Q&A for How to Dress Goth

Goth accessories can include an excessive amount of bangles, chunky rings and bracelets inspired by cultures and ancient iconography like Celtic and Egyptian. Though it isn't vital to understand or believe in the imagery you’re wearing, you can come across as offensive to people who do believe in it, so I’d probably warn to be careful.

While they both look similar on the surface, they have vast musical and subcultural differences. Goth is a subculture which grew out of 70s and 80s British post-punk whereas emo is an off-shoot of mid-80s Washington D.C. hardcore punk, standing for “emotive hardcore”. Both scenes are alive and well today.

If someone says something negative to you, just ignore them. As long as you like how you look, that's all that matters.

Black lipstick is very popular in goth fashion. Feel free to wear it as often as you want!

Hi there! There are a couple of ways to make your own gothic bracelet. You could make a string of skull-shaped beads and tie them off. You could also take a black belt and attach metal studs to it. Make sure it's a wide belt. You'll want to keep the buckle and holes so you can close the bracelet around your wrist. The studs can be attached with glue, and should be spiked or square. Hope this helps!

If you don't have makeup and want to wear it, you can buy some from MAC, Ulta Beauty, or Sephora. If you don't want to wear makeup, that's completely fine. You can be goth without makeup.

There are goths of all ages! Don't worry about being "too old" to wear goth fashion. You can get into the scene at any age.

Yes, you can wear just about any hair color with goth fashion. Dark brown is actually a popular color!

Hi there. It's up to you how much skin you show, but most gothic styles don't show very much skin. You may show bare shoulders with an off-the-shoulder top or dress. If you decide to wear a crop top, you'd be showing your stomach. Combining shorts or a miniskirt with socks or long boots may show off part of your legs, or all of your legs if you decide on no socks or different shoes.

Hi! There's no such thing as being "too goth." Wear as much gothic clothing as you're comfortable with.

Choker necklaces can be bought at many different stores. Check out Kohl's, ASOS, Forever21, or Etsy.

Goth formal clothing tends to include black gowns or suits. Look for draping ankle- or floor-length dresses, or bodycon dresses of any length with mesh cutouts. Suits tend to be a little fancier looking than most other kinds of suits with longer jackets and maybe even a top hat; the jacket, waistcoat, shirt, tie, and pants should be all black.

Hi! You can find a pair of black Doc Martens online at Amazon or the Doc Martens website. Try looking around at ASOS, too!

Hello! You can find goth makeup at your nearest MAC, Sephora, or Ulta Beauty store.

Hi there! You can definitely include other dark colors, but black should be the main color of your outfits. Red, purple, and white make great accent colors.

Hi. Goths wear black because it fits with the culture. The trend revolves around sadness and rebellion, which meshes perfectly with the color black. Goth fashion is also an offshoot of punk fashion, which also involves lots of black.

Yes, you can definitely wear bowties in goth outfits. Just make sure they're black! Something with a skull or cross print would also work well.

Goth and emo are pretty similar in terms of style. Emo fashion typically features lots of layers, band t-shirts, hoodies, and tight clothing. Gothic styles are more influenced by the occult and supernatural - witches, magic, skulls, what whatnot. Goths usually wear all black everything, as well as intricate jewelry, and lots of ruffles and lace. You can choose whichever style appeals to you more.

It depends on the style of your clothing and makeup. Plain dark clothing is best as a starting point. Gothic fashion is usually a little more decorative than most other styles. Try looking for clothing patterned with skulls, crosses, stars and moons, pentagrams, etc. Your pants, shoes, and jewelry may feature lots of studs, belts, or zippers. As far as makeup, stick to dark eyeshadows and liners, and red, black, blue, or purple lipsticks.

Hello! All dark colors are fine for goth fashion. Think purple, blue, and, as you mentioned, red. You could also try white, grey, and hot pink.