Preppy Goths?

[LillithDuskcutter]

Okay, I've heard of Preppy Goths. They're the really bouncy happy ones, right?
What do they wear? If I wear frilly skirts, colourful striped thigh-high socks and big doc martins, what does that make me?

[Solumina]

That makes you, you. To be honest what you described is fairly broad and could fit into a lot of categories but is the label really all that important?

[LillithDuskcutter]

Not really.
I mean, I've been called a Preppy Goth before, and sometimes even a Perky Goth.
I just want to know if what I wear really fits me into one of those labels or not. (When people say that I'm something, that can annoy me)

[Lex]

Originally Posted by LillithDuskcutter

Okay, I've heard of Preppy Goths. They're the really bouncy happy ones, right?
What do they wear? If I wear frilly skirts, colourful striped thigh-high socks and big doc martins, what does that make me?

Does it matter? Surely you should wear what *you* personally like, and what makes *you* the most comfortable, rather than try and mold yourself to fit some label just so you can call yourself an "X Goth".

Wearing some clothes doesn't automatically MAKE you anything. If you wear them because you like the clothes, it just means you like the clothes. If you wear them because you're trying to conform to some stereotype, it means you're just following trends rather than thinking for yourself.

So just wear what you like and forget about all the silly labels.

[L'Oiseau Noir]

If you're going for a perkygoth-type image, bright colors will do it. Stuff like white (or some form of color) corsets, bright striped stockings (think candy canes), colorful eyeshadow, and so on, so forth. I'm not a fashion expert, so I can't really say much beyond that. That, and I abhor most bright colors. I'm into the pastels and neutrals.

Electrosexual, though, might be able to help you more than me. This is more his thing, fashion and the like, so stick around, I'm sure he'll reply at some point.

And lastly, don't categorize yourself, or be concerned about "where you fall into." Wear what you like, be who you are, and screw everyone else. It's about you, not them.

[LillithDuskcutter]

That's a good point. My Gran (The steriotypical cow) once said that I was too bouncy to be a Goth. I just ignored her.
I try not to conform, allthough it's hard when all your friends are doing it.
I think from now on, I'll just be whatever the Hell I wanna be.

[Lex]

Ok, after reading your response to Solumina I think I may have misinterpreted your initial post. Apologies.

I don't know what those labels even mean - honestly, there are so many subcategories of Goth that it's getting quite ridiculous - I would just ignore them. It doesn't matter what label they think you fit, it just matters that you're comfortable with yourself.

[L'Oiseau Noir]

Originally Posted by Lex

I don't know what those labels even mean - honestly, there are so many subcategories of Goth that it's getting quite ridiculous - I would just ignore them.

I say we just start saying:

"That's a Type-One Goth! And over there is a Type-Three!"

It'd be so much easier than saying "It's a Victorian Goth guys" or "Hey, check it out, it's one of those tradcyberpunkbubblegumvictorian Goths!"

[Solumina]

Originally Posted by L'Oiseau Noir

"Hey, check it out, it's one of those tradcyberpunkbubblegumvictorian Goths!"

hehehehehe

[Bete Noire]

I say just wear what you want. Who gives a flying fuck what others think? Wear what makes you feel comfortable, regardless of the credit it gains either in or out of the scene. Anyone who wears what they think they should to make themselves more "goth" instantly loses any credibilty in the scene, as they have sacrificed their individuality in favour of conformism. Not a good thing at all.

That said, taking inspiration from something isn't the same as outright copying.

For instance, I take some of my clothing ideas from the aesthetics of some of the vampires in Lost Boys (yeah this is a little cheesy etc but I like it) Also, I have (or so I'm told) on occasion ended up looking like Heath Ledger crossed with Jonny Depp in POTC. Not sure how good a thing this is but anyway.

[LillithDuskcutter]

I was taught to fit in by my Grandparents, so sometimes I can't help but want to conform.
Damn them.
Looking like Heath Ledger and Captain Jack Sparrow at the same time is a good thing. They're both hott (Well, Heath was. Then he died. But his memory still makes girls swoon. Pretty good for a dead guy, huh?)

[AngelikDemonik]

Originally Posted by LillithDuskcutter

That's a good point. My Gran (The steriotypical cow) once said that I was too bouncy to be a Goth. I just ignored her.
I try not to conform, allthough it's hard when all your friends are doing it.
I think from now on, I'll just be whatever the Hell I wanna be.

Hmm, that's not a very nice thing to say about your grandmother. She's old, she doesn't know things. Teach her, don't scold her for not being up on the times.

Had I done everything my friends did, I would've been married with two kids by now =)

[electrosexual]

Rawr I have arrived!

I used to be huge into the whole "perkygoth" thing (I didn't actually know at the time that it was called that). Nowadays I prefer black, merely because I've come to prefer it. I still keep it fun though ^_^

It seems that "perky goths" actually have quite few resources on the web. I would suggest looking up cybergoth, rave and even club kid fashion and then try to form your own preppy goth image from that. Makeup wise, Jeffree Star springs to mind with me here. Particulary how he used to look before he became pink obsessed. Like this and this. You don't have to be a mass of color if you don't want to though. Spots, stripes ruffles and other things of that sort can give conventional goth a "fun" twist.

Hope that helps ^_^

[Apathy's_Child]

So perkygoth is just dressing "alternative" (whatever the fuck that means nowadays) but wearing colored instead of black clothes? Christ, goth is a fucking minefield. Makes me glad I just wear cheap shit from Walmart. I'll never understand people who take a lot of interest in fashion. I find it intensely boring.

[electrosexual]

I guess it just depends on where your interests lie, AP. I don't find fashion boring in the slightest. In fact, I love it just as much as I do music. It's not something you have to understand, just that it's some peoples' interests.

[Apathy's_Child]

I wasn't being disparaging towards people who ARE interested, dude. I just don't see the appeal. I'm not saying it's a stupid interest to have or anything. Hell, at least it involves creativity.

I guess it just reminds me of the shallow obsession with image and appearance which forms a major fucking sickness of culture in general. It may not be a fair assumption to make, but it just strikes me as another form of social control (particularly with regards to women - the Who Doesn't Wear Makeup thread made me sad. If it's just dress-up fun for a night out, cool, but people over there talked about being uncomfortable leaving the house without makeup).

As always, I'm with Hicks - I pretty much think everyone should just buy cheap, functional clothing, as little as possible, and just fucking break the industry that created the beauty myth.

[Graveyard.Crow]

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

I wasn't being disparaging towards people who ARE interested, dude. I just don't see the appeal. I'm not saying it's a stupid interest to have or anything. Hell, at least it involves creativity.

I guess it just reminds me of the shallow obsession with image and appearance which forms a major fucking sickness of culture in general. It may not be a fair assumption to make, but it just strikes me as another form of social control (particularly with regards to women - the Who Doesn't Wear Makeup thread made me sad. If it's just dress-up fun for a night out, cool, but people over there talked about being uncomfortable leaving the house without makeup).

As always, I'm with Hicks - I pretty much think everyone should just buy cheap, functional clothing, as little as possible, and just fucking break the industry that created the beauty myth.

Amen sista

[LillithDuskcutter]

Originally Posted by electrosexual

Rawr I have arrived!

I used to be huge into the whole "perkygoth" thing (I didn't actually know at the time that it was called that). Nowadays I prefer black, merely because I've come to prefer it. I still keep it fun though ^_^

It seems that "perky goths" actually have quite few resources on the web. I would suggest looking up cybergoth, rave and even club kid fashion and then try to form your own preppy goth image from that. Makeup wise, Jeffree Star springs to mind with me here. Particulary how he used to look before he became pink obsessed. Like this and this. You don't have to be a mass of color if you don't want to though. Spots, stripes ruffles and other things of that sort can give conventional goth a "fun" twist.

Hope that helps ^_^

Well, over here in the UK, we have this company called "Barry M". It has tonnes of neon make up, aswell as what some would call "Goth". I'm talking sparkly, neon, pastel, neutral. Hell, they've even got green lipstick that actually shows up green and not clear!
So, Perky= neon/dark, right?

[electrosexual]

Oh yes, Barry M is great! MAC do a great selection of colour too. And stays on all day.

Pretty much. For me, that whole perkygoth thing has been about being a wild coloured freak.

[Lex]

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

I guess it just reminds me of the shallow obsession with image and appearance which forms a major fucking sickness of culture in general. It may not be a fair assumption to make, but it just strikes me as another form of social control (particularly with regards to women - the Who Doesn't Wear Makeup thread made me sad. If it's just dress-up fun for a night out, cool, but people over there talked about being uncomfortable leaving the house without makeup).

As always, I'm with Hicks - I pretty much think everyone should just buy cheap, functional clothing, as little as possible, and just fucking break the industry that created the beauty myth.

I agree with every word of this.

[Mir]

Originally Posted by Apathy's_Child

As always, I'm with Hicks - I pretty much think everyone should just buy cheap, functional clothing, as little as possible, and just fucking break the industry that created the beauty myth.

Hicks? Bill Hicks? =)

In any case, I agree with that statement 100%. What I disagree with is buying cheap clothes from Walmart, as I am pretty sure those are a product of slave labour in third world countries.

[Cicero]

"Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable we have to alter it every six months"
- Someone cool, last name Wilde

Funny that still holds true over a century later, only now it's altered even more frequently!

Though I actually really love fashion, and have toyed with the idea of becoming a designer. It's an art form just like anything else, only a bunch of arseholes with shitty taste in style have turned it into a big business obsessed with what's 'in' and what's 'out' (all of which is very arbitrary).

Buy second hand, make it yourself, or buy from local designers with actual creativity. At least for the most part - I certainly don't stick to that when I see a gorgeous black and white striped tailored shirt on sale in Zara >_>

Back to the thread topic though.... Perky goth is alright, not really to my taste. I'm starting to get into brighter colours, though that's more in a green-and-blue-deathhawk kind of way.

[raggedyanne]

Originally Posted by LillithDuskcutter

Okay, I've heard of Preppy Goths. They're the really bouncy happy ones, right?
What do they wear? If I wear frilly skirts, colourful striped thigh-high socks and big doc martins, what does that make me?

Insane. And it's perky goths, not preppy. Anything preppy cannot be goth for it withers the creative blood.

[mallorymaloney]

I've just recalled Emilie Autumn --- I've always marveled at her fashion style ... Is it perhaps 'perky goth'?

[LillithDuskcutter]

I thought she was babydoll Goth.