When Goth-Lolis Get Pragmatic

This fun article on Gothic and Lolita fashion was gearing up to follow Sunday Style Section Formulae -- women sport Tokyopop-meets-Nabokov fashion statement, Gwen Stefani busts it out on MTV, cool kids recoil in horror as freakishness turns mainstream. But something bizarrely sunny happens at the end:

…some fans are warming to the idea that the trend is not solely theirs anymore.

"We should all be flattered that the style is reaching mainstream," read one recent post online. "Fashion is a free right."

Also, Ms. Lam pointed out, the more mainstream the look becomes, the more available the clothes will be, and more affordable, too.

Comments

[Guy in the back row]

Ha!

If this was about Syria/Lebanon, Iraq, obscure SCOTUS decisions, the Patriot act, or even cheesy (un)fun Friday links there would be 25+ posts.

Instead we have 0 when the topic is sexy/revealing/pseudo-festishy clothes for young women. Not even smacky or Jennifer have anything to say!

No wonder there are so few libertarians! We?re like the Shakers!!!!!

[Stevo Darkly]

I'm as salacious and pervy as the next person. I'd probably be all over this like prick on a porcupine, but I don't have NYT registration, and I don't have access to bugmetnot.com.

[Dynamist]

Sorry, Guy, hard to type with one hand, you know...

[guy]

HA!!!

[Lowdog]

I'm all for young girls wearing this type of clothing as much as possible, with lots of garter belts and thigh-high pantyhose!

[Lowdog]

But not too young...I like my women with a little experience. :0

[WSDave]

Lucky for me, my wife dresses this way frequently.

[WSDave]

Or should I say freak-uently?

[mtc]

It's a good day for science! I've always dug that nasty goth chick look, and now I can get it without having to deal with the actual nasty goth chick? Excellent!

Someone write this up in the next article praising commerical culture/mainstreaming of subcultures. Freaky style without the freaks! YES!

[Stevo Darkly]

Gothic Babe of the Week.

[Jennifer]

I quit being Goth at the advent of Hot Topic, i.e. The Goth Store in the Mall.

Also I was tired of dyeing my hair black every month.

[Phil]

. . . thigh-high pantyhose! . . .

And the award for Unclear On The Concept goes to . . .

[McClain]

As an aging hipster who did the goth thing in the 80s, I'm just amazed it's still going strong.
Guess trends never really die anymore, they just change hosts.

[Matt XIV]

Why so shocked, McClain? You still can still see your share of the punk aesthetic a good 27 years after it first caught on. Not to mention the suit-and-tie has been going strong for the majority of American's history and is just beginning to lose substantial ground to business casual.

[McClain]

True. But why don't we still have parachute pants, acid-wash jeans, and leg warmers, then?
😉

[smacky]

I myself favor the Victorian fancy goth look (in my make-believe world where I can wear whatever I want anywhere without eliciting frightened and surprised looks from everyone at my workplace or elsewhere).

Also, Ms. Lam pointed out, the more mainstream the look becomes, the more available the clothes will be, and more affordable, too.

I can already see the pseudo-goth clothing lines that K-Mart, WalMart, and Rave will be pawning to young, plain suburban girls across 'Murka. Warning: cheap knockoffs are almost always of unsatisfactory quality. But I guess that won't matter to people who chase trends, anyway.

[wellfellow]

"But I guess that won't matter to people who chase trends, anyway."

Very true. Why would you want something to last 20 years that you'll be tired of in 2 monthes?

And I'm with ya' on the Victorian garb, although I fancy the Edwardian era, myself.

[Stevo Darkly]

I favor polished black high-tech ceramic armor, myself. And the occasional kilt. And I glower a lot, usually with one booted foot propped up on a craggy outcrop as I look out over my domain. Yeah, that's me.

[Matt XIV]

McClain,

Because some trends deserve to die.