Gothic make-up, accessories and shoes

It's time to introduce you to some things that would spice up your gothic look.

As far as the make-up goes - none of the following are essential, but they are most common:

1) White concealer - Not exactly white, but it is in the spirit of goth to look pale. Of course, not too pale. A few shades lighter than your tan is acceptable, but not as white as baby powder.

2) Black eyeliner and eyeshadow - You can use your eyeliner to make your eyes look bigger and make "cat eyes" - drawing a line from the corner of your eye to the other bottom end of your eyebrow. Eye shadow is great for making "smoky eyes". Crayon and mascara are also good options.

Typical gothic eye makeup.

3) Dark lipstick - Also optional, some prefer to make their lips lighter to blend their skin colour, but black, red, dark red or purple lipsticks are very popular. The only inconvenient thing is that your teeth look darker with it.

 

Now for the accessories. As far as the necklaces go - chokers are very popular. Necklaces that fit very tightly around the neck. They can be made of lace, pearls, or almost any material. Silver is popular, along with ANKHS (basically the symbol of goth), pentagrams, amulets and crosses. Bracelets can be with spikes, out of lace or anything black, silver or red. Cuffs are very popular. Goths usually don't wear gold. Rings can be with spiderwebs, or just plain silver ones, or with skulls. They show interest in anything antique and elegant.

For more on gothic jewelry - visit http://www.raveneve.com/gothicjewelry7.html


And now for the SHOES.
When summer comes - converse all stars are popular (in darker colurs). At least one pair of Dr.Martens or Shelly's rangers are a must-have. Gothic girls adore heals and platforms. In any lighter colour they would remind of stripper heals, but in dark, morbid colours those kinds of boots look grotesque and unique. They also like any kid of elegant high-healed shoes, very lady-like.

Gothic hair

Since I already mentioned in my earlier post what types of goth are there, here I will write about what hair styles are the most often ones. 

There are many styles that can be defined as "goth" with the proper outfit.
 Bright neon coloured highlights suit for Cyber goths, as well as dreadlocks and pony falls. They usually have longer hair:

Any natural hair colour could do, from black and different shades of brown to red. When it comes to the style and length - it also depends on the type of goth. Long, straight hair works for Vampire goths, Fetish goths etc. It can have any darker highlights, like red, black, royal blue, purple... It can also be the choice of many other Romantic or Victorian goths, since straight hair goes with almost everything:

With Gothic Lolita, Romantic goth, Victorian goth etc., curls and chignons are very popular, preferably both in the same hair, with a natural colour. But, not small waves -> big, twisted curls. It does look very soft and feminine: 

Finally, shorter hair and mohawks are specific for Deathrockers, and the "less romantic" goths. They can also be combined with Cyber goth style with some fluorescent highlights, or with Vampire goths:

Basic idea of GOTH

The basic idea of goth is a lot different than what people who are not informed think.
People who define themselves as "goth" are people who care about aesthetics, but in their own "not-mainstream way". They get mixed with people who have a heavy metal style, even though there are a few big differences (and not just the music). Like: some fashion critiques define Gothic girls more feminine than metal girls. Also there are many differences in their accessories, shoes and hair, but there are also quite a few similarities.

Gothic fashion is often labeled as "morbid", "dark" and somewhat "provocative". It is characterized by dark colours (black is dominant, with some use of royal blue, purple, red and white), black make-up and nails. Of course, that is relative, because there are many smaller styles and beliefs within the "Goth" culture, like: Cyber goth (are identified by bright neon colours, goggles and 80's outfits), Victorian goth (are recognized by corsets, medieval outfits and their love for poetry and romance), Vampire goth (inspired by vampires, blood and anything that has to do with them, mostly dressed in black and red), Gothic Lolita (is a style only for girls with black dresses with lace and big bows in a sweet, tender, but dark manner), Deathrockers (somewhere between goth and punk fashion, with spiked hair and fishnets) etc...

Unlike the followers of punk and metal, goths are apolitical. They want peace and justice, not anarchy. Mostly - they are intellectual and interested in poetry and other forms of creative writing. Also, they are very tolerant towards other subcultures and any kind of difference between people.

Of course, there are many different people, so the beliefs and political ideas are all relative.

Goth is about finding YOURSELF through a few different types of fashion. Even though gothic community was often labeled as bad, because people thought it propagates violence, apocalypse, massacres, drugs and self-harm, by many polls and questionnaires it was proven very, very wrong, which I am glad.

In this blog I will make posts about everything you should know about Goth, including hair, make-up, clothes, music, accessories and shoes. Hope you enjoy it.