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  • SATURDAY OCTOBER 29 2005 9:16 AM

Goth Is the New Black

Submitted by susannah_breslin

Edited by susannah_breslin

The New York Times investigates the gothic aesthetic in "Embrace the Darkness." From "Corpse Bride" to Riccardo Tisci, pop culture is being permeated with gothic influences. While in part a nod to Halloween, the piece also posits that the rise of the macabre in the mainstream reflects an increased anxiety in the culture born out of contemporary calamaties. These days, even Barneys is going dark.

Douglas Little is a designer who has parlayed a lifelong affinity for skulls, Victorian curiosity cabinets, stuffed beasts and poisonous vapors into a lucrative career peddling wax effigies, skeletons, Ouija board tables and sickly sweet fragrances with evocative names like Thorn Apple. To him the popularity of these items reflects a growing taste for the eccentric and the exotic, which itself is a reaction, he says, to the antiseptically "clean design" that dominated interiors in recent years.

"People are tired of everything cold and sterile," Mr. Little said. "The seem to prefer things that are elaborate and even bizarre."

And mingled at times with a touch of the macabre. Among the treasures Mr. Little sells in the home department at Barneys is a 19th-century human skeleton, which he unearthed at a medical auction. When he first showed it to the Barneys merchants, they were taken aback, he said.

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Comments
_DictionaryGirl_

_DictionaryGirl_

NEWSWIRE

San Diego, CA

OCT 29, 2005 09:20 AM

EVERYONE's all about the goth lately. It's weird. My little sister and her best friend desperately want to be goth. They draw skulls all over everything and draw comics of themselves wearing all black and surrounded by ghosts. (They're in elementary school and aren't allowed to wear all-black with skulls in real life.) Yesterday the best friend gave my sister a birthday card and in it she wrote "Stay goth and be happy!" Kids these days. surreal

mamet

mamet

Charleston, SC
March 2005

OCT 29, 2005 09:23 AM

_DictionaryGirl_ said:
"Stay goth and be happy!"



Isn't that an oxymoron? confused wink

[Edited on Oct 29, 2005 by mamet]

_DictionaryGirl_

_DictionaryGirl_

NEWSWIRE

San Diego, CA

OCT 29, 2005 09:27 AM

mamet said:

_DictionaryGirl_ said:
"Stay goth and be happy!"



Isn't that an oxymoron? confused wink



Yeah it made me giggle when she read it out loud. tongue

TheInsomniac

TheInsomniac

Washington, DC
October 2003

OCT 29, 2005 09:33 AM

At this point, Goth is similar to where Grunge was in the early 90s. A dark reaction to a time of war and a bad economy. The country is a dark place right now, and fashion is reflecting that. Thankfully, though, Goth is much sexier...

rue_

rue_

Calgary, AB
May 2005

OCT 29, 2005 09:37 AM

Goth is the new punk?

kherpuppet

kherpuppet

Portland, OR
June 2005

OCT 29, 2005 09:45 AM

Hmmmm... Kinda odd to those of us who were "goth" before it became recognized as a culture unto itself. It's an incredibly broad description, and for me, those that have to work at it are missing the best aspects.

What I think the big push is about is very much like what was said in the article: people are wanting to be themselves and not have their values dictated to them by an alien culture, i.e. christian morals 'n' such. Christianity is all well and good for those who believe it, but when the very life we live becomes directed by this outdated religion, problems are bound to arise. So, rather than fear "the dark" as we've been told to do countless times and in countless ways, people all over the world are embracing it, and it's perfectly natural.

Makes me happy to be who I am, and while I rarely dress "the part," I enjoy being welcomed and appreciated by goth folkses. I'm just a sick and twisted libertine, and I wouldn't have it any other way... blush

- k

Mythicus

Mythicus

Lawnside, NJ
May 2004

OCT 29, 2005 09:47 AM

SaintInsomniac said:
At this point, Goth is similar to where Grunge was in the early 90s.



so i can expect a goth section in the jc penney's catalog?

Rested

Rested

Houston, TX
June 2004

OCT 29, 2005 10:13 AM

Didnt I used to beat up Goth kids?...oh wait that was skaters. biggrin

datsun

datsun

Richmond, CA
October 2004

OCT 29, 2005 10:19 AM

Mythony said:

SaintInsomniac said:
At this point, Goth is similar to where Grunge was in the early 90s.



so i can expect a goth section in the jc penney's catalog?


you can count on it! I can't wait to see their faux-Voctorian dresses come Prom season! whatever

Lemonkid

Lemonkid

Canada
May 2003

OCT 29, 2005 10:20 AM

Don't worry! Be gothy now!

doo doo doo doo doo doo
doo doo doo doo

Don't worry!

doo doo doo doo doo

Be Gothy!

doo doo doo

naulite

naulite

Kingman, AZ
June 2005

OCT 29, 2005 10:25 AM

Lemonkid said:
Don't worry! Be gothy now!

doo doo doo doo doo doo
doo doo doo doo

Don't worry!

doo doo doo doo doo

Be Gothy!

doo doo doo



This is just so wrong on so many levels. But I can't wait to hear it on the radio. LOL

catdad

catdad

Portland, OR
August 2002

OCT 29, 2005 11:29 AM

I hear you can buy goth at mall kiosks for around $20.

The_Reverend

The_Reverend

United Kingdom
September 2004

OCT 29, 2005 11:52 AM

_DictionaryGirl_ said:
"Stay goth and be happy!"



Bumper sticker. Now!

Weapon0

Weapon0

Indianapolis, IN
October 2005

OCT 29, 2005 12:39 PM

Every Generation has a counter-culture. First the beatniks, then the hippies, then the punks, then grunge, and now goth. I just know 20-30 years from now, we are gonna see a bunch of aging goths looking like "Grandpa Munster" Al Lewis and "Lilly Munster" Yvonne de Carlo. tongue

_DictionaryGirl_

_DictionaryGirl_

NEWSWIRE

San Diego, CA

OCT 29, 2005 12:47 PM

The_Reverend said:

_DictionaryGirl_ said:
"Stay goth and be happy!"



Bumper sticker. Now!


It smacks of Engrish, doesn't it?

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