Style Trends - Gothcore

I'll start with an admission - the term 'gothcore' irks me a bit. Maybe it's because I was a 90s teen, and I still have the 'vintage' Docs, band t-shirts, and enduring love of Smashing Pumpkins and Nine Inch Nails to vouch for it. Maybe it's because my cabaret persona and stage stylings fell into the 'vintage goth' category, and still. Or maybe it's just the adding of '-core' to terms sits oddly with me. (Is that a sign of getting older? A whole different blog post I suspect!)

Anyway, regardless of my linguistic taste, gothic fashion is having a bit of a more mainstream moment. Something this goth-by-night, and always lover of things black with a splash of metal, is more than ok with!

So to give a few ideas of how you can add a touch of gothic to your wardrobe, here are a few of my personal favourite touches:

One look at my makeup draw will show adore a bold lipstick. Whilst red is a classic, I love the drama of something darker. Whilst a true black lip may not be the easiest to wear (though I love it for my burlesque alter ego and my dark angel act), swiping on a deep plum or rich dark berry shade instantly adds a bit of drama to your look, with the bonus that you can pair down your eyes or embrace it with liner too. Personally, I love a liquid matte lipstick for long wearability and avoidance of teeth smudges, with those by fellow small business VE Cosmetics being my personal favourites, and they have an amazing range of strong colours.

Clothing wise, lace, leather, and semi-sheer looks are your friends for fabric. You can find some amazing vintage gems out there, I found a long black dress with wonderfully sheer and voluminous sleeve in Bounce Vintage in Canterbury a little while back.