NEWS: Gothic Charm School Lesson 1 By Jillian Venters

CULTURE: Gothic Charm School Lesson 1 By Jillian Venters

Jillian Vinters, a.k.a. the Lady of the Manners, was fascinated by the darker side of life even as a child, and embraced gothic culture as soon as she was old enough to wield a black eyeliner pencil. A harbinger of good taste, Jillian cared deeply what those is the gothic realm did with their eyeliner pencils. Thus, she became a go-to goth, and has been dishing out advice and tips via her website, Gothic-Charm-School.com, since 1998. Now her essays on the lifestyle and etiquette of the subculture have been compiled into a book, which is beautifully illustrated by Jillian's husband, noted fantasy artist Pete Venters.

In this excerpt Jillian explores one of the scene's biggest clichés, and explains why it's imperative that you don't let the people you care for fall victim to its claws.

Why Friends Don't Let Friends Dress Like The Crow

Ah, The Crow. Long ago, a new comic book appeared. Rendered in black and white, it was a violent, anguished story of lost love, and it was not your typical comic book story. It bracketed nightmarish images of despair and bloody retribution with poetry by Rimbaud and lyrics by The Cure and Joy Division. Word of mouth caused interest in the comic to grow amongst the blackclad types, until it began to seem that all Goths were required to have a copy (along with your tattered paperback of Interview with the Vampire, Sandman comics, dried roses, black boots, white face powder, and assorted eyeliner pencils). But even with the comic's near ubiquitousness amongst Goths, it still seemed like an "insider" sort of thing. If you saw someone reading an issue, you could (kind of) safely assume that the reader shared at least some of your interests and would understand the things you held close to your black romantic heart. This sort of thinking carried over, to a degree, when you saw someone in Crow makeup at a club or convention. Dressing like the Crow almost became a subcultural shorthand indicating a person's interests in other comics, movies, books, and music.

As time went by, the comic gained a higher profile in pop culture and then, lo and behold, the movie was made. And as adaptations go, the movie was pretty good. Brandon Lee did a stunning job, and his death was a tragic loss. But the movie brought the story of The Crow even higher visibility; the subsequent sequels, spin-off comics and novels, and TV show got even more attention. It wasn't a cult-following thing anymore-it suddenly seemed like just about everyone knew about The Crow. Which meant that people who weren't hard-core fans began co-opting the look. That was fine and dandy, for fashion is always about borrowing an idea you like and making it your own. But people weren't just taking inspiration from the imagery and adding it to their look; they were slapping on some whiteface and black lipstick and drawing black triangles around their eyes. Things got to the point where you couldn't go to a Goth club without seeing a flock of Crow-wannabes, most of whom had applied their makeup in a ham-fisted manner. The Crow is one of those classic "insta-Goth" icons, but he has an easier look to copy than Dracula. Almost everyone recognizes it (those who don't probably assume the costumed person is impersonating someone from pro-wrestling or a black metal band), which is why people who want to play tourist and visit one of those "weird clubs with all the freaky people in black" pull on some black jeans, a black Tshirt, and a trench coat, slap on some black and white makeup, and head out, feeling confident that they'll "blend in." They don't. The idea is also being appropriated by people who aren't quite Goth, but SpoOoOKy. That is part of where the clichéd aspect of dressing like the Crow comes from, but there's another layer to the clichés.

Dressing like the Crow is also one of the great starter-Goth traditions; it's pretty much the male equivalent of dressing like Death from the Sandman comics, which almost every fledgling Goth girl does at least once. Again, it's that shortcut to spooooookiness that is the attraction. A pre-formed identity that allows the costumed person to feel not only Dark and Mysterious but as if he is part of an alternative subculture (while all he's really done is broadcast that he isn't as connected to that alternative subculture as he thinks).

Eventually people who settle into the Goth world and feel at home there stop needing those pre-formed identities and masks. They feel comfortable being themselves and not adopting what they thought was a required template. (And then they probably go on to mock other people who are new to the scene and experimenting with appropriating the same subcultural icons. It's a vicious circle, Snarklings.)

Over the years, the Lady of the Manners has gone on and on (and on and on and on and . . .) about how friends don't let friends dress like the Crow. Dressing up like the Crow is considered by most Goths to be trite, overdone, and a bit like holding up a sign that says, "mostly clueless." But you know what? The Lady of the Manners also thinks that if you really, really, really want to dress up like the Crow, you should do it. If that is what makes you happy, if you think that would be the coolest Halloween costume ever for you, then do it. The Lady of the Manners does, however, have two pieces of advice. First: Accept the fact that people will roll their eyes, snicker, laugh, and generally try to make you feel like an idiot. Ignore them. Second: Do the best job you can with the makeup and assembling the costume. Apply the whiteface makeup evenly (over every bit of exposed skin, please, and that includes your ears and neck), and make sure the eyeliner and black streaks are symmetrical. Think long and hard about whether you have the proper physique to wear the costume; it is a sad, harsh fact that nothing becomes an object of ridicule faster than a heavier-set person dressed up as a character previously portrayed by Brandon Lee.

There is nothing wrong with dressing like one of your idols. (TheLady of the Manners dresses a bit like Mary Poppins's evil twin, which garners her some confused looks, so she wouldn't dream of telling someone not to dress like a fictional character.) So sure, go paint your face and put on your trench coat. Wind strips of electrical tape up your arms, even. Just understand that some people will assume you are trying to blend in with a subculture you aren't very informed about. Be prepared for snide looks and eye-rolling from some people, but do not let those snide looks diminish your enjoyment. Instead, smile back in a knowing (and, if you can manage it, faintly condescending) manner and then ignore them.


Excerpt from Gothic Charm-School courtesy of Harper Collins. Text copyright (c) Jillian Venters 2009. Printed with kind permission of Harper Collins and Jillian Venters.