VintageGoth?

[Hereward]

Any of us retro-fans might well seem weird to others, I suppose. Wearing uniforms is not my thing, whatever their flavour. That being said, whilst I value freedom of the individual myself, 'lame' is hardly the right description. It's hard to goosestep when one is lame

 

[Flat Foot Floey]

I didn't want to call them "disgusting" because they might see this as a triumph
It's not the same type of provocation as sid vicious in 1977. They mix up with some real neonazis and don't care about it. But sorry for the big fftopic:

 

[Edward]

I never understood Death in June. I know that "politics banned rule" but the part of the gothic scene that plays with fascist aesthetics is really lame.
All this neofolk, dark sun, runes and uniform-fetish weirdos.:eusa_doh:

I think in part, in the UK scene at least, there was an element of hangover from the punk thing - Sid Vicious being the most notable.... Though more full on, I think, was Jordan (not Katie Price!), the assistant in Maclaren and Westwood's shop, SEX, who can be seen during the Pistols' infamous appearance on the Bill Grundy show in December 1976, standing behind the band wearing full Sturmabteilung uniform... As you note in your other post, the adoption of the so-called fascist chic aesthetic was all about a] making a comment on the perceived nature of mainstream fashion, and b] a desire to shock - and shocking I'm sure it was, as back then the parental generation against whom they were rebelling had very often lived through the war, and many more folks who would have actually been involved in it and regarded such garments as of "the enemy" were still around.... A fairly childish use, I guess, and even back then there were other folks on the scene (notably Joe Strummer) who felt it was a bad idea to flirt with such symbology. Where, it seems to me, it began to evolve into something much more sinister was later on into the eighties, when a rather pretentious subset of the goth movement discovered the likes of Nietsche... Maybe this was also further influenced by the fact that while punk as a subculture was always fairly multicultural and had a fair crossover with reggae/ska scenes, much influence from "black" music in many respects, goth was always, at least what I saw of it, a very "white" thing. In my experience, people will develop attitudes and prejudices much more easily when there is noone around whose very existence challenges such nonsense...

Sorry, veering a little fftopic: , though I hope this is taken as intended, as social, not political, commentary.

 

[Lillemor]

I'm not part of a scene, never have been, never will be. That's just not my nature so when online people discussed fascist fashion I couldn't invision how facism could become a fashion. Thanks for clarifying a few things.

I've never liked the gory side of goth aestetics. I've liked the cliche´s such as medieval and Victorian and the music I listen to and arts I like aren't particularly gothic nor do I read the stuff goths "must read". It's just a general mood I look for in arts, music, aestetics in general and not exclusively even. I don't care if my tastes and interests appeal to most goths or not.

Combining mid century retro via. Bollywood accessorizing with goth is my way of combining several styles I've gone through.

I had a thing for EGL (not really a goth scene if you ask me for my personal opinion) for a while but was obese at the time and that makes that style difficult to wear plus I can't sew to save my life and don't have the funds to order clothes from Japan. Now I'm 33 and would just feel rediculous if I walked around in that style though I still think it's a nice style for younger women as long as they don't do all the cliche´s. Not sure what they are today because I haven't kept up with the EGL scene for over 3 years now. EGL was the closest style I saw that in some ways combined what I like about the Victorian era and late 1940s-early 1960s. I liked the clothes of those times but I prefer more free choice and well cared for modern hair.

While authentic styles fascinate me and I'd like to be able to dress authentically any era. Generally, I feel more comfortable striking what I see as a balance between different styles. When implementing goth elements in my style, it keeps me from going OTT on the Bollywood bling and 1950s color overload that would've probably even been distateful to most people in the 1950s.

 

[Edward]

It's interesting to me how many of the ladies came to vintage via goth.... The reason I, in my later teens and twenties, began to find gothic ladies so attractive was I am in no doubt tied to the fact that when I was around six years old (television in the UK being much less diverse back then and there being only three channels), I spent a lot of time watching old films from the thirties and forties, Laurel and Hardy stuff, King Kong, and all the rest. I am certain that this imprinted on me certain notions of what is "attractive" in the female form and appearance which has a big influence on me even today; it was all the elements of that that attracted me to goths later on and has come full circle with the vintage look....

 

[Chas]

Just in case some newer folks haven't seen this page. Consider it a public service message.

How To Properly Dance Gothic

 

[Rocketblast]

I was wondering about this myself. I was a goth from age 14 until I was... I would say about 24-25 when I started mooching off into other things.

 

[MissHannah]

Just in case some newer folks haven't seen this page. Consider it a public service message.

How To Properly Dance Gothic

Thanks for that Chas - that brought back some great memories of my teens in nightclubs in the 80s. I was a cutesy C86-er but we mixed with the goths because our town was so small we only had one nightclub that played anything alternative. So they'd play Bauhaus followed by the Pastels and one tribe would troop off the dancefloor as another trooped on! And we'd all mix together for the Cocteau Twins lol

 

[Rocketblast]

Here's me aged 17

 

[OReillyFactor]

I've been a Goth since I was 13, and so Twenties Vamp fashions really appeal to me. I don't like the poser type Goths though, who think wearing over-done repro black Victorian stuff will get them attention. No, it's more of a lifestyle. I like most Goth music too, especially the Virgin Prunes. Gavin Friday's a great bloke

 

[StetsonHomburg]

I did not come THROUGH the goth scene, though I definitely leaned in that direction in my younger years (i.e. around 14-16 years of age). Actually I looked more like a cross between a hippie and a goth... but close enough.

I am in that age and I am into, well .... This lol

 

[Sylvanrealm]

Time to bump this thread. Fall reminds me of all things gothy. (Good enough reason, right?) I got into the music when I was 12 (my science teacher had some recommendations!) and started dressing the part around 14-15. I'm still much more goth than vintage (at 23), but each year I see more and more vintage items make their way into my closet. I love the vintage clothing and older movies, which I grew up watching. I ran across this thread a year or so ago and am happy to see than pictures were added since then. I thought I'd share a few of my own, though I don't have any on the computer from my earliest days.

Later high school:

3ish years ago:

Two years ago at the beach with closest friend:

six months back with my honey:

Two weeks ago before heading to a club:

Do you have any photos to share? I'd love to see them!

 

[W-D Forties]

I was a teenager back in the 80's and I know a lot of people who got into vintage/goth/phsycobilly and other things at that time, it was an era for reinventing yourself on an almost weekly basis for bothe men and women. I was involved in most of the UK youth cults of the era and once you get a taste for it it never really goes away, it just (hopefully) morphs into something more elegant.

 

[Pompidou]

The closest I've come to being Goth is wearing all black quite often because it tends to look good. Some women, though, really look stunning when they get a full suite of corsets, frilly veiled hats and dresses and such. My favorites are when they don't dye their hair black - catches the eye - red or purple though - good stuff.

 

[cherry lips]

So pretty! Reminds me of Christina Ricci!

Dita with black nails

http://suicideblonde.tumblr.com

 

[Shawnie MacAlpine]

I had quite an affection for goth way back when, only heightened by my mother's horror on my return visists from university. However, I am getting to relive those balmy days again, my 12 year old has developed a quite fantastic goth/punk mix look and is in her elemnet when we off and buy some lovley stuff to add ribbons and chains to. Her father is less than impressed so all is as it should be

I know this is ancient, but I had to laugh. My parents are exactly the same. Mom thinks my Victorian/Goth stuff is cool and artsy while Dad scratches his head and can't figure out why I suddenly own so much black.

 

[mattfink]

I think they called it deathrock in the 1980's....we all wore vintage back then (though I was a punk not a deathrocker).

 

[Kabel]

A friend of mine back at the art academie was a gothic. She had her steampunk influences and I always thought it was really cool. The corsets and the dresses. Though I must say that the corsets can look pretty painfull.

Also, I envy a lot of you guys for being able to experience that period of especially the punk days. Being born in '87, I've missed the entire thing…

 

[TheSwingingBee]

I came by way of goth, then rockabilly, then vintage, though I've always been into jazz. I also came into vintage/golden era because of the ease and abundance of sewing patterns and that it's more acceptable for office jobs than my gothy self was.

 

[Two Types]

I hadn't seen this thread before. I was surprised to see that no one had mentioned Dave Vanian of The Damned. He was a pivotal figure in the rise of 'Goth', having brought the whole vampire look into the punk scene:

This is him more recently wearing a suit by Matt Deckard (I believe):

P.S. he was also the inspiration for Depp's Sweeney Todd: