EVOLUTION OF THE GOTHIC DRESS (PART III) – 1990s

 Finally, the trend of wearing the long, exaggerated clothes caught up with the Goths. The Gothic dress, inspired by the heightened by the popularity of the literature. The literature was talking about spookiness and pessimism; the early 90s indulged the Gothic dress in a very Victorian lens. The gothic dress was made with lots of frills and lace. Big, fluffy hairstyles and bangs came into fashion. Also, the accessories were huge chokers and feathers. The corset became popular. Aesthetics of the Gothic dress changed to being mysterious and graceful, quite contrary to what the Deathrockers were.

The Victorian goths removed the white paint from their faces and added heavy eyeliner, lipsticks and highly thinned eyebrows to their regime. Also, the piercings came down to the lips and chin. Needless to say, this gothic dress inspires gothic weddings these days because of its sophisticated elegance.

 The literature at that time was highly influential on the movement due to Poe’s introduction in the field. He set the tone for literature and his novel’s brought the renewal of the theme of Dracula. This explains why most of the Victorian Goths had vampiric outlook to themselves. Also, the famous Addams family came to the popular culture and rose to prominence, something that the Gothic culture had never experienced. Even till today, the family is adored and remembered for its dark sense of humor and its portrayal of the Gothic culture of the 90s.

But wait, the late 90s had turned to fantastical science fiction to incorporate the Gothic culture. Mostly inspired from the unusual, it is but another reason why the gothic culture turned towards. Thus, the Cybergoths came in the scene. They were in stark contrast to the sophisticated Victorian goths. Their idea of a gothic dress was- putting black and white juxtaposition with colors. They usually had the play of bright colors in the background of black patterns. Cyberlox came in the fashion. This would be the (almost) first introduction to the color to the Gothic dress. Since the industrial revolution had taken over by storm, the gothic dress did include them with a twist of its own. Goggles, gas masks and other types of PVC masks were included in it.

The makeup was quite dramatic, especially the eyes. They usually wear masks, so their mouths were covered. That gave way to creative eye makeup with popping eye colors and dramatic eyeliners. The lipstick color, if at all, was put, they were the conventional red or black (usually).

The 90s crammed with itself the elegant Victorian goths as well as the Cyber goths, two different genres, inspired by different sources but united under the umbrella of the gothic dress. Goth offered to us, the lair of literature to be inspired and create a fashion of its own, something that the normal world could barely ever do. We, goths, created ourselves out of scratch and gave the world something to remember.

We’ll move to the 2000s now, a new century where the gothic dress continued to flourish. Hope to see you there. Till then, love from a gothic heart!