Hot Topic

[katsumy]

Originally Posted by Circle V

Bubs?

I almost laughed. That's saying a lot since I'm so Gothic that my laugh glands have crusted over.

Boobs, Katsumy. Boobs.

*Long time no see... about the "bubs" thing! What in the fucking hell do you think!? I’m not from the U.S! I’m doing the best I can to keep up!...

*Still I’m happy with my improved grammar. As long you guys can read it and understand it -IT'S OK!-

[Circle V]

Your first language is Spanish, I know, so it makes sense phonetically. It's still quite funny.

[Metatron]

The thing is...if you like it, you should wear it. Honestly, who cares if it's from Hot Topic? We spend so much time debating whether or not Hot Topic is goth, but then we turn around and tell the n00bs that gothic is whatever they want it to be. I don't give a fuck if some middle schooler is wearing the same clothes. I will wear whatever I like and whatever I want to. If it comes from Hot Topic, you can save your dirty looks and rude comments for someone who's willing to steep down to your level. I'm really sick of hearing "Everyone goes there". It's your choice if you want to shop there or not. ...My opinion.

[Surgeon Méchant De Sang]

I think the thing that's so bothersome about Hot Topic is that it's a big coporate machine operated by people who are eager to make money on a "trend". The majority of the mass produced crap that they sell usually sends a nasty chill down any self-respecting goth's back.

That's my two cents...

Next?

[Metatron]

Hmm, but Hot Topic doesn't manufacture any of that clothing, it's all retail. If it wasn't Hot Topic selling it, 'goths' would go after it.

[WolfMoon]

Actually, if it wasn't Hot Topic selling it, goths would still hate the store that did sell it.

[Sanctus Dei]

Yes... I plan to be a non-conformist, just like that guy....syndrome.

Does anybody care really? I figure shop where ever the fuck you want to shop, hell I even find decent shit at Kohls.. Ive found I actually don't need clothes or even a depressed demeanor for people to find me dark (even gothic) I've never tried to be any way.. it just happened.

[WolfMoon]

The clothing itself isn't the issue. It's the fact that a sub-culture (that was happy being on the fringes) is being commercialized for profit without understanding the roots of the whole thing. It's become another fashion trend to mainstream society. Normally I shun the place, but I do actually plan on going back and buying a couple of shirts. It's a lame excuse, but I simply suck at making shirts right now.

*Now let's all have a good laugh at Wolfie and go about our business*

[Rhapsody]

I can't laugh, WolfMoon.

I have a new Lenore hoodie.

[NyQuil of Doom]

I can't laugh either. I bought a pair of earrings for my mom at Hot Topic yesterday.

[Sanctus Dei]

Laugh? Why? I bought a decent lingerie corset top there once... Ofcourse I haven't a gothic clothing type store within 30 miles of me except HT, so I have an 'only store in a reasonable distance' excuse.

"Cause corsets an dark jewelry be tough ta find via Target' Boutique"

[SilentScreams]

What's up kids. I'm new here so I don't really know any of you people. I actually stumbled here looking for a t-shirt that strangely had nothing to do with this forum at all.

But that's beside the point.

The main problem i have with Hot Topic is not necessarily their over-priced, cheaply made sweatshop clothing, but the people that buy it. Now I'm not saying this is the case with everyone that goes tehre or shops there or anything.

Follow me through on this:

The average Hot Topic shopper is usually a teenager, maybe between ages like 13-18. Now some go there and maybe buy a t-shirt or belt buckle or even those little gummi sex bracelets that everyone loves for some reason that is beyond me. This is fine. But the average teenager is not this way. The average teenager goes there and depending on what is fashionable at the time, will completely whore themself out to this corporation and buy every item available that will make them acceptable to their fellow MTV-brainwashed peers taht fall under this category.

Let's take my friend Isaiah into account:

When I first met him he was one of the coolest kids I knew. He wore t-shirts and blue jeans and things of the sort, and that was fine with him. All of a sudden, "punk" and "anarchy" is the new fashion wave. So what does he do? He goes to Hot Topic and buys what is considered "punk by the mainstream media. Bongage pants with 2 feet wide openings, black Good Charlotte and Sum 41 shirts, his arms covered in $15 stud and spike bracelets, but lets not forget the thing that will make you "anarchy incarnate":

$5 SWEATBANDS!

And not just any $5 Sweatbands, "ANARCHY" Sweatbands. Yeah nothing says rebellion and "stickin it to the man" like giving $50 to a major corporation only to then advertise their merchandise everywhere you go.

In other words, you cannot buy anarchy. It is a state of mind.

I take SLC Punk into consideration. Yes it is a popular movie and yes it probably is sold in hot topic now but it makes many good points.

For example, Stevo (the hero of the story and one of the 2 original punks in Salt Lake) talks to Brandy (local rich girl). Brandy asks Stevo why he goes out of his way to dress the way he does. She asks that if he's so big into rebellion an anarchy, then why does he go buy blue hair dye and punky clothes to complete his "uniform". He looks like a punk and he is thus conforming to a fashion, thus being not rebellios and different but a robot and a slave.

So now let us return to the average teenage Hot Topic customer, who shall now be referred to as "HTW" or "Hot Tpic Whore"

HTW goes into Hot Topic with the twisted since of mind that by doing this he is rebellios and different than the norm and thus a nonconformist badass. However, just as many people (if not more) shop at Hot Topic as compared to Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch, The Gap, or the likewise. Britney Spears could walk into there and completely cover herself from head to toe in Hot Topic apparel. Does this new change of clothing mean that she is "gothic"

No - it simply means to to its height in the fashion world she is merely moving into another trendy fad.

Now moving on to attitude.

Lets look back at HTW. Their life is great. They live in the suburbs in a upper middle-class family and their parents buy them whatever their heart desires and then get a rather large allowance every week to accomidate that.

*Note: I'm not bashing anywhere here that gets a good allowance or allowance at all. I personally don't get allowance and wouldn't mind personally if I did but sadly that's not the case.*

Okay moving back to are ahppy suburban kid. His life is going great. And with his new found Hot Topic fashion he is accepted by his peirs. But alas, his emotions and attitude don't fit the music. To wear the clothes he does, he has to do the Simple Paln "Welcome to Life" thing and whine about how life is so horrible even though Simple Plan are very successful in teh mainstream and making lots of money. But fashion is fashion, and thus, to keep up with the times, he bitches about every little thing.

For example:

At the mall today while in the arcade there was some mall goth kid hangin around playing DDR. He looked about 13-14ish. As I am also a fan of DDR and I decided to talk to him. The conversation went somethin like this:

Me - Hey your pretty good? Wanna play against each other?
Mallgoth - GO AWAY! I hate you! I hate everybody and everything. You wanna know why. Cause they all hate me cause I'm gothic and everyone hates me because I'm different than everyone. But i don't care I hate them too.
Me - ... ... well have fun with that.

Okay well that about sums up my rant for right now. Mainly cause it's 6:12AM and I had to wake up early. More on this tomorrow but in the meantime the whole point I'm trying to get across is:

Be yourself. Do what you want and waer what you want. Shop at Hot Topic if you want to but don't do it because you truely want to. And its not hard to tel, whose true and whose not, but even asking the poser kids if their fashion is true to them they'll give you answers like:

"ZOMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 YES I'VE ALWAYS BEEN THIS WAY!" and on and on and you guys know what I'm talkin about.

And besides, wearing black all the time doesn't make you goth and even if you are a true goth chances are you don't wear black all the time and sometimes your outfits are all white. And true gothic apparel is very European and Victorian styled but of couse this is not always the case.

And for the record,

Marilyn Manson isn't gothic but more industrial black metal.
Cradle of Filth as well are black metal.

And no I'm not saying my opinion is the end-all, beat all of all of yours and you can disagree with everything I just said and render this whole thing useless but at the end it doesn't matter because everybody is entitled to their own opinion anyway.

Sleepwell sweethearts

-Ian-

[Metatron]

Originally Posted by SilentScreams

Marilyn Manson isn't gothic but more industrial black metal.
Cradle of Filth as well are black metal.

Whew. Glad that's cleared up. Go introduce yourself here.

[SilentScreams]

Yeah that took an hour to type as well.

[NyQuil of Doom]

Originally Posted by SilentScreams

Yeah that took an hour to type as well.

Want a cookie? They're shaped like bats, with black icing...

[Metatron]

...and black rose sprinkles.

[Circle V]

Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. Not only did I enter a Hot Topic to fulfill a purpose other than that of severely mocking Those Within, but I, furthermore, purchased Items within. The Items were of the sort known as Clearance Items. These Clearance Items are characterized primarily by their dramatically lowered price and their relative Coolness and corresponding Unpopular Reknown among the Hotopikites.

In other words, I went into a Hot Topic today and bought a jacket and hair color. I also happened to have had my mom and little brother with me at the time, and was eating a huge ice-cream cone. How's that for hardcore?

[xXambivalenceXx]

O_O I waited until after Christmas to go to the Hot Topic website and with my christmas money, I purchased 3 half-priced "Fashion Corset" tops. I sent the links to my mother, who was on MSN messenger on the other room. She ordered them. I was wearing pink PJs. Furry light pink and yellow PJs. Can I be hardcore too?

[Circle V]

In Hot Topic...

Half-priced = good.

I've stated my reasons, but I'll repeat them: anything that is so unpopular that the store will cut it down to half price just to sell it must be either spectacularly cool or very, very dumb-- usually the former, like my kick-ass jacket and shirt.

I got an iPod case from hottopic.com. It's black and spiky. I cut the tag off because it angered me.

Let's go to the mall and be all hardcore together, Ambivalence!

[xXambivalenceXx]

Oh, we totally should! I'll get pink furry robe and say it's a jacket. *nod* I could start a trend!

[Circle V]

You have to get big strips of duct tape and write "Tripe (R)" on them with a black Sharpie. Stick them all over the robe, add a superfluous zipper or three, and you've got a trend.

Actually, my brother has a few jackets like that. He's more into the Hot Topic style of dress than I, though I have to admit that some of the jackets are pretty cool. I'd possibly wear them if I hadn't seen a seven-year-old girl wearing an identical one a few days ago.

[xXambivalenceXx]

Oh my... a 7-year-old? How... nauseating.

[winged_dreams]

Originally Posted by Circle V

In Hot Topic...

Half-priced = good.

I've stated my reasons, but I'll repeat them: anything that is so unpopular that the store will cut it down to half price just to sell it must be either spectacularly cool or very, very dumb-- usually the former, like my kick-ass jacket and shirt.

They have some alright clearance stuff. Nothing really appeals to me though unless a fishnet shirt goes on sale. I like fishnet. And I'm repeating myself. :P

[Needled]

Fishnet shirt? I've never saw one of those, unless your talking about the shirts with the long fishnet sleeves.. hopefully, an all-fishnet shirt would be a little revealing..

[JuliaGaltic]

I didn't know there were other goths here with Spanish as a first language so right on!
Now with that out of the way... *sigh*... I'm ashamed to admit that I have shopped there.
Man, but when you have to come up with an outfit and you don't have time to wait 6-8 weeks for the amazing outfit you ordered at your most frequented fashion website, what options are there?
Sometimes you find decent cheap boots there though. I have a pair that I've had for 3 years, sadly purchased at HT but no one has to know right....