Whether you want to dress in a gothic style as a fun break from your usual jeans and T-shirts, as a daring ensemble for a night out, or as your everyday signature style, you need to know the essential elements.

Gothic Colors

The trademark goth color is black. Begin with a foundation of black jeans, black miniskirts, black jackets and other basic elements. You might even try dyeing your hair black. Also consider other hair colors like bubblegum pink, blue, red, or purple, either as your overall color or as the tips of a spiky hairstyle.

Don’t be afraid to use touches of red. Red corsets are a fantastic complement to black. Also look for black leather tinged with scarlet and purple.

Your look may be all black, or you may contrast it with a little white. Choose your whites carefully, though. You don’t want an all-white style that resembles Mr. Clean. A white T-shirt with bold graphics stands out against black clothing. If you’re making up your face, consider thick black eyeliner, black or red lips, and perhaps a foundation whiter than your skin tone.

Military Chic

Don’t rush down to the Army surplus store and stock up on camouflage. This military look goes back a century or two. Focus mainly on your feet, with some lace-up military boots, and on the jacket. Gothic jackets are structured creations, usually with double sets of buttons. Look for details in the back of the jacket, usually a few rows of buttons or ties that cinch the waist. Women can find long military jackets that end in a sexy, flared miniskirt.

Macabre, Yet Darkly Romantic

Skulls, vampires and bats are popular gothic iconography, but stop before your look resembles a Halloween costume. You can venture into the romantic side with roses, hearts and crosses. Goth roses and hearts aren’t the sweet, valentine variety, though. These images have a brokenhearted element to them, like a black rose dripping red blood or a heart with a jagged split down the middle. The “heartagram,” an encircled pentagram that forms a heart, is another popular gothic image.

Gothic Jewelry

Silver is the metal of choice, although gold gothic jewelry can be found. Look for antiqued jewelry with black in the crevices. Jewelry should be chunky rather than delicate, and it often features chains or black cords. Don’t limit chains to necklaces and bracelets. Chains on pants, skirts and jackets are very gothic. Some imagery to consider are crosses, pentagrams, heartagrams, broken hearts, skulls, wolves, roses, spiders, serpents, dragons and perhaps even an eyeball.

Victorian Clothing

A Victorian influence is optional. White Regency shirts from the Georgian era with ruffled cuffs are popular for men. Capes, stovepipe hats and Victorian bodices are cool touches.

Sexy and Edgy

The female goth look can be sexy, but in an edgy way. Consider a ruffled miniskirt, gladiator or bondage sandals with sky-high heels and fishnet hose. Long gloves with cutout fingers complete the look.

Above all, gothic style is creative, not a uniform. Express your individuality with your own unique versions of these ideas.

Trevor Richards writes for Accessoryo, a UK retailer of gothic clothing accessories.

Trevor Richards writes for Accessoryo (http://www.accessoryo.com), a UK retailer of gothic clothing accessories.

Author Bio: Trevor Richards writes for Accessoryo, a UK retailer of gothic clothing accessories.

Category: Advice
Keywords: fashion, emo, goth, style, clothing, shopping, clothes, accessories