Althouuuugh, having said that ...
I don't dye my hair black any more.
Of late I've been bleaching blonde and sometimes I'll throw in some pink or red just for some shits 'n' giggles .. but my clothing is always black.
But seriously, if you do a casual seach for 'pastel goth' you find a plethora of pics of mainly young girls ( I didn't notice any guys) with pastel pink, blue or purple hair. Other than that they still seem to be wearing black with all the standard goth motifs and accessories. So, with all due respect to Anise, was this a sub, sub group of goths created by Garnier or Loreal ?
Ah see now I don't really do subtle shades, if hair's pink or red it's strong.
You know my feelings on labels, categories and subsequent sub-sub-subs
Hahaa I'm a fan of 'don't box me in'. Perhaps a future epitaph?
o.O ... wait, no ... lol
It seems like it's mainly a fashion thing to me. Seeing how it's so colorful, especially using bright pastels, I'm not interested. I prefer to wear dark colors, and go with classic goth styles. You know, maybe it comes from Japan. I looked it up, and a ton of anime pics and Japanese girls came up. lol That makes sense.
Videogirl88 is absolutely right. If 'pastel goth' is only a fashion trend, indeed a 'fad' then does it really merit our serious attention? In the 80s and 90s Japan used to be the source of many fashion fads but these days they have been overtaken in leaps and bounds by China.
Of course, while classic goth will endure, watered down derivatives of goth will inevitably go the way of the proverbial ice cube in hell.