts in my favourites at the moment. Everyone on Blogger has been outdoing themselves lately! So here goes... my seven favourite blog posts this month!

Sabarae has a great series on her blog The Fairly Odd Maiden, entitled Stereotypically Gawth!. One of her recent posts in this series covered the topic of Dressing Down, and I'm sure it will strike a chord with many of you as it did with me.
akumaxkami does not pull her punches, and I had a bit of a guilty laugh at her compilation of the web's Worst Goth Make-Up Tutorials. Ever. Although I will never stop having a soft spot for green lipstick and am still hunting for the perfect emerald shade. >.<
Dani DeathBiscuit's brand new blog Confessions of an Australian Goth boasts this most excellent post about Tips for Babybats. I laughed and cringed in turn as I spotted a few oopses I've been guilty of myself... oh, and a wild ME appears in there somewhere too. ;-)
Cody kicks ass. You may remember that in a recent post I was flailing about wondering what to do with the purple harem pants I bought on a whim. Well, Cody has the answers, in her latest post, aptly entitled, Make it Work - Harem Pants.
Boots raises a snarky eyebrow at the sudden obsession, both alternative and mainstream, with the Alice in Wonderland trend, in her post Alice in Wonderland vs. The Alternatives.
I have been reading through the archives of The Everyday Goth, my latest blog addiction, and was thoroughly delighted by this lovely post: Must Have: 25 Things A Goth Needs. Warm, very accurate, and packed to the brim with helpful advice!
The Official Blog of Illamasqua has a fabulous make-up tutorial showing readers and make-up addicts how to create a striking dark look using their Sophie-I collection, proceeds from which help support the Sophie Lancaster Foundation.

Now, here are my ten Etsy picks for the month, on the theme of A Dark Valentine. I hear that my Valentine's gift has already been picked out, so I may treat myself to some of these little beauties. ;-)

Necrosarium brings us this beautiful Gothic Rosarium ring. Utterly stunning! In fact, anything from the Necrosarium shop would make a lovely Valentine's gift for the Gothically-inclined girl - you're welcome for the heads-up, Gothy guys. ;-)
Ironically, considering Boots's above-linked post, I'm fond of this Queen of Hearts Drink Me necklace by EsaNany.
Nothing says romance like a bangle hand-stamped with lyrics from The Cure, especially when the lyric happens to be, "However far away, I will always love you," from, you guessed it, Lovesong. Such a gift is available from Lolasjewels.
This gorgeous Til Death Cameo Necklace from VonErickson is sure to melt even the coldest of black hearts.
Creepy girls or morbid gents could be equally charmed by this darkly witty 'I Dig You The Most' shovel necklace from SKAIOR.
Treat your zombie Valentine to this cute alternative card from Agorables. Who says romance is dead?
Long-distance relationship? Send your loved one this charming 'Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder' locket for a Victoriana Valentine from LunarraStar.
Zen and Coffee's designs are always the prettiest! For Valentine's Day I'd wear these elegant Carmilla's Masque glovelets.
What about a lovely Skulls and Kisses Valentine's set from Dem Bones? Skull-shaped sugar cubes and chocolate kisses, perfect if your loved one likes nothing more than a cup of tea and a chocolatey snack (heaven...).
No Valentine? No problem. Treat yourself to a little TLC and buy yourself an astonishing headpiece from Bubbles and Frown. (The word you're looking for is 'whoa!')

Lastly, twelve inspiring outfits! Slightly easier to source this month, as I now have a Tumblr account, which gives me a great online scrapbook where I can reblog pretty and wonderful things and come back to them at a later date...

I love most outfits incorporating white, a very big tip of the top hat to this beautiful lady for adding stripes and a deathhawk as well. (Reblogged from Goth Underground.)
On the topic of stripes, Joji Grey of Stars In the Gutter looks amazing as usual in this outfit. (Reblogged from Stars in the Gutter, of course.)
The perfect use of pink! Becky Zombified has many lovely outfits but I like this one the best for the pink lipstick and the adorable ribcage necklace. (Reblogged from Becky Zombified.)
SpookyBat looks incredible in a casual outfit. I am especially loving the hair. (Reblogged from Journey of a BabyBat.)
Chun-Zi is one of my latest style crushes. As well as being intolerably gorgeous and having fantastic hair, the woman knows how to dress. (Reblogged from Journey of a BabyBat.)
I would happily buy and wear this entire outfit, right down to the ripped stockings. (Reblogged from Style Vomit.)
At the other end of the scale, I love the design on this extremely elegant Moitie dress. (Reblogged from A Mortuary of Melancholy.)
This is a very simple but elegant outfit; I love the corset (I believe it's from Louise Black?) and her hair is beautiful too. (Reblogged from Dead Girls Have More Fun.)
This skirt from Rose Mortem? So. Much. Want. (Reblogged from Adventures in a Clockwork World.)
Some unbelieveably epic hair and make-up going on in this photo. (Reblogged from Becky Zombified.)
Melora Creager of Rasputina pulls off a grungy look. (Reblogged from Lace Wrapped Wounds.)
I love the blue-haired girl's tight-wrapped boots and the gentleman rocking his shiny pants (and stripes, again) in this photo. (Reblogged from Goth Underground.)

Styles of Goth fashion: grunge Goth

2012-02-09T09:42:00.001Z

(As requested by a reader on Twitter.)

At first glance, grunge and Goth may not always seem the likeliest of bedfellows, particularly if your only previous exposure to this brand of alternative rock has been bedraggled mallgoths in Nirvana T-shirts. The low-maintenance, typically-unkempt appearance of grunge bands and performers does not automatically sit alongside the image hyper-groomed, swirly-eyelinered Victorian and romantic Goths with every inch of spare skin decorated in lace and make-up.

But those of you who have seen younger Goths clad in Nirvana merchandise may well understand how newbies often make the connection between Goth and grunge - grunge music incorporates influences from both punk and metal, and typically features lyrics riddled with angst, alienation and disillusionment. On music forums, more than a few Goths have noted that they enjoy listening to 'classic' grunge bands, such as Pearl Jam, Soundgarden (who were, notably, inspired by British post-punk bands such as, you guessed it, Bauhaus), Alice In Chains and Mudhoney.

Source: We Heart It via DeadlyArt

The fashion crossover between Goth and grunge is most often seen amongst younger Goths, although some Goth females continue to be inspired by the likes of Courtney Love into their twenties and beyond. Grunge fashion for all genders primarily consisted of durable fabrics and thrift store clothing combined with a general attitude of throwing on the nearest thing that smelt clean and didn't have too many holes in - that is, function over form. Not an attitude taken by many in the Goth scene, but for those of a practical bent who prefer to jump up and down at sweaty punk and deathrock gigs rather than ponce about taking artsy photos in graveyards. In many ways reminiscent of punk ethics and an emphasis on music over fashion.

Some elements of grunge fashion adopted by grunge Goths include:

layers of clothing, often baggy, and in the case of Goths with a (very) strong tendency towards black. Goths are more likely to add deliberate rips and accessories like fishnets and safety-pins as an indicator of their musical roots.
ripped denim, again usually black for the Gothically-inclined, possibly with added patches.
vintage-y tea dresses, possibly floral, often torn and usually worn with shredded tights and combat boots.
baggy cardigans, probably with holes in.
Doc Martens, army surplus boots or steel-toed work boots.

Men's style usually ranges more towards the casual, with layers of baggy, worn clothing and untidy long hair, possibly accessorised with a couple of badges, patches or pins. Ladies are more likely to up the ante on glamour with smudged black eye make-up and perhaps a slash of red lipstick.

Courtney Love
Source: Google

Music associated with this style includes grunge (obviously), punk, trad-goth and post-punk; Bauhaus, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Joy Division, Scarehead, Lydia Lunch, The Stranglers, Iggy Pop, Nico, Patchwork Grace, Hole.

TrashBat Romance

2012-02-08T11:25:00.001Z

Trashbat: creative, artistic, shows disdain for material wealth and has a distinct DIY ethic, semi-noctural, hooked on coffee, booze and cigarettes. Likely to show a marked preference for the colour black.

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a story of art and tragic love! Raven and Bats, known collectively as the Trashbats, found each other online, but Raven lives on the east coast of the USA and Bats on the west coast. Due to their starving-artist lifestyles, the lovelorn pair have been unable to raise enough cash to meet in person.

Raven is an artist, has a book in the offing, and an occasional DJ. Her Etsy store, Dreadful Things by Raven, contains such dreadful delights as jewellery, coffin boxes, taxidermy art and a greetings card range for those whose tastes run to the morbid and macabre.

Bats is also a writer, artist and DJ, as well as being a musician and alternative model. You can check out his modelling portfolio on ModelMayhem here, his music here, and his writing here.

The Trashbats have come up with a plan to raise the money and get together by starting their own independent T-shirt line (you can guess what it'll be called, surely), ALL proceeds from which will go towards meeting each other.

There is also a possible plan in the offing to film their own reality show, described by them as a way to "show the world [their] Goth perspective on art, romance and lifestyle."

To, well, kickstart their fundraising, with the hope of purchasing a website and starting to print their T-shirt designs in three different colours, Bats and Raven have put their project up on Kickstarter so that like-minded, big-hearted individuals can pledge money to help them get the Trashbats line off the ground. As you may know, with Kickstarter the basis is all or nothing, and if they don't raise $999 by February 19th, they won't get any of the cash that has been pledged so far.

Another thing about Kickstarter is that you don't give money for nothing. Depending on the amount you pledge, you could be looking at a Trashbat sticker, postcard or T-shirt (maybe even personalised by the Trashbats themselves), or even a piece of art created just for you by one of the Trashbats. (Even if you don't intend to donate, it's worth visiting the project on Kickstarter to read the pair's description of 'the incurable Trashbat syndrome' *adds 'death rattle' to vocabulary of Goth slang*.)

If you are interested in helping a pair of starcrossed Goth lovers achieve their goals, the minimum pledge is only $1 - but there's only eleven days to go!

Best of luck and best wishes to Bats and Raven.

It's a Goth life: wardrobe woes

2012-02-07T18:50:00.000Z

You may remember that I have been trying to clear out the unwanted, unworn garments from my wardrobe for, oh, must be approaching a year now! During this time, I have been flailing around trying to work out how I would prefer my style to develop, and it has been like my babybat years all over again.

I have been buying items willy-nilly and then not wearing them, because they don't look right, don't suit me, or in some cases don't even fit. I have tried 'experimental' outfits which I have thought were awesome for about two days and then have been highly embarrassed about afterwards - which is OK if you're experiencing such sartorial schizophrenia in the privacy of your own home, but not so great if, like me, you've been posting these outfits on the web in your initial rush of enthusiasm.

As such, I have a few words to say about three recent outfit posts of mine.

Harem pants.

I have been criticised up and down the internet for these pants, but bear in mind I am a bellydancer, so owning a pair of harem-stylee pantaloons (in a dark colour, natch) is hardly out of the question. However. I may be quite fond of these pants, but they were a) an impulse buy, b) not cheap, and c) will hardly go with anything in my wardrobe. I bought them in a fit of nostalgia for my hippie-loving, madly-boho early teens, which may have been a silly idea. I'm tempted to work out some tribal bellydance-inspired outfits for the warmer months or use them for lazing around the house so that purchasing them won't have been an entirely daft move. If worse comes to worst, I guess I have a new pair of pyjama bottoms. :-/

Heart leggings.

Upon reflection, this outfit wasn't as bad as I remembered it being (in my opinion anyways), but it needs a skirt, or some shorts, or something. I make no excuse for the leggings because I love heart-print anything, but I kind of look like I wasn't sure whether I was a Goth or trying to be a trendy teen. A black pleated skirt over the top would have made this more bearable.

Blouse of doom.

The make-up sucks and the blouse doesn't suit me. End of.

So. Rehashing past mistakes aside, why am I talking about this now? Because I just had a really horrendous experience that has motivated me beyond words to finally clear out my wardrobe, and replace the dross with nice Gothy things that are actually coordinated with each other and that I actually want to wear.

I put on a spider hair clip, stripey tights, an XS Punk skirt I've had for nearly six years, a baggy festival tee and an ankh pendant. This is a basic variation on a look I've enjoyed since I was about fifteen - and suddenly it shows. A twenty-year-old dressed in an outfit dreamed up by a fifteen-year-old Gothling? It doesn't work. Suddenly most of my clothes don't seem to look quite right on me any more - and certainly not in the coordinations that I'm used to! Pink tutus and baggy pants with straps on have gone from 'mallgothy but acceptable, as long as you can acknowledge that it's cheesy' to 'ohmigod what were you thinking'.

Aw bless.

No wonder it's been a struggle for me to find anything to wear other than skinny jeans and a band tee - I haven't cleared out properly since I was about seventeen or eighteen and a large proportion of my wardrobe was bought to suit a teenager who enjoyed revelling in Halloween cliches and cutesyness. Nowadays, cutesy just looks creepy on me - and not in a good way.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not bashing the stuff I wore during my teens, at the time I felt great and it probably looked a lot better on me then than it does now. But my pile of clothes I actually wear has been reduced to a handful of items, and I need to come up with some sort of solution and a more co-ordinated wardrobe (in my mid-teens I used to like experimenting with different styles of Goth; deathrock-ish one day, cyber-inspired the next. Now, I'd like to be able to get dressed for work without thinking about it too much, which means that I need a pulled-together style and a wardrobe in which everything goes with everything else - or near enough).

I came online to re-read my Morbid Fashion ebook (clearly I'm going to need some pointers on grown-up Goth style), vent my horror at my entire wardrobe suddenly looking as though it belongs on someone five years younger (ouch), and most importantly get some inspiration for what sort of style I want to achieve now that pom-pom spider earrings and sparkly tutus aren't cutting it. Wish me luck!

Goth bands with female vocalists

2012-02-07T11:05:00.001Z

I had an e-mail from Emily Marie, who said, "Could you maybe make a post sometime about specifically female Goth singers and bands? I'm kinda looking for new music to listen to from artists other than Amanda Palmer and (eep!) Emilie Autumn, and I love a good female voice."

Let's start with the classics! I've linked to some videos on YouTube for some of the bands I particularly enjoy and would recommend, so if you have a bit of free time, get clicking. :-)

Lydia Lunch
Danielle Dax
Siouxsie Sioux (Siouxsie and the Banshees)
Skeletal Family / Ghost Dance / Anne-Marie Hurst

OK, so those are fairly obvious. I also highly recommend the following bands:

Lucyfix
Autumn (the Goth rock band, not the Gothic metal group)
Rita Lynch
Scary Bitches
Qntal
Alice Moving Under Skies
Diva Destruction
Switchblade Symphony
Sopor Aeturnus & the Ensemble of Shadows
Zeitgeist Zero
RazorBladeKisses
Lesbian Bed Death
Inkubus Sukkubus
The Eden House
Devilish Presley
All About Eve
Cauda Pavonis
Faith and the Muse
Antiworld
Two Witches
Sunshine Blind

Sue Hutton, Rhea's Obsession
Source: Last.fm

The following bands may not, strictly speaking, be considered 'Goth', depending on how purist your outlook is, but they are generally associated with the 'dark alternative' scenes (like the artists Emily Marie mentioned in her e-mail), ranging from Industrial and electronic, to darkwave, to alternative rock to dark cabaret.

Unter Null
The Birthday Massacre
I:Scintilla
Rasputina
L'Ame Immortelle
The Divine Madness
TyLean
Hannah Fury
Ayria
Chiasm
Purple Fog Side
Angelspit (male and female vocals)
Ego Likeness
Lahannya
RESIST
Sarah June
Zola Jesus
Esben and the Witch
Darling Violetta (responsible for the Angel theme tune, just FYI)
Jakalope
Collide
Rhea's Obsession
Leandra

This is by no means a complete list, just something for you to get your teeth into for a while. Readers, which female-fronted bands would you recommend to Emily Marie?

Goth make-up and the natural look

2012-02-06T19:05:00.000Z

This is a post that I promised a long time ago and am finally getting around to writing! I have noticed from my time spent lurking on forums and one or two concerned e-mails and comments I receive that often a concern amongst younger Goths and those new to the scene is something along the lines of, "I'm not comfortable wearing heavy make-up, does this mean I can't be a 'real Goth'?"

Of course it doesn't! Whilst quite a few Goths (for example Jillian Venters, Lady Lovescraft and Sophistique Noir) wear make-up from day-to-day, you may notice that such make-up looks, though skilfully applied, are not always as dramatic as the everyday make-up of, say, Joji Grey or Adora BatBrat. I would expect that very few people have the inclination, time or skill to apply such beautifully elaborate make-up every single day, although I'm sure I'm not the only one who wishes I could.

Most of us who wear make-up have a fallback 'basic everyday' look, which, if I may generalise, often consists of black eyeliner, a dark eyeshadow, black mascara and probably a hint of eyebrow pencil (a lighter eyeshadow is also sometimes used for shading, to add interest), possibly with red, brown or purple lipstick for the ladies and black eyeliner for the gentlemen.

One of the useful things about heavy Goth make-up is that it can turn 'normal' features into striking dark beauty; heavy dark eye make-up, red lipstick and false eyelashes have that effect! Some of our favourite Goth models would be rendered almost unrecogniseable without their intense make-up looks.

Goth make-up tends to exaggerate and emphasise the features all at once, which can actually be quite daunting for the first-time wearer, because you may well look in the mirror and find you don't look like 'you' at all. This may be pleasing or unsettling depending on your mindset; the first time I wore really heavy make-up I was so unnerved I washed it all off again - now you won't catch me outdoors without a faceful.

Personally, after this experience I've been building up my 'tolerance' gradually; going from just eyeliner and mascara (when I was fifteen-sixteen) to dark shadow (and an unfortunate panda-eye phase around the seventeen-year mark), learning application skills as I go and plucking up the courage to wear heavier macquillage for clubbing and other events. Sometimes, however, it's refreshing to wear a lighter look and be able to recognise myself in shop windows!

However, there are some Goths who don't wear make-up at all (I know, shocking, isn't it...). Not everyone likes to wear make-up, for various reasons, and this doesn't mean that you are a 'poseur' or a 'fake Goth'. I spent most of my 'early Goth' years minus make-up, except concealer and mascara. You don't have to wear make-up or dye your hair to be a Goth! Sod the people who expect you to wear black lipstick and six inches of eyeliner at all times; we're not sheep, we don't all need to look the same.

What if you prefer to wear natural make-up, e.g. neutral eyeshadows, nude lipstick, and even *gasp* a bit of blush? Nope, this doesn't automatically make you a poseur either. The make-up associated with Lolita fashion is often subtle, understated and natural; it creates an elegant or girlish look, very suitable especially for Victorian and romantic styles. If your style is punkier or more casual, there's still nothing wrong with a soft natural look - it adds a hint of extra femininity to a punk-tinged or deathrock style and emphasises the low-maintenance attitude of a casual look too. (Here's an example of a fresh natural look that wouldn't look at all out of kilter with Goth style. And another...)

Kristina of steampunk band Abney Park.

So if you don't want to create yourself a starkly dramatic new face with false lashes and vampish lipstick, fear not - the natural look has its own place in the Goth scene, be it dolllike, ethereal, Victorian-maidenish or simply because you're a guy who has no interest in wearing eyeliner.

February Q&As - can you offer any advice?

2012-02-05T11:32:00.004Z

I received an e-mail from a lady named Jai, who had the following queries. With her permission I have posted them here to see if you guys can offer any further advice.

But first, have some Peter Murphy.

1. I am a goth of colour - I'm mixed race, black and white and was wondering if you had any advice on make up for me? Obviously I cannot do the white face thing and blues and other cold colours look dreadful on me. Just everyday make up and colours for someone with mixed skin?

The lovely Dismantlynn of Color Me Goth recently wrote me a guest post regarding beauty tips for Goths of colour, which you can find here.

The alt.gothic.fashion FAQ has some really helpful tips, particularly regarding colour ideas.

2. Next year I have a wedding to go to. I am hoping to get a Victorian inspired dress to wear for the occasion. Romantigoth type style. Can you recommend places I might look for such a garment? Second hand is fine.

Second-hand stores and charity shops can be iffy when it comes to anything Victoriana (with the notable exceptions of petticoats and hats). As someone who works in a charity shop, I can tell you that anything deemed to be 'too old-fashioned' is recycled as 'rag', which (unfortunately for an acquaintance of mine who is an aficionado of vintage pin-up style and scours charity shops for 1940s and 50s dresses), is where most vintage and 'retro' garments go when they are donated.

This does not rule out charity shops and the like for sourcing Victorian-inspired items; look out for high-collared blouses and long skirts to which you could add a bustle (either a tie-on bustle and bustle pad, available from indie designers on Etsy, or you could make your own following this tutorial (with thanks to Bloggery of a Gothcat, where I found this link)).

What about vintage stores? This is potentially tricky, as genuine Victorian items would of course not be cheap at a vintage shop, and a shop which only sells genuine vintage items is unlikely to sell Victorian-inspired or replica Victorian. That being said, many vintage stores in the UK at least do seem to sell brand-name Goth items when they come across them (usually not much cheaper than they would have been in the first instance, in my experience, but never mind) so for a romantic gown from a brand like Raven, Laughing Vampire or Sinister you might just get lucky (my personal favourite vintage store is Foxtrot). This is also a good place to look for parasols, fans, gloves (I have some vintage lace bridal gloves that I cherish, no pun intended) petticoats, corsets, veils, reticules, canes and other such accessories, although don't expect them to be cheap unless they are in poor condition.

Don't rule out local theatre hire companies and even fancy dress shops selling off ex-hire garments. Again, places like these often cling onto brand name Goth goodies, particularly of the romantic variety. Ex-period-drama-costumes and accessories may be made of lesser-quality fabrics so do look closely but you could just get a real bargain.

If you can afford to buy new, the number-one place for replica Victorian garments is of course Retroscope Fashions. I also recommend Fan Plus Friend

3. Can you tell me of any places online that specialize in customising accessories? Like patches, badges, funky bits of fabric etc.? I buy a lot of my clothes second hand in charity shops and add my own twist to them to make them unique and give them life. I live in the East Midlands in a small town that is shocking for most things including alternative people. Getting hold of simple things is a nightmare. We don't even have a haberdashery!

As someone who lives in a small town with no haberdashery to speak of (well, we have one but it only sells a limited selection of fabrics and about forty-two overpriced varieties of safety pin, and is run by an incredibly grumpy woman who is convinced I am a potential thief so I only go there for fabric paint, ribbon and lace trims), I feel your pain. :-/

I'm sure you would have already thought of this but the easiest way to make patches is to cut them from other clothes; e.g. if you see a T-shirt with a cool slogan or design you can make it into a back patch for a jacket or whatever, so as you attest, charity shop trawling is immensely useful. Painting your own designs onto plain fabric with fabric paint (obviously) is another simple way to create your own designs.

When travelling, especially anywhere on the English coastline for some reason, most gift shops sell an array of badges and there are usually some Goth-friendly bands or designs in amongst these. Of course alt shops sell patches and badges so even if you prefer not to wear brand name clothing from such stores it can be worth popping in to pick up spikes, studs and the occasional Alien Sex Fiend badge. I'm not sure if this is just in Hampshire, but my local library, of all places, stocks a range of Goth and punk-friendly badges, running the gamut from the Nightmare Before Christmas to the Clash to David Bowie to cute slogans ('Princess of Darkness').

For funky fabrics, I suggest shops like Claire's where you can pick up gloves and things for £1 or £2 in the sale, shred them beyond all recognition and use them to make something else. For all of the above, you can also try Etsy and eBay. There is a large range of patches on Etsy, but I notice that a lot of them have been made with designs from Urban Threads so you could always made your own if you feel so inclined.

There is of course Zazzle, which is handy because you can design your own badges if your preferred bands are slightly more obscure. Speaking of which, one of my greatest investments (for £2.50 from a charity shop) was a Badge It!.

Basic ideas on layering for style or warmth

2012-02-04T17:53:00.000Z

It's starting to snow outside so I thought there was no better time to do a post about layering clothes. :-) This was requested by a reader quite a while ago. This post covers very basic style ideas and not a little bit of common sense.

Wearing clothes in layers is useful for two reasons: a) you can stay toasty warm and b) you can look damn awesome. When I was a younger Goth it took me a long time to twig on to the fact that adding extra layers of detail to an outfit (even something as simple as a T-shirt over a striped long-sleeved top) can make all the difference between a casual, minimalistic outfit and a more complex, textured look. (You'd think it was fairly obvious, but I hadn't really a clue about fashion and make-up in my younger years and am still learning!)

When dressing for winter weather, we all know that the sensible thing to do is to pull on a thermal vest under our top (mine has a nice lacy trim that you can just see above V-necked tops; it's details like that that actually convinced me to wear a thermal layer in the first place, up until that point I had assumed they were all hideous contraptions in Spandex or something! >.< So shop around for a base layer that will keep you warm without looking daft, I don't know what I would have done without my thermals this winter...) and an extra pair of socks.
If you are into more Victorian or romantic styles (or don't want to give up pretty dresses even in the dead of winter), you might also find it useful to look for a silk chemise or slip as an insulating base layer to give you an extra layer of warmth. Try somewhere like Marks & Spencers.
Girls, if you have a fondness for longer-length tops and tunics, you can use a lace-trimmed petticoat or underskirt to make the item look like a dress.
Conversely, wearing a blouse over a dress gives your dress a new look.
Ripped jeans under dresses can also be a slightly grungy or punk-tinged look for cooler weather.
Lace bodies were all over the highstreet for a while - these are useful to add a layer of interest to a plain or casual outfit and relatively inexpensive to buy from stores like Primark.
A 'classic' Goth fashion tip for both sexes is to rip a hole in the crotch of some old tights and wear them on your arms as sleeves.
Other commonly-seen layers include stockings or over-the-knee socks over tights, fishnet gloves under a long-sleeved shirt, striped or lace tights worn under ripped jeans, ripped tights pulled over your boots, or just a mesh or fishnet shirt worn over or underneath a tank top or your favourite tee.
Historically-inclined outfits are the most obviously likely to include a lot of layers, from corset (worn on the outside, you harlot!) right down to petticoat and stockings (or waiscoat, shirt, and jacket for the gentlemen of course).

Johnny Slut (Specimen)
Layers. He has them.

Jackets, blazers, capes and shrugs - obvious but simple ways to layer up and keep warm.
As you have probably already gathered, tights, stockings, jeans and T-shirts are often ripped to allow the layers beneath to peek through. This is fine if your layers are for fashion alone, but if you're layering for warmth think twice before you start cutting holes in your new jeans. Fishnets are surprisingly insulating (I read in a fashion magazine that the holes trap heat, apparently) but I'm fairly sure this doesn't apply to everything with holes in; you may need more than a loose-knit jumper over your T-shirt to avoid pneumonia.

Sary at The Walrus Room also did a lovely and slightly more timely post about layers; she says, "The key is to try and mix and match textures while trying not to overwhelm the outfit." You can read her post (with some helpful advice about layering accessories) here.

Guest Post: Tips for planning the perfect Gothic wedding

2012-02-03T19:00:00.000Z

I'm Steff, author of the Gothic Wedding Planner e-book, and writer of the Gothic Wedding Blog, and I wanted to write a few tips and ideas to help you plan a beautiful and memorable gothic wedding, civil union or commitment ceremony. The wedding of two Goths is normally a decadent, fun and aesthetically stunning occasion. We Goths are fans of drama and romance, and what better way to express our dark and creative natures than at our weddings.

Victorian Reproduction Set from Romantic Threads
Available on Etsy here.

A wedding is both a celebration and a public reciting of your vows to one another. When planning your wedding, it's important first and foremost to ensure both of you are on the same page about what you want to do. Neither of you should feel like the importance of the ceremony is being lost amidst the planning process.

When thinking about wedding planning, most couples begin by deciding on a theme or a set of aesthetic ideas to create the look and feel for their wedding day. Sometimes a theme will be obvious based on your personalities – a Halloween costume party, a library-themed wedding, or a steampunk picnic. Sometimes, finding the perfect venue will determine the theme of the wedding – an old Edwardian manor house or an industrial gallery space will lend themselves to a certain set of aesthetics.

The other major component you should start thinking about from the very beginning is how many people you'd like to invite. Get lists of names from both sets of parents as soon as possible and write out a full-guest list. You need to know from the outset whether you're having 30 people or 230, as this makes a huge difference on the space you need, the catering costs, the decorating, etc.

Agree on a budget early on, too, and add on a 10% contingency for unforeseen expenses. Weddings can be unfathomably expensive, but with some creative ideas, they don't have to be. Budget-wise, Goths have it easy because we reuse a lot of wedding purchases – your new wedding corset and Victorian skirt will become part of your regular wardrobe, the black candlesticks you brought to decorate the reception will become décor in your home, etc.

Wedding planning should be easy and fun, but with money and relatives involved, it can sometimes get ugly. With the added burden of trying to incorporate your alternative personalities with more traditional family ideas, arguments inevitably ensue.

When parental units or other relatives chip in money, it's important to listen to and explore their ideas and opinions – even though these will often clash with your wonderful gothy ideas. One of the easiest ways to escape issues of "I'm paying for it, so I say the bridesmaids can't wear corsets," is to divide the budget into distinct roles.

For example, if your parents kindly offer to contribute some money, thank them profusely and ask them to pay for one or two specific things – maybe the catering and the venue. Choose things you don't mind not having much input into or that have already been agreed upon, and let them take care of them. That way, you retain financial and creative control over the aspects of the wedding that are important to you.

Once you've worked out the big details, you can start on the fun part of wedding planning – the fun, gothy details! The dresses, the suits, the decorations, the invitations, the bouquets, the guestbook – look at blogs like Rock n Roll Bride, Offbeat Bride, and Gothic Wedding Planner for inspiration, and let your creative side run wild!

Don't be shy about asking creative friends if they can help out. You probably know some talented bakers, photographers, graphic designers, dressmakers and make-up artists who can give you mates rates or help out in lieu of bringing a gift. Your wedding will be even more special if it contains personal touches from your friends and family. But don't forget to be gracious and thank everyone for their help.

Lastly, try to avoid all the wedding "hype" and "must-haves" in wedding magazines and blogs. Use the pictures for inspiration, but remember a wedding needs only three elements – a couple in love, a legal document, and some folk to celebrate with! Don't get sucked into thinking you need flowers, or new shoes, or a huge sit-down dinner – your wedding can be whatever you want it to be.

Readers, if you're married, what were your favourite memories and details from your wedding? What were the biggest problems you encountered and how did you overcome them? If you're planning to get married, what grand plans do you have for gothing up your wedding day?

Encyclopedia Gothica

2012-02-03T17:01:00.002Z

One of my Christmas presents in 2011 was this delightful new book by multi-talented writer and authoress Liisa Ladouceur, the Encyclopedia Gothica. It wasn't entirely a surprise as I had been leaving sneaky post-it notes on the desktop, but what did come as a surprise was the beautiful presentation of the book itself. Obviously I'm going to approve of any cover design including swirls, skulls and bats, but the edges of the pages have been distressed to give it a beautifully worn, almost antiqued appearance, and each chapter is beautifully illustrated with sketches of bands, Goth scene staples (deathhawks and fangs) and even drawings of some Gothy festival-goers whom I recognised from their photos on the web (all illustrations by Gary Pullin).

What sets Encyclopedia Gothica apart from other Goth-related tomes like my own favourite Gothic Charm School and the exceedingly handy Goth Bible by Nancy Kilpatrick is its format; this is, quite literally, an encyclopedia of all things dark and spookyful, which is why it should take up its rightful place on the bookshelf amidst the above-mentioned volumes.

Liisa, after a brief sojourn to explain to the unwary reader 'what is Goth?' in time-honoured fashion, introduces her book thusly, "It contains over 600 words and phrases used by Goths, covering what we listen to, watch and read; what we wear; where we hang out; what we talk about and much more, including more than 200 entries on influential Goth artists and personalities."

This is the ultimate A-Z of Goth, a veritable dictionary-and-subcultural-guide all in one, ideal for the flailing newbie wondering what on earth a 'retail slut' might be or why on earth a ferret might be dancing. Of course those of you who have spent more time in the scene will certainly find it an amusing diversion; there's nothing better than a good in-joke or much-loved cliche, and Encyclopedia Gothica is full of them, written with that particular brand of snarky dark humour that will be familiar to readers of Voltaire's What Is Goth?

The Encyclopedia also contains a handy bucket list for spooky travellers; '13 Goth places to see before you die (or afterwards)', which you could probably use to plan your next summer holiday.

At the back of the Encyclopedia is a two-page spread of the Goth Band Family Tree. I cannot imagine how many hours went into the creation of this beautiful monster, but it covers everything from punk to New Romantic to EBM to Gothic metal and of course all the classic Batcave, post-punk, darkwave, deathrock and Goth rock as well - to name but a few branches on this particular tree. You can actually view the Goth Band Family Tree online, here, with links to band webpages and videos too. Here's a sampler to whet your appetite:

Overall, Encyclopedia Gothica is a warm, witty and concise guide to dark culture, and one which I will dip into with pleasure (oo-er) again and again. Top marks!

Picspam: gig madness

2012-02-02T15:23:00.000Z

Hello everyone! Apologies for lack of a proper post today, but I am a bit bleary and weary so you can have some piccies instead. >.<
Last night Bronwyn and I went to see Panic! at the Disco (yup, a non-Goth band) in Southampton (with Rowenna and Shirley too :-)), here are some random photos that we took:

Pinky and the Brain ;-D

Ultimate Goth Guide hate site

2012-02-01T10:43:00.003Z

So my anonymous hater has made a blog. I don't find the site itself overly offensive; healthy discussion is good for the community, and it's always interesting to see other peoples' opinions on Goth - however what I do find a tad irritating is that they would rather focus on calling myself and my friends 'morons' than starting any positive discussions.

So without further ado!

Here be the blog.

The whole disagreement began on my post Violent Criminals Are Not Goth; to counter this, this person has posted an article with the same title (close enough) featuring murderers Manuela and Daniel Ruda, saying, "Now, both of these guys (according to the very lax view the online goth community has of what does and does not constitute being goth) seem pretty fucking goth to me. manuela wouldn't actually look too out of place on some hideous, meandering post about goth hair or make-up, for example. she also "told the court she drifted into the "gothic" scene after the Devil contacted her when she was 14". so yeah, pretty fucking goth, especially if we're working on that whole "GOTH IS WHATEVER YOU WANT IT TO BE - DON'T LET ANYONE SAY OTHERWISE" tripe that seems to be rife within the goth "community". i expect she probably didn't listen to evanescence or linkin park either."

If we're to judge simply by appearances, I am not overly convinced of the couple's 'Gothness' simply by the effort they have put in to appear 'scary' and 'shocking'. As a post somewhere or other on Goth Tips says, the Goth aesthetic is about the horror in beauty, not just about trying to look evil or scary. Perhaps this is personal prejudice but I don't think these two have achieved such.

My second point on the 'they are probably not Goth' list comes from the poster him/herself - the fact that Manuela got into Goth 'after the devil contacted her'. That just screams 'cheesy poseur wannabe' at me. >.< There is a difference between 'people who are into the Goth scene because it suits them' and 'people who are into the Goth scene because they think it makes them spoooooky'.

Having Googled the couple, as well as having severe mental illness, they described themselves as 'vampires' and devil worshippers, and judging from the extremes of even their daily behaviour as described in many articles, probably would have been regarded even within the Goth scene as 'a little odd'.

Either way, I feel the point is moot because some of the points I was trying to make with the original article are that, even if a small percentage of the Goth scene are killers and murderers who worship the devil and drink blood, they probably would have behaved in such a way whether the Goth scene existed or not because there is something wrong with them. I don't feel that every crime committed by a teen in a black band T-shirt should result in a bad name for the scene as a whole, but neither do I feel that the scene is made up of angels and saints. But I firmly believe that the majority of Goths do not behave in such a manner.

This person also posted some quotes about Goth from 'people who are affiliated with it'. I've mentioned before that members of some of what the subculture embraces as its most prominent bands are less than enamoured with Goth as a group, in this post here.

"We got our goth clothing from second-hand stores, and the only clothes we bought was maybe a pair of Dr Martens boots that we saved up for - everything else was thrown together from, like, second-hand clothing stores. So I think there's just a lot more pressure on kids nowadays to stay with the crowd - or with the herd." - Nivek Ogre - Skinny Puppy.

I totally agree with this quote, it affirms a lot of what is said in the Goth community nowadays that instead of buying clothes second hand and DIYing them, a lot of newbie Goths prefer to pop down to their local Hot Topic or Blue Banana and buy what is basically an Instant Goth Kit, without any originality or individuality (thus, the herd).

"I don't think anyone with any self-respect would admit to being goth" - Rozz Williams - Christian Death/Premature Ejaculation.

"No, we didn't think of ourselves as goth; there was no movement" - Dave Roberts - Sex Gang Children.

These quotes being used as insults would possibly strive to imply that Goths need approval from members of bands that they like to be interested in and enjoy the subculture. This is not necessarily true as shown by the attitudes of such luminaries as Siouxsie Sioux, Robert Smith and Andrew Eldritch, who have all shown a tendency to wrinkle their pasty noses at such a connection, but whose music is generally loved by the Goth scene anyway.

There is, then, an entire post dedicated to deconstructing the contents of my Last.fm. Those of you who have been reading this blog for a long time (or just happened to glance at my profile in the sidebar where it mentions that I listen to *gasp* genres other than Goth music) will know that I don't just listen to Goth. I love how the person needs to point out that (wait for it!) several of my top twenty-one bands are either metal, shock rock, rock, and yep, there's even some hip-hop in there too. :-)

This person has also searched to see if I listen to Joy Division. Nope, I don't like Joy Division very much, won't find that in there. Christian Death? Yep, but sadly only on LPs which means, somewhat obviously, that they don't scrobble on Last.fm.

As I have pointed out several times on this here blog and as many of you have agreed with, Goths don't just listen to one genre of music. I have mentioned several times that I listen to everything ranging from Johnny Hollow to Ashlee Simpson. Sue me. ^^

Here are some more quotes from this other person's blog:

"If the people in question find this blog" - if you didn't want me to find it, why did you send me five links?

"she calls herself THE ULTIMATE GOTH" - I'm just going to copy-and-paste myself here, it's in the Site Policies thing in the side bar. "No, I do not really think I am the ‘ultimate Goth’. Neither is this ‘the best’ Goth site on the web." The title of this blog? It's tongue-in-cheek.

"the constant labelling of these goths as being smarter, better read, more open minded etc etc etc than the rest of society is equally ridiculous. i've met plenty of "goths" who are the complete opposite of all those things." I'm not actually sure if this person is referring to me here because I've pointed out previously that stereotypes ARE stereotypes, be they positive or negative, and Goths are generally just the same as everyone else, not 'deeper' or 'smarter' or whathaveyou.

What do other Goths have to say about this new blog? Let's see:

"His logic makes me sad :( "your point about most criminals not being goth is now invalid, because I found one killer who was goth" >.<"

"why would you use people who don't accept being associated with goth, and then refer to them as goth? Not only as goth, but as the end all be all of what goth is? That sounds like a smart idea. And, i'm a bit confused as to his goal, in general, other than obsessing about Amy. All he does is complain about what goth isn't, but doesn't dare tread into what it is or could be to him, beyond his apparent affiliation with violence."

At the end of the day I've created this site for enjoyment - both of myself and others - and am more than happy to take it down if a lot of people have a problem with what I have to say. If the genuine followers of this blog - those of you who are on Blogger and hit the 'Join this Site' button, as well as my much-adored regulars such as Traicetrak, Chloris and Nightwind to name but a few - feel that I am generally misinformed or wasting my time with incorrect information, I'd like to think you would have told me before now! ;-) However if a majority of you think I am in the wrong please do let me know.

If you guys want the blog to stay, it stays, and I can promise there will be no further mention of the "Superlative Goth Guide" from me (is it a sign of success when people make hate websites about you?). I wouldn't even have made a post about this but Kitty asked me to share the lulz with everyone and I don't want to pretend it isn't there, so I do apologise if I have bored anyone with this - although hopefully it's given some of you a laugh! ;-)

(This is an even longer post than my usual meanderings... oops...)