why do goths wear black

Why Do Goths Wear Black?

 Many of the members of the Goth community are seen to be wearing black color. However, the color black is not entirely essential to be worn all the time to show that you are part of the Goth Community. 

If you meet Goths and ask them why they wear black, they will give you multiple responses like 'they love it...', 'they are mourning...' or 'black is a feeling…' 

Goths are not going to give you any solid retort to this question. However, it is said that the color black is used to symbolize different things like death, fear, night, darkness, and other common characteristics like Gothic beliefs, music, fine art, and literature.

There are multiple reasons that research has highlighted to justify why Goth war black and dark colors. But before going further, let’s enjoy together the beauty of this goth high heel, just click on the image below.

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Reasons why do Goths wear black:

Below are some of the top reasons explained

Gothic Fashion and Punk music

Many experts are going to answer this question differently. It entirely depends upon if the person thinks Goth is pertinent to music or fashion. 

Talking about fashion, the Goth roots go back to Britain in the 1970s, which adapted the style from the '60s with changes in multiple colors and psychedelia. From music, the Goth wears also grew. The Punks used to wear black, and the base of their fashion was motorcycle wear and workwear, which included leather jackets and jeans.

The Victorian Goths of the Victorian Era

Bearing history in mind, the Goths are also about melancholy and romanticism. History gives the reference of the Goths fashion from the era of Victorian. In 1861, after the death of Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert of Gotha and Queen Victoria made the fashion of mourning dress up.

  • She used to wear only the black color every day, and she was seen in no other color until she passed away herself in the year 1901. 
  • These mourning practices of the Queen were followed by the Victorians who belonged to the upper class. 

They would wear dresses that were full of beads and jewelry like jet necklaces. The dark luxury of the Victorian Goths was defined. The use of corsets increased along, too, keeping in mind that everything was kept black.

victorian-gothic-girl

The Beatniks

It is said that Goth wearing only black references is also based on the beatniks and their berets and turtlenecks, which are iconic and black.

Other reasons to look at:

  • Other reasons could be the Rockabilly culture of the 1950s and 1960s or the fashion based on cyber-Goth.
  • Every Goth can have their reasons for wearing Black.
  • Talking about the modern world, to be a Goth means you need to wear black. The black clothes are a mark of the Goth's culture. 

The black color and different styles of hair are used to make you distinctive from the normal.

Do only black clothes define you as a Goth?

No, there are many Goths that you will see around who will be entirely dressed up in white, but they will be Goths and will be recognized as such too. Some Goths wear neon colors. It means that black clothes are not the only symbol of being Goth, nor is it compulsory.

  • You can wear a black jacket, black Tee shirt with black pants and complement it with black boots or converse and become a Goth. 
  • You can also wear a red corset with red lace and a pretty dark red mini skirt along with double sole platform shoes of red or black color and still be a Goth. 

The color of the clothes does not make any difference necessarily to define if you are part of the Goth community or not.

goth girl

How to Wear Black to be styled as Goth?

Commonly, the fashion of Goths is known to be black clothes, dark makeup, black jewelry, and styles your hair in a spooky way, but the Gothic fashion is more diverse than as it is portrayed in people's minds. 

The traditional way to be dressed as Goth to wear all black and dark attire with dark makeup; The person stops wearing the light colors, and the wardrobe is full of dark colors. There are different ways you can style up as a Goth in black clothes.

Big stock gothic style

It is one of the styles that you can adopt to look like Goths. These styles are not plain black. They come with different styling and fabrics of black cloths to not make the gothic fashion look dull. You can incorporate multiple cloth fabrics and make it one piece.

 For instance, you can wear a gothic jacket (motorcycle wear) with a lacy blouse and try skinny black jeans with black boots; This creates a fascinating all-black gothic look for you.

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Wear black jewelry and make spooky gothic styles

You can also wear black cuffs and other bands in your arms with jackets or a tee shirt. Opt for black necklaces or chains if your neckline is low. Wearing dark lipstick is also very common. 

Add other prints and designs to your gothic clothes.

To enhance your gothic look, you can add shades of dark grey or silver for the monochromatic look. It might sound like bending your gothic rules, but that does not make any difference because you are adding the shades of black to your dress code.

 If it is only the black color for you, you can wear the black of different fabric textures, and then you can complement it with the black leather boots to augment your appearance.

Final thoughts

Every individual can wear black or another shade of black as being a part of the Gothic community. They have their reasons to wear black, but as history has depicted, the black dye has highlighted color for the Goths to represent their community. Anyone can create their style and represent the gothic culture. The central importance is the belief system. The class is unique to the individual himself, and it entirely depends upon him how he wants to style his gothic fashion.

If you are interested in Gothic culture, you need to check this article about Goths Beliefs. If you are a fan of black clothes, you sure want to discover why do metalheads wear black.

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