Elder Goths / Lifestylers….

[MistressoftheDarkSide]

I’m curious to know how many of us are still going, as I career through my 50s, freak flag in back pocket and fan and parasol to hand 😹

Intended to be a lighthearted style oriented thread, somewhat inspired by another thread about dressing up choices that might lead to negative reactions…

So my style is pretty much Stevie Nicks meets Helena Bonham Carter these days, as PVC and fishnets tend to make look as though I’ve been stuffed into a string back ready to display in a delicatessen.

Give me velvet, lace, chiffon and silver accessories….. hats, lots of hats…. Extravagant footwear like New Rocks (virtually orthopaedic so they’re a win). Love fringing, even if I do end up tied to door handles and furniture on occasion….

While I’m now fortunate to have been able to forge a career around it all, even when I worked mainstream jobs I was “corporate Goth” and never had any issues around my - ahem - eccentricity.

So if you’re lurking in the shadows, shall we compare notes?

And just for fun - voting:

YABU - You’re far too old for such nonsense.

YANBU - The dark side is fun - we have cookies 😈

Aw, what a lovely thread. I too am a over 50 fan of the dark side! I don't look as goth as I did in my younger days as now I couldn't be bothered with the make-up and the back-combing, but I exclusively wear black, with DMs of varying styles and patterns. I lost my way a bit in my 30s, and then in my early 40s got right back into wearing what I like. Black makes me happy! 🖤

🖤🦇🖤

Wow what lovely responses - I am so glad there are a good number of us going our own way uniquely yet together ☺️ (Does little happy two-step dance)

I’d love to go to Whitby, but the planets have never aligned …. I have been to WGT in Leipzig several times in the last decade with my late DP which was awesome- especially the Pagan Village and the Agra, with loads of shopping opportunities that we just don’t get here…. Sigh….

I didn’t realise lifestyler had another meaning …. there is of course a bit of a crossover with fetish …. But the first rule of Fright Club is we don’t talk about Fright Club 😹

Thank you all for joining in the chat - Happy days….. The undead live!

Mid 50's here, always in black with silver jewellery and have been wearing my Alchemy Gothic bat cross for almost 25 years. I was a bit of a late starter due to strict parents. Wear chunky boots with purple laces for everyday and save my big goth boots for nights out. My hair varies from purple to platinum and have (not enough) tattoos and piercings. Still attend goth/alternative music nights last month was a Victorian outfit with green cyberfalls to mix it up a bit. My sons wedding was 2 years ago so I had an outfit made complete with huge lace collar and bat details on the tail coat jacket. Lovely to see lots of like minded dark souls here.

When you said ‘elder goths’ I had visions of zimmer frames tricked out with black lace ribbons and beads.

My dear departed mother was one of these ❤️ black velvet, chunky silver and amethyst jewellery, purple eyeshadow and pointy black boots (even though her poor arthritic feet protested). She laughed dar too loud in quiet restaurants and trains, and appended "as the actress said to the bishop" to anything that could remotely be construed as grubby. She was amazing and I miss her every minute. When I see older ladies of the style you describe, it gives me a bittersweet pang. Keep on gothing until you go!

@herewegoroundthebastardbush Your Mum sounds like she was an amazing lady and so do you 💜

I wouldn’t describe myself as a goth as such but my look and interests are very goth-adjacent. Went to work today in black ankle grazer jeans, black suede platform creepers, black and white striped t-shirt and a belt with a skull buckle. Always wear dark smoky eye makeup and love horror and gothic literature. I’m late 40s.

Greebos where I'm from too. I'm wearing a Dookie t-shirt as I type!

I'm not a goth, and never was (I was more rockabilly/psychobilly back in the day, but I can't get into those tiny-waisted swing dresses after 2 kids, so I've got a gorgeous wardrobe I can't wear atm). However, DH in his mid-forties is a goth. Long hair. Still wears his floor length black leather coat around town and, until about 3 years ago, was never seen in anything that wasn't black. Actually, he's mellowed a bit over the years and now he wears navy blue 3 piece suits for work.
I always thought Greebo was a cat, I had no idea it had another meaning.

Such a lovely thread. I’m 40 and my style has shifted from goth to dark academia. You’ve reminded me that I really need to incorporate more bats into my look though.

I too love seeing a goth in the wild. I saw an older goth fella on the train yesterday and it made me happy to see him rocking his look so well.

Greebo from the E Midlands here too. I’m also in London, but rocking a dark CBeebies vibes. Currently wearing pink dungarees with a The Craft t shirt and skull earrings.

More power to you OP.

We need more of this. When I was young, there were obviously styles, but there was also a lot more individuality. These days all the young people look like clones. It's such a shame.

Keep it up, you're never too old 👍

I'm here, still wearing DM's, my style is more dungarees and a purple top. I miss wearing my long skirts and tie dyed tops. I love bangles and my kids, tell me I'm part witch!!

Minimalist goth, here.

Should maybe add that I'm 60, with a buzz cut. :)

My people! I'm 41, very much goth. Can't wear my new rocks anymore thanks to an unfortunate ankle breaking incident, so I live in stompy army boots these days. I have an all black wardrobe, I go for a look I call 'comfort goth' which is mostly leggings or tights, Jersey dresses (baggy), cardigans (also baggy) lots of chiffon and lace (no velvet as I have a grey cat and the hair gets everywhere 😂😂) and silver/pewter jewelry. I still die my hair black (waiting for it to come in grey then I'm embracing my inner Lily Munster) wear too much makeup (how good is black lipstick now!!) and I literally just ordered a new crimping iron as mine broke. Love a trad goth look!

Very much into goth music as well as metal and industrial. I like to go to gigs as often as I can, sadly the goth scene near me is dead as a door nail so no clubbing for me! Love Whitby, fully intend to do the goth weekend one year.

My 6 year old DD wants to be spooky 'just like mummy'. I'm enjoying it while it lasts 😂.

Nice to meet you all!

What an ace post 💜

Ex goth here. I was a 'glam goth', if that was such a thing. Second hand wedding dresses bought from the rag market in Birmingham in the 90's. Leggings with ballet shoes and embroidered waistcoats, and a pill box hat or velvet skull cap.

Thigh length boots and satin Chinese dresses. Jet black hair ( dyed), to my waist. Loved the scene and the music - still loving the music and play it at full blast in my car.

Currently, I dress quite main stream although the items I choose to wear have a Victoriana goth theme about them I suppose.

High necked lace shirts, kneed length walking boots with lots of laces and metal fastenings, a waterproof jacket which is cut like a frock coat. It's funny how I'm drawn to very ornate clothes.

Hello to all my fellow greebos!

I did buy a Nirvana crop top the other day to wear with my baggiest jeans; 16 year old me would approve 😁

Not quite a goth here but goth adjacent. Black is my wardrobe staple, a lot of band T-shirts, and docs. my hair is currently a fairly boring brown but only because having it dyed platinum every 6 weeks has done some damage to my scalp. You’d think I would have learned by now.

I am 52, and I have mini me (now 28 😱) who said last week that her wardrobe is changing from all black to black with feminist statements on it. I could not be prouder.

Give me time….

I’m pretty much a goth on the inside now, apart from my hair and my music choices. I break out for Whitby twice a year.

In my 40s, still goth. I love my style
Music, clothing, jewellery etc etc. If I leave the house I am always dressed up! I will never stop.

I'm a faded goth. Can't wear Black or purple any more without looking like the bad kind of undead. But my car will always be black and playing music too loud and I have very fond memories of the Whitby Weekends and Slimelight.
Could never pull off Victoriana or the rockabilly look, and emo was for baby goths. So maybe I'm a goth in disguise these days.

I was a mosher when I was a teen/early 20s - NW version of the greebo! Nowadays I am sort of a 'comfy goth' after getting quite boring with my clothes in my earlier 30s. 40 is on the horizon and I am not so restricted in my work clothes now so I am less dull. I never gave up the silver jewellery but I had to place tattoos so I could hide them before. I buy quite a bit off Disturbia, but mix it with Uniqlo, Hell Bunny and some very old bits of ASOS kit.

I remember having an English teacher when I was at school who had this vibe. I was never full goth, but hung around in those crowds and had a bit of a mixed style. Baggy jeans and T-shirts or 50s dresses, doc martens and converse, emo fringe, band hoodies, spending half the early 00s traipsing round the Oasis market in brum! But lacked the confidence to go full on any style.

I've had to swap the Converse for Rocket dogs these days (wider fitting!) but I still wear my DMs to work through winter, just with dresses and leggings instead. I've moved on to fun print jersey dresses as I no longer have the waist for 50s cuts. But I did recently get some baggy jeans very reminiscent of some I used to have and very much reminded myself of teenage me when combined with my Jurassic Park or Luna Lovegood T-shirts. My taste in bags (or maybe I just care less about what people think) has probably got more quirky as I've got older, my current favourite handbag is shaped like a dinosaur!