viernes, 5 de febrero de 2021

Magicwardrobes

 

 

Unexpected Fun Facts About Gothic


For most people, the  mere mention of the word Gothic would immediately conjure up vivid mental images of heavily made-up young men and women dressed in Victorian Gothic clothing such as long leather or velvet coats, breeches, buckled boots and corsets - all in the darkest shades of black you can find. For those interested in gothic clothing UK, and want to understand more about this all-black affinity, lets dive into the history of this weird yet wonderful style that has turned heads through the centuries.

The Gothic style of dress

The somber yet majestic aesthetic appeal of Gothic fashion reached its height of popularity all across western Europe in the centuries we now call the Dark Ages. It wasnt only until later during the Renaissance era that the elements of Gothic style were seen as unconventional and wrong by the influencers of the day. Its gloomy appearance and visual impact is distinctive and deliberate, especially for those who subscribe to the modern subculture variant of Gothic fashion. The interest in Gothic style re-emerged in modern times after the death of punk in the UK during the early 1980s, when teenagers donned all-black outfits and dark makeup in lieu of studded denim jackets and mohawks to represent the depression and despondency of the era.



Gothic in architecture

However, fashion isnt the only thing that the Gothic style represents. It was first used to describe certain architectural styles applied to churches and cathedrals built during the years 1000 to 1400. From the ashes of the declining Romanesque architectural style rose a new form of civil engineering, a chapter defined by the use of fundamental elements such as ribbed vaults and pointed arches (found in Roman buildings), stained-glass windows that illuminate the insides, flying buttresses and of course - the liberal placement of scary looking gargoyles all around the outside of buildings.




In its early years during the first half of the 12th century, the Gothic architectural style was known at the time by a very different name. It was called Opus Francigenum, which means French Work (the most well-known example of this being the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris). In fact, the name Gothic itself was coined only later by Renaissance thinkers as a reference to the Goths, a barbaric tribe in the days of the Roman Empire who were largely seen as vulgar and uncultured.

To them, Gothic style was a stark contrast to the neat and rational sensibilities of Classical Renaissance architecture, which placed emphasis on features such as symmetry, proportion, geometry and regularity - the same elements that were found in the buildings of ancient Rome.

Gothic literature

The Gothic elements also permeated into the literary works of the late 1700s, where it was originally called Dark Romanticism - an offshoot of a larger movement called Romanticism. The Gothic literature of that age was characterised by a gruesome, sombre and funereal tone, often encompassing elements of the supernatural and spiritual as a large part of the narrative. Some of the most famous titles of the Gothic literature genre include works like The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole, Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Bronte, Frankenstein (1818) by Mary Shelley and of course - the all too famous Dracula (1897), by Bram Stoker.

Gothic clothing through the ages

When it comes to clothing, most, if not all of the defining features of modern Gothic style actually comes from the victorian Gothic fashion during the reign of Queen Victoria in England. The definition of beauty during those days was attributed to embracing elements of the macabre and the grotesque - where tight leather was combined together with loose, draping fabric such as velvet or lace to create resplendent outfits that had a sombre, yet glamorous look and feel.

 


 


 

The inspiration for the modern Gothic fashion we see today is drawn largely from the days of early cinema. The actress Theda Bara and model Bettie Page, who were known for dark makeup and dark hair contrasted against their pale skin, influenced the makeup styles of modern Gothic fashion. The music scene of the 1980s produced bands such as Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Cure, arguably two of the most influential gothic rock bands that defined the dark yet mysterious visual appeal of Gothic culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 




 


 

As a testament to the adaptability of the subculture, more contemporary Gothic fashion looks incorporate elements that arent necessarily classic Gothic by nature. Some examples include things like chokers, PVC skirts, corsets, collars, and combat boots - things that were borrowed from the fetish and punk scenes of the 80s, and the emphasis on the imagery used in contemporary Gothic media, like tshirts or jackets emblazoned with logos of Gothic bands or any other distinctive fictional Goth-related elements.

Gothic as a worldwide movement

During the mid-1990s, the love for Gothic style made its way from the western hemisphere where it started, to the far east - in the streets of the Harajuku district in Tokyo, Japan to be exact. The combination of borrowed Western Goth aesthetics with anime and the alternative music scene in japan resulted in an explosion of a new kind of fashion movement called the Gothic Lolita, which blends traditionally victorian gothic elements with baby doll dresses and an emphasis on cuteness - or kawaii, as it is called there.

 

Since the Medieval age, the appeal of Gothic has been shown in many different ways - architecture, literature, music, art and fashion over the preceding centuries have all been influenced in some way, shape or form by Gothic sensibilities. For subscribers of the contemporary Gothic subculture, the sense of collective identity that is based upon a celebration of shared tastes in fashion, music and culture has become a defiant cry against having to conform to modern society. However, its not all peaches and gravy - some of the controversial stigmas and assumptions that the Gothic community has dealt with over the years include links to satanism, extreme violence and vampirism (blood-drinking!).

 

With all that in mind, its safe to say that Gothic style, and more notably Gothic fashion, has certainly gone through many cycles of death and rebirth over the ages - a truly macabre thought that aptly defines the Gothic appeal that has largely inspired modern art, fashion and culture worldwide up till today.

 




 

                                                                                                    


2 comentarios

  1. O Gótico é muito mais do que a aparência.

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  2. Thanks for sharing. These boots are very personal.

    The coming summer, I am full of yearning. I've started preparing for summer swimwear (one-piece swimsuits).

    ResponderEliminar

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