Would I be unreasonable to return to my former goth style aged 34?

[PavlovtheWitchesCat]

I have just done a practice run of my goth vampire outfit for a Vampire gig tomorrow. Due to sickness this week it has been put together based on stuff I have and some carefully chosen accessories, all a bit last minute.

And I have realised that I am now wearing pretty much what I used to wear as a 18-28yr old.

I have dark brown/black hair, short. Was this colour before I got dressed up. I am currently wearing:
soft black leather trousers, well fitted but not skin tight.
A lacy strappy black vest top, with a hole/crocheted black v long sleeved jumper over the top, torn in a couple of places, stretched out of shape (always was)
black chunky acrylic rose ring
black chunky acrylic rose blacelet
red small but chunky acrylic earings
pale face (not gothed my face up, pale due to sickly palour/partly my own complexion!) but with dark heavy make-up.
lip stud - clear crystal.
black nail varnish

(I will for my vampire outfit be adding some fangs, a little pillar-box hat/small veil on my head, chunky red teardrop crystal on black velvet lace, subtle bite marks on my neck, and, for coat, a full length black velvet coat which swishes as I walk, with white/black fur trim around cuffs and neck, and a collar that pulls up around my ears)

As I am now dressed, I feel so much more comfortable and 'me' than I have for many years, and realise how much of who I was has been 'eroded' you know through being 'normalised' for work and parenthood etc. It was never intentional to move away from this style, just happened, i guess i 'grew up'. But, i think, apart from the really heavy make-up which is ultra OTT atm, i look great! I feel 'normal' again. I can't even explain it. I have felt so out of sorts with myself, my identity in terms of what clothes to wear and I have always sort of hankered after my old style without really realising it fully until now. I used to dress like this ALL the time.

So, minus the fangs etc, and perhaps with toned down make-up (but still heavy), WIBU to revert back the old me and ditch jeans/t-shirt blandness, and not take up the smart casual average look I seem to be headed for. At least, some of the time? Maybe not the whole shebang for work though...

Or, have I just put back on my dressing up costume of youth, the one we use to hide our lack of confidence etc and I should grow the fuck up?

EvilVampireFrog I've still got my nosering at 36 and I love it.
People are who they are, there's no right or wrong way of dressing. I think slightly older goth, punk and rockabilly people look awesome - you know it's not just a teen phase, it's the real them.
I think these looks can work really well as you get older and hey, even if someone is 50+ and in full goth flounce and some people think they look awful, so what? If they are happy and being true to themselves, that's all that matters. Life is too damn short to worry about people judging you or dressing to please anyone other than yourself (obviously with reasonable concession to professional environments).

Join the ageing goth club :)

We can all listen to NIN and slebber over Trent Reznor.

To be fair, most of the folk who were at VNV nation last month were over the age of thirty. You are not alone!!!!

oh treeeent...I so love NIN. I have such great memories of NIN, dancing in clubs, pubs, around friend's front rooms, in the garden...

Nick Cave for meeeeeeee.

Nick Cave!

I saw him live in a tiny club, it was the best gig I've ever been to

Andrew Eldritch for me

AH yes Nick, good ol' nick! Although, he went a bit commercial for me in the end.
Andrew Eldritch - i saw a picture of him quite recently, and it is amazing how different he looks now. Like not even the same person!

Oh yes, only circa about '86.

I tried to hide the goth in me but it will not be repressed. I am 44 and embrace my inner gothness.
I am loving Morgana Pendragon in Merlin at the moment, she is much more goth than in the last series.
I have also decorated my lounge in burgundy with lots of dark furniture and black chandeliers and candelsticks.
I loved -fancied like mad- Peter Murphy in the 80s. I saw him last year in a tiny, tiny venue and was absolutely transfixed the whole gig. He is still amazing. For an encore, his whole band laid on the floor and played Bowie's Space Odyssey- spine-tingling.
Pavlov just go for it.

There's a woman who comes to my toddler group who does the GothEveryday look beautifully.

Nothing she wears looks like it took much more effort than what any other mother flung on at 7am while trying to wrangle a small child. However, she has lots of well-made and interesting black clothes and really glossy black hair.

I think what she does is to take the most 'gothy' and black pieces from mainstream collections rather than buying specialist goth clothes, so she doesn't look like she's wearing fancy dress.

I'm rather [henvy] that she always looks so chic. And if everything is black, it'll always match [hwink]

Pfft, sod Trent Reznor, it's all about Johnny Slut [hgrin]

I am so pleased that I have found goths on here. Nick Cave all the way - but actually only up until about 1990, he is a bit too commercial now. Still would though. And Blixa Bargeld.

I'm an old goth at heart, at the age of 46 I find myself coveting Steampunk clothing.

I secretly fantasise about getting the old rock club look back. But I can't get away with it at work (thinking mostlt in terms of hairdo here) and I have gained too much weight for a black lace mini skirt to be a good look :(

malifence oh I absolutely adore steampunk. I am half tempted to get one of the pinstripe outfits for work. I have to work in a court setting from time to time, wonder how a judge would respond to that! It is a pinstripe suit...

I reckon I could get away with a steampunk coat though, one of the tamer ones...

Old Goths never die, they just go into mourning.
Stick with it, I still goth up at every opportunity, although I could never get away with the black hair even when I was in my teens, Mine is a dark auburn now and looks great with the black, crushed velvet, and religious jewellrey. I'm always pale anyway so I might as well just go with it.
Andrew aldritch nd Wayne Hussey for me, although I have always had a soft spot for Dave vanian of the Damned as well.

Ooh, did you know Dave Vanian ended up marrying Patricia Morrison, who was briefly in SOM? I only found that out recently. They have a daughter, I believe.

do it, do it, do it,

go for it

live a little

It's my birthday today, best bday date for a goth [hgrin]

Happy Birthday Clarity. I desperately wanted DD to be born on the 31st - she was due on 24/10, but I knew she'd be late just like the DSs. Unfortunately she overshot even further so her birthday's this friday. We've had a few good Halloween themed birthday parties though

I alternate between dressing to my alternative/grungy roots and my WAHM scarves and tunics. Rather incongruous and hey- who cares, I'm happy. Plus who says you can't wear boden and DMs at the same time...

(I can't actually afford boden of course...)

Rushelle, I heard it slightly differently - old goths never die, they just look like they have.

Unfortunately my goth ways were curtailed when we got two lovely white cats. It's just too hard maintenance to be forever removing white cat hair from your black clothes.

Age is irrelevant - ultimately if you feel comfortable & there aren't any major gaffs going on like massive muffin tops which would look awful on anyone whatever style then go for it.

@Idlevice - I also have white cat hair on black clothing issues. I have a Birman - so its white and long and prone to failing out EVERYWHERE. Now we know the truth about why witches had black cats!

God, NO!!

Wear what you want (whether Goth, rude boy, punk, vintage, 60's, edwardian dandy, drag, TV..) for the sake and in the name of Sophie Lancaster, a young Goth who was kicked to death by a 15 year old boy in Lancashire in 2008, just because of what she was wearing.

A 34 yr old goth? >

Er, Yabvu.