And you know what else? Sure, you can dress like people from this or that music-based subculture without listening to the music and we won’t mind as long as you don’t pretend you’re part of it or spread misinformation about it.
But don’t you want to know the music that inspired the looks you’re so attracted to? Because, that’s the thing, at least speaking regarding goth, the fashion didn’t just occur to us, we started dressing the way we do inspired not only by musicians with an iconic form of dress, but by the music itself. Sound and appearance usually go hand in hand.
In the 90s Medieval and Renaissance inspired clothing was so popular not by mere coincidence, but because Ethereal Wave was at its peak. The girls dressed in long velvet gowns with dripping bell sleeves, who had impossibly long hair, were listening to a lot of Faith and the Muse, Mors Syphilitica, Dead Can Dance, Lycia and Sopor Aeternus.
The girls dressed in babydoll dresses, with pigtails, maryjanes and such are more than likely Switchblade Symphony fans.
The people dressed in leather and latex with a lot of fetish gear are most likely listening to a lot of Darkwave and/or to bands like Two Witches, Athamay or Umbra et Imago.
The people dressed like Victorian vampires are probably listening to a lot of Inkubus Sukkubus, Vampyrëan, Nosferatu, Paralysed Age and Witching Hour UK.
AND SO ON.
You don’t have to like it, if you don’t then you don’t, but if you haven’t given the music a proper chance AND you’re so intrigued by the fashion that is inspired by said music, how come you have such little interest and commitment as to not even dip your toes properly? Again, if it turns out to not be your thing, fine, just don’t spread misinfo. But who knows? You could be missing out on music you would fall in love with if you gave it a chance.
(Before there’s any misunderstandings, this does NOT mean that a goth who dresses a certain way 1) has to prefer goth music that is associated most with that style of clothing, or 2) can ONLY dress in that style, most goths mix and match or dress in different substyles depending on our moods.)
I have a bunch of goth YouTube playlists, by the way!
They’re all 15 songs each, themed in accordance to aesthetic and fashion style, built by a goth who’s by no means an elder, but who has been in the scene non-stop since 2007.
Trad goth 🦇 aesthetic and music
Romantic goth 🌹 aesthetic and music
Fetish goth 🖤 aesthetic and music
Vampire goth 🍷 aesthetic and music
Cyber goth ☢️ aesthetic and music
Deathrock 💀 aesthetic and music
Kinder goth 🍬 aesthetic and music
Witchy goth 🎃 aesthetic and music
Macabre goth ⚰️ aesthetic and music
My tag for these posts is #goth aes series, you can see more of the details there (which songs are in the playlists, basically).
The connections made between the fashion choices and the bands is pretty accurate.
Oooooh, new playlists to listen to!
I need more velvet dresses with giant sleeves. Yes.
Also worth noting that different continents often also have a (slightly) different gothic culture since it emerged before the widespread use of the internet. While some bands are internationally famous and appreciated, a lot of American goth bands are quite unknown in Germany for example and their style (even within the same genre) is distinct from one another.
(I. e. I haven’t really seen the babydoll dress, maryjanes and pigtails combo around here and Romantic Goth exists in a medieval edition here that’s distinct from the Ethereal Wave kind.)
Some music recs from my personal favourites:
