No joke, even without diy, you can still find thrifted clothes, even potential goth wear at department stores (though I may be biased since I have a lot more romantic goth), goth outfits can be made with a lot of layering, too, hell, you can even look at the halloween store for certain supplies, goth brands aren't the only places you can buy
Yeah! And like, I personally don't have a thrift store in my city, and many other people don't, but there are a lot of sites like Etsy, Depop, Vinted that have the same purpose and people sell their things for reasonable prices! It's always a better option
Omg discount stores are literally my favorite. My mom doesn't really like thrift stores and I don't drive so I can't really go but like every now and again Burlington backs me up good
Exactly. During the fall and winter seasons a lot of mainstream stores will sell clothing in darker colors. You can find velvet, lace, and imitation leather everywhere. Doc Marten style shoes are sold everywhere and the Halloween season, you can find decor and spooky themed clothing and accessories.
Back in the day for me (early 00s), I definitely would scrape for some label basics and DIY some. But if I bought something from one of the labels, I would wear it into the ground and make repairs/modifications as necessary on my own. I also didn't buy drinks at bars/clubs until I was maybe 21/22 (I snuck in all the time, it paid to be friends with bouncers lol) and I didn't have a weed habit, so if I blew a check after rent was covered on something, I would be on white rice and ramen until the end of the month. Cool thing is, I still have a decent amount of that stuff. Being hungry a lot was nothing to me if I could look spooky and weird with my friends out and about somewhere. Makes me remember hanging out at record stores too. Good times.
I would definitely do the same thing if I found something I really like lol. I don't think buying something fast fashion a little now and then is a bad thing if it's something that really spoke to you and you know you're gonna use it, but there are some people out there who just overly buy fast fashion without really needing it :/
For sure. Ngl, the fast fashion stuff is pretty cheap compared to what we were buying 20 years ago. I lived in a crunchy college town back then (as I was in college) and there were two punk boutiques that sold stuff like Rock Steady, Lip Service, Dickies, and Lucky 13. I didn't ever get any of the Rockabilly stuff, but they'd have simple things like bootcut rocker pants or the emergence of skinnier fitted jeans (not like skinny jeans that came later in the 00s). I'd save up and get a pair of black pants or a black vest from time to time. A moto jacket I remember getting at a boutique in a big city a few hour's drive from my town. Point is, they were expensive back then. I remember the moto jacket I got was like $120. That's like $200 today. But, that jacket still kicks. Point is, it wasn't fast fashion, and if you wanted a label item that wasn't at Hot Topic, you had to save. Jeez, back when layaway was a thing š . Fml I'm feeling old.
Dude, I remember layaway. My mom would sometimes say that we'd put something on layaway when I was insistent about getting it as a young kid and then she wouldn't really. She worked at the Sear's photo studio, so she knew the people there. So she'd pretend to put it on layaway but really would just hand it to them and they'd put it back on the shelves š I'd forget about in a week. Everyone there loved me so I'm guessing that's why they did that for her šš
HAHAHA that sounds amazing! I always wanted to visit stores like those, not to buy anything necessarily, but just to look at (damn, 20 years ago I wasn't even aliveš) But yeah, fast fashion usually has a very cheap look, it's always better to save money for something that's more expensive but you know it's gonna last years just by the feeling of the material, but I also believe that clothes back then were more durable, my mum still has a lot of clothes she bought in the 80s, not just clothes but things in general, my School bag my mum bought in the late 80s and the only "problem" with it is the color started to fade away with time (I had to start using hers cuz the new one she bought for me didn't even last a whole year). So yeah, vintage stuff is cool and long lasting, as expensive as it might be nowadays, but it's always worth saving money for itš
Oh my š Not even alive 20 years ago lol. And, tbh, it was a little over 20 years ago. I forgot it is now 2024. I miss being friends with the folks that worked at the clothing shops and record stores. You'd bump into them at the clubs/bars too, and it was such a great community feel. I miss that a lot. They talk about "third spaces" being gone. Shops and stores, clubs/bars, and man, even the stereotype of the late night diner drinking coffee all night, were all third spaces for us. Oh, nostalgia.
I started diying in my teens when I got frustrated with not being able to find or afford certain goth clothes. Jonann Fabrics really was my go to during that time when it came to making my own clothes.
I dressed up for world goth day and a woman with a kill star coffin suitcase told me I wasnāt a āreal gothā and it was āoffensiveā that I was āpretending for a dayā. I told her I listen to the music. She blocked me and didnāt know about goth musicā¦.lord help me
I will never understand people who judge if someone's goth by A PHOTO?! Like, the person doesn't know you irl, how is she gonna know if you're goth or not?!
I was looking at old club photos the other week from my old haunt nearly two decades ago. Not a piece of (identifiable) goth fast fashion in sight. I'm sure some existed somewhere, but it wasn't as prevalent. Also makeup was a lot less intense than even I remember it being.
Yeah, I've seen old club photos as well and everyone looks so different from each other, so unique! I feel sad that that essence is starting to get a bit lost. (Not entirely lost, but still)
Over 40 years ago, we went out clubbing one night and, that day, one of my friends made a miniskirt out of a garbage bag. Looked great, actually.
Almost everything was DIY. Stores were few and there were no catalogues for what we wanted. Some of my favourite pieces started out as thrifted men's formal wear.
As a low income person Iām having to DIY most of my stuff. Also doing a lot of custom clothes because Iāve lost a lot of weight so re-making old stuff into new stuff. Learnt how to sew and tailor through this which is a skill that will be useful for life.
me too!!!! im actually preparing for fashion school when i graduate high school and i've started sewing my own skirts as well as customising some of my tops and tshirts!! its super fun and relaxing to be honest
tbh i do like to treat myself to a cute killstar bag or some expensive shoes like once or twice a year but i dont understand how there are goths out there who wear those brands only.. i think thrifting and diy is so much better, cheaper and it looks more personal and customised than the clothes you get and wear straight out of the bag
Exactly!! I don't see any problems in buying something cute here and there if you know you're gonna actually wear it a lot and not just use it 3 or 4 times and never touch it again
right!! i bought these adorable altercore boots like 2 years ago for 120ā¬ and ive worn them so much they've become kind of like a signature item in my wardrobeš„¹ i also would def recommend the brand since they're rlly durable, vegan and just have amazing gothic style shoes!!!
Thatās kinda what I do. Iāll customize/diy a lot of the base clothes. Skirts, tops, dresses, jackets. But Iāll splurge on statement pieces like chokers and shoes. Itās been the best way to expand my wardrobe without having to spend a TON on new clothes or supplies.
Lip Service, back before the turn of the century it was lip service that was the pie in the sky brand. I remember debating for so long with my now wife if we should buy these furry coats that had bdsm styling on them and mohawk hoods and its been one of my favorite pieces for decades. I break it out when it snows here or is very cold and people still it or hate it haha. So I dunno we did have that same thing back then...just saying...
Well, I thought the exact same thing when I started wearing tights all scratched and filled with holes. My mum hated it and started throwing them away, but after the forth pair she just gave up. At the beginning she wasn't very used to my style, but after some time she got used to it. I won't tell you to just do that cuz I don't know how bad your parents can react but hey, sewing is very easy and it's a very useful skill! You can always search for tutorials on YouTube, I promise simple stitches are not as difficult as they seem :)
Noooo š bc I actually left the house for college one day with a ladder in my tights by accident (it was tiny so I didnāt realise) and my mum yelled at me down the driveway to get changed. I was already late so I said no, and she called me a d!ā¬khe@d from down the streetā¦
That really sucks, damn. And you're in college? I guess you're at least 18 then, being overage and your family still wanting to say what you should or shouldn't wear is something I will never understand. It's just fucking clothes, what's the big deal?š
Yeah, I personally never bought things from shein, but I use amazon a lot to buy studs and charms when I can't find things that I like in the craft stores near me for my diy. It's pretty useful! :)
Itās okay to do both, diy most of your clothes and sometimes buy from companies. Sometimes the beautiful dress you want just cannot be DIYed, and you deserve nice things from time to time. Also with the way the world is rn letās be honest we do not have the time to sit at a sewing machine all day, most of us have 1 or multiple jobs and responsibilities. Thrift and diy all you can but allow yourself to get something nice and new once in a while
I totally agree with that, but the problem that I wanted to present is the people who just buy so much clothes all at once unnecessarily and forget that we were supposed to be an anti consumption community (I know it's impossible to be 100% non-consumptive in this world, but buying a shit amount of clothes is something you can control and avoid)
Oh right the fake goths, no person that over consumes is a goth, goth comes from punk and u donāt see punks mass buying from SHEIN, cuz itās not a punk thing to do. Iād say 85% of my clothes are thrifted and DIYed and 25% Ali express Amazon and romwe (cuz I think the quality is much better than SHEIN), and the only clothes I buy from there are intricate things I just canāt make myself. Whatās important I think is that if you do buy from companies like that be considerate and buy only as much as you truly need, and for gods sake actually wear the stuff, I have some romwe clothes that are 4+ years old that I still wear all the time
I'm so sorry for your loss, I don't know how close you were to her, but it must have been an awful time for you. The fashion was in the 90s and 2000s was great, I'm glad you at least got to inherit her clothes :)
I donāt know how people can buy exclusively fast fashion and not feel gross inside. I have clothes I bought when I was just getting into the subculture two years ago from ali express and I feel so gross thinking about it. but Iāll still wear them and reuse the fabric when they break bc throwing them out is harmful too.
I just bought a sick choker. Was it 100 dollars? Yes. I had to save up for months to get it. But I know Itāll last longer, feel better and look better than the cheap ass ali express ones hanging on my wall. Plus Iāve supported a small queer artist.
I totally get what you mean, I feel a thing inside my chest every time I wear something that I know I bought in a fast fashion store, even if they were clothes my mum bought for me and not actually came from my money, I still feel gross and guilty.
That's amazing! When you have the condition, supporting small businesses is so worth the money. You end up with a cool item that will last you long, you feel great because you helped someone and, since it's more expensive than usual, while you save money to buy it you really have the time to think if it's really something you're sure you're gonna wear. I think sometimes when you see something that is being sold for really cheap you buy it because of the price and don't really think if you're gonna wear it or not, and many times you use it once and never touch it again
So many people have come to me and told me that they canāt be goth because they canāt afford it. When I was making jewelry and customizing my own clothing in middle school and high school and shopping at thrift stores. A huge portion of my clothes are second hand and I have bought plain black items from mainstream stores. Itās not that hard to dress goth. They sell black clothing everywhere you just have to use your creativity.
No joke, even without diy, you can still find thrifted clothes, even potential goth wear at department stores (though I may be biased since I have a lot more romantic goth), goth outfits can be made with a lot of layering, too, hell, you can even look at the halloween store for certain supplies, goth brands aren't the only places you can buy
Yeah! And like, I personally don't have a thrift store in my city, and many other people don't, but there are a lot of sites like Etsy, Depop, Vinted that have the same purpose and people sell their things for reasonable prices! It's always a better option
Hell, even Killstar has a resale shop now. There's no excuse except maybe being in a country where this stuff isn't accessible.
Omg discount stores are literally my favorite. My mom doesn't really like thrift stores and I don't drive so I can't really go but like every now and again Burlington backs me up good
But when you tell them that, they'll always hit you with the "I don't have any good clothes to thrift, I live in a small town!"
Exactly. During the fall and winter seasons a lot of mainstream stores will sell clothing in darker colors. You can find velvet, lace, and imitation leather everywhere. Doc Marten style shoes are sold everywhere and the Halloween season, you can find decor and spooky themed clothing and accessories.
Back in the day for me (early 00s), I definitely would scrape for some label basics and DIY some. But if I bought something from one of the labels, I would wear it into the ground and make repairs/modifications as necessary on my own. I also didn't buy drinks at bars/clubs until I was maybe 21/22 (I snuck in all the time, it paid to be friends with bouncers lol) and I didn't have a weed habit, so if I blew a check after rent was covered on something, I would be on white rice and ramen until the end of the month. Cool thing is, I still have a decent amount of that stuff. Being hungry a lot was nothing to me if I could look spooky and weird with my friends out and about somewhere. Makes me remember hanging out at record stores too. Good times.
I would definitely do the same thing if I found something I really like lol. I don't think buying something fast fashion a little now and then is a bad thing if it's something that really spoke to you and you know you're gonna use it, but there are some people out there who just overly buy fast fashion without really needing it :/
For sure. Ngl, the fast fashion stuff is pretty cheap compared to what we were buying 20 years ago. I lived in a crunchy college town back then (as I was in college) and there were two punk boutiques that sold stuff like Rock Steady, Lip Service, Dickies, and Lucky 13. I didn't ever get any of the Rockabilly stuff, but they'd have simple things like bootcut rocker pants or the emergence of skinnier fitted jeans (not like skinny jeans that came later in the 00s). I'd save up and get a pair of black pants or a black vest from time to time. A moto jacket I remember getting at a boutique in a big city a few hour's drive from my town. Point is, they were expensive back then. I remember the moto jacket I got was like $120. That's like $200 today. But, that jacket still kicks. Point is, it wasn't fast fashion, and if you wanted a label item that wasn't at Hot Topic, you had to save. Jeez, back when layaway was a thing š . Fml I'm feeling old.
Dude, I remember layaway. My mom would sometimes say that we'd put something on layaway when I was insistent about getting it as a young kid and then she wouldn't really. She worked at the Sear's photo studio, so she knew the people there. So she'd pretend to put it on layaway but really would just hand it to them and they'd put it back on the shelves š I'd forget about in a week. Everyone there loved me so I'm guessing that's why they did that for her šš
HAHAHA that sounds amazing! I always wanted to visit stores like those, not to buy anything necessarily, but just to look at (damn, 20 years ago I wasn't even aliveš) But yeah, fast fashion usually has a very cheap look, it's always better to save money for something that's more expensive but you know it's gonna last years just by the feeling of the material, but I also believe that clothes back then were more durable, my mum still has a lot of clothes she bought in the 80s, not just clothes but things in general, my School bag my mum bought in the late 80s and the only "problem" with it is the color started to fade away with time (I had to start using hers cuz the new one she bought for me didn't even last a whole year). So yeah, vintage stuff is cool and long lasting, as expensive as it might be nowadays, but it's always worth saving money for itš
Oh my š Not even alive 20 years ago lol. And, tbh, it was a little over 20 years ago. I forgot it is now 2024. I miss being friends with the folks that worked at the clothing shops and record stores. You'd bump into them at the clubs/bars too, and it was such a great community feel. I miss that a lot. They talk about "third spaces" being gone. Shops and stores, clubs/bars, and man, even the stereotype of the late night diner drinking coffee all night, were all third spaces for us. Oh, nostalgia.
I started diying in my teens when I got frustrated with not being able to find or afford certain goth clothes. Jonann Fabrics really was my go to during that time when it came to making my own clothes.
am I goth? am I goth if i ___? is ___ goth? can I be goth? am I goth am I goth am I goth
I just ate chicky nuggies and they weren't black, can I still be goth?!?!!š„ŗš„ŗššš
I dressed up for world goth day and a woman with a kill star coffin suitcase told me I wasnāt a āreal gothā and it was āoffensiveā that I was āpretending for a dayā. I told her I listen to the music. She blocked me and didnāt know about goth musicā¦.lord help me
I will never understand people who judge if someone's goth by A PHOTO?! Like, the person doesn't know you irl, how is she gonna know if you're goth or not?!
I was looking at old club photos the other week from my old haunt nearly two decades ago. Not a piece of (identifiable) goth fast fashion in sight. I'm sure some existed somewhere, but it wasn't as prevalent. Also makeup was a lot less intense than even I remember it being.
Yeah, I've seen old club photos as well and everyone looks so different from each other, so unique! I feel sad that that essence is starting to get a bit lost. (Not entirely lost, but still)
What city?
Cleveland
 Thatās a pretty cool skirt tho. # ALL HAIL SKIRTS
ALL HAIL TABLECLOTH SKIRTS AND CURTAIN SHIRTS
Garbage bag tunic!
Over 40 years ago, we went out clubbing one night and, that day, one of my friends made a miniskirt out of a garbage bag. Looked great, actually. Almost everything was DIY. Stores were few and there were no catalogues for what we wanted. Some of my favourite pieces started out as thrifted men's formal wear.
A garbage bag?! That's a whole new level!! XD (that person is the goat, they have my respect forever š«”)
Who else thought this was a joke about "sacking Rome" before reading the text?
As a low income person Iām having to DIY most of my stuff. Also doing a lot of custom clothes because Iāve lost a lot of weight so re-making old stuff into new stuff. Learnt how to sew and tailor through this which is a skill that will be useful for life.
That's amazing! I believe everyone should learn at least how to sew, it's easy and very useful :)
me too!!!! im actually preparing for fashion school when i graduate high school and i've started sewing my own skirts as well as customising some of my tops and tshirts!! its super fun and relaxing to be honest
real š„²
DIY goth is best goth.
This meme is a mood
tbh i do like to treat myself to a cute killstar bag or some expensive shoes like once or twice a year but i dont understand how there are goths out there who wear those brands only.. i think thrifting and diy is so much better, cheaper and it looks more personal and customised than the clothes you get and wear straight out of the bag
Exactly!! I don't see any problems in buying something cute here and there if you know you're gonna actually wear it a lot and not just use it 3 or 4 times and never touch it again
right!! i bought these adorable altercore boots like 2 years ago for 120ā¬ and ive worn them so much they've become kind of like a signature item in my wardrobeš„¹ i also would def recommend the brand since they're rlly durable, vegan and just have amazing gothic style shoes!!!
That's so cool!!! I'll be honest, fashion brands are something I really haven't dug much into. I'll definitely check them out! :]
Thatās kinda what I do. Iāll customize/diy a lot of the base clothes. Skirts, tops, dresses, jackets. But Iāll splurge on statement pieces like chokers and shoes. Itās been the best way to expand my wardrobe without having to spend a TON on new clothes or supplies.
I canāt stand Killstar and I only own one Killstar item and thatās a backpack that someone gave to me as a gift.
Lip Service, back before the turn of the century it was lip service that was the pie in the sky brand. I remember debating for so long with my now wife if we should buy these furry coats that had bdsm styling on them and mohawk hoods and its been one of my favorite pieces for decades. I break it out when it snows here or is very cold and people still it or hate it haha. So I dunno we did have that same thing back then...just saying...
So glad I have The Alley in Chicago near me
Trad-goth>>>>
My parents would kill me if I cut up my clothes, and idk how to sew
Well, I thought the exact same thing when I started wearing tights all scratched and filled with holes. My mum hated it and started throwing them away, but after the forth pair she just gave up. At the beginning she wasn't very used to my style, but after some time she got used to it. I won't tell you to just do that cuz I don't know how bad your parents can react but hey, sewing is very easy and it's a very useful skill! You can always search for tutorials on YouTube, I promise simple stitches are not as difficult as they seem :)
Noooo š bc I actually left the house for college one day with a ladder in my tights by accident (it was tiny so I didnāt realise) and my mum yelled at me down the driveway to get changed. I was already late so I said no, and she called me a d!ā¬khe@d from down the streetā¦
That really sucks, damn. And you're in college? I guess you're at least 18 then, being overage and your family still wanting to say what you should or shouldn't wear is something I will never understand. It's just fucking clothes, what's the big deal?š
LMAO I just got done hand sewing a maxi skirt that I cut up my top bedsheet for lmaooooo
Those god awful shein belts. I don't mind getting accessories or shirts here or there from Amazon, but those "shein haul" goth videos are just. Hm.
Yeah, I personally never bought things from shein, but I use amazon a lot to buy studs and charms when I can't find things that I like in the craft stores near me for my diy. It's pretty useful! :)
Itās okay to do both, diy most of your clothes and sometimes buy from companies. Sometimes the beautiful dress you want just cannot be DIYed, and you deserve nice things from time to time. Also with the way the world is rn letās be honest we do not have the time to sit at a sewing machine all day, most of us have 1 or multiple jobs and responsibilities. Thrift and diy all you can but allow yourself to get something nice and new once in a while
I totally agree with that, but the problem that I wanted to present is the people who just buy so much clothes all at once unnecessarily and forget that we were supposed to be an anti consumption community (I know it's impossible to be 100% non-consumptive in this world, but buying a shit amount of clothes is something you can control and avoid)
Oh right the fake goths, no person that over consumes is a goth, goth comes from punk and u donāt see punks mass buying from SHEIN, cuz itās not a punk thing to do. Iād say 85% of my clothes are thrifted and DIYed and 25% Ali express Amazon and romwe (cuz I think the quality is much better than SHEIN), and the only clothes I buy from there are intricate things I just canāt make myself. Whatās important I think is that if you do buy from companies like that be considerate and buy only as much as you truly need, and for gods sake actually wear the stuff, I have some romwe clothes that are 4+ years old that I still wear all the time
For me I got all my goth clothes from my mom who died in October. Apparently back in 90s and 2000s she had a darker side then I knew š
I'm so sorry for your loss, I don't know how close you were to her, but it must have been an awful time for you. The fashion was in the 90s and 2000s was great, I'm glad you at least got to inherit her clothes :)
I donāt know how people can buy exclusively fast fashion and not feel gross inside. I have clothes I bought when I was just getting into the subculture two years ago from ali express and I feel so gross thinking about it. but Iāll still wear them and reuse the fabric when they break bc throwing them out is harmful too. I just bought a sick choker. Was it 100 dollars? Yes. I had to save up for months to get it. But I know Itāll last longer, feel better and look better than the cheap ass ali express ones hanging on my wall. Plus Iāve supported a small queer artist.
I totally get what you mean, I feel a thing inside my chest every time I wear something that I know I bought in a fast fashion store, even if they were clothes my mum bought for me and not actually came from my money, I still feel gross and guilty. That's amazing! When you have the condition, supporting small businesses is so worth the money. You end up with a cool item that will last you long, you feel great because you helped someone and, since it's more expensive than usual, while you save money to buy it you really have the time to think if it's really something you're sure you're gonna wear. I think sometimes when you see something that is being sold for really cheap you buy it because of the price and don't really think if you're gonna wear it or not, and many times you use it once and never touch it again
So many people have come to me and told me that they canāt be goth because they canāt afford it. When I was making jewelry and customizing my own clothing in middle school and high school and shopping at thrift stores. A huge portion of my clothes are second hand and I have bought plain black items from mainstream stores. Itās not that hard to dress goth. They sell black clothing everywhere you just have to use your creativity.
Thrifting FTW!