Indeed it can.

I am generally very nice to my clothing. I can proudly say I have had very few mishaps where I have truly, in a fell swoop, demolished a piece. However, I do wear them thin or until thread-bare--which leaves little to salvage. Most of my clothes I find at thrift stores, but even they don't offer much here. Still...perhaps I will have to brush up on my sewing skills and start making things from "scratch". =/

Dress up... no, though I do get dressed I always wear black when I go out, I just feel wrong in any other colour, though I do have coloured night clothes (though most of the colours are dark like navy blue and burlesque red).

I tend to have a couple of key pieces of clothing that I wear all the time (I only have two black skirts that are of the kind of length that I find acceptable) and have said that I'll let them fall apart before I make any more.

I don't go anywhere that would call for going the whole hog with make up and stuff like that, so I don't bother.

Most of the things that slimmer people could get away with would look anywhere from stupid to downright tragic on me, and seeing as I need no help in drawing attention to myself I tend to keep my dress to all black and fairly plain, barring a few accessories (like brooches, jewellery and other little bits).

If my confidence were greater I guess I wouldn't care what others thought of my attire, but sadly it's fairly fragile so...

Oh Minty! You are always classy and elegant. ^_^

I wear black almost every day, but for the most part, unless I'm REALLY in the mood, you'll see me in jeans and a t-shirt or something casual along those lines. I'm in college and I spend most of my day, every day, in class. I learned the hard way freshman year that wearing leather or PVC corsets to a whole day's worth of classes isn't the way to go.

From this and your old avatar, I actually think that you do look really classy. I always think it's great if people can pull off a look with basic, elegant clothes - and it seems to me like you are one of the people who can.

About the confidence, I think people often feel better about themselves (and show that unconsciously) if they have dressed themselves really pretty. So maybe going all out will attract more positive attention? That is, if you really think that you are getting negative attention now.

Be ye warned: Making clothes from scratch can get almost as expensive as buying them. If you do, be sure to get your patterns on sale, because they are absolutely not worth the $15 companies will try to charge you for them.

Gotta agree with this! If you want a good material(and enough to make a decent outfit/dress) it's gonna cost you plenty. I used to stalk the fabric stores and they rarely, if ever, put the quality fabrics(double velvet and the like) on sale. Then you have to figure in the price of the pattern and whatever odds & ends you then have to buy just for this item. I know that everything I work on seems to send me running to the store even if I have most of what I need already.

^You can make your own patterns from favourite garments for free, but I'd start simple. There's a bit of fiddliness involved sometimes. (Also my sewing machine is being temperamental.)


As for dressing up... now that I'm paying attention, I've realised that some days I'm as slack as I let on and some days I'm not. It really depends on the demands of the day.

If I dress up, it's something feminine and presentable but something I'm still fairly comfortable and mobile in. T shirt, floofy lacy dress, stockings, Docs. (I can walk in heels but choose not to do it for extended periods.) Concealer, lipstick, eyeliner.

On slobby days - concealer, jeans (blue or diy-safety pinned black), t shirt, and Docs. This is the default.


More power to anyone that dresses to the nines whenever they want, but for me casual is often where it's at. Unless I'm going to something, or it's on random days I have a more energetic mood, I just don't have the juice to spare. u_u



What with the actual preparations, trying to walk in the heels, fielding the rude reactions, and having flashbacks to dodging missiles in high school... well, it's a wonder goths don't really have to drink blood to keep their strength up!

Thanks hun

Thank you so much for this... I sometimes wonder if the stares I get when I go out are good or bad... I instantly think bad, but then I would

As for dressing pretty, I really hate anyone giving me any attention, I find it nearly impossible to accept compliments of any kind (and I think people are lying or winding me up) and it's taken me until I'm 34 to wear lipstick outside in comfort, and even then I'm paranoid about it smudging, flaking or looking crap).

I would love to dress up, and if I had a cloak I would so wear it

I almost never dress up when I'm not in school, and I'm not in school right now so I just wear whatever. I only have one friend, and she's almost never able to leave her house, so dressing up is kind of pointless for me. I do wear a lot of black t-shirts, though.

I'm still really not sure what I'm doing this Halloween. Trying to find out if we are still doing the Day of the Dead thing or not.

But, if I am getting dressed up...

I have a very short dress that I bought at Hot Topic (yes, Hot Topic, back in March, and I love it) that I'm going to wear. A mesh shirt to go with it. Red tights, and black fishnets to go over them. Not gonna wear dress shoes, I love being comfortable way too much.

My costume...honestly, isn't even all that Goth. It's this, in case anyone's curious: http://www.nexternal.com/masquerade/images/31588-m.jpg

I have accessories, my hair, and makeup planned out.

I'm an affront to the Goth subculture.

Affront? Not at all. Now go wash your mouth out with some black soap!

As it is, I love that costume. Something I might actually wear on more than just Halloween. Yes,Ii'm one of those freaks who buys a Halloween costume depending on how often i would wear it during the year.

I actually dressed up nicely today, because I rediscovered some clothes while spring cleaning. It was raining and I figured that there'd be nobody around to jeer, so I layered up. (Long velvet skirt, knee length black dress over the top, silver sword brooch, lace cardigan and pointy heels).

I walked into the shop and was wondering why a girl wore red clip on horns, and then it hit me. Halloween! People probably thought I was in costume.


I only wear the clothes when I choose though.
It's strange, I think I'm a contrary kind of person who'll cut off her nose to spite her face. Years ago as a wee babybat I wore OTT clothes and makeup everyday, despite there being very few goths and receiving a lot of abuse for it...

Now that I at least talk to other goths online, I rebel when someone tells me I should follow the lifestyle more rigidly. I hate feeling like people are pressuring me to be a certain way, whether that's in regard to conforming or looking different to the norm.


The perfect balance for me would be to get around in my jeans and do whatever practical things I have to do (work, clean, lug shopping, dodge idiots, move furniture) - and then when it's time to play, go to a goth club with friends and really go all out on the trimmings.

Been there done that, rofl (except not with a pvc corset ). I always try to incorporate something gothy into my look, but I'm not out to prove anything to anybody so a tshirt (like today) and jeans is fine by me.