Believe me when I say this. Young, old or in between… YOU CAN AFFORD TO BE GOTH!

Don’t worry about what other people are doing, or becoming goth as fast as you can. If you grow into it and make it you, then you will end up sticking with it longer than if you rush it to impress the cool kids. Trust me, people are more impressed with you being yourself and developing who you are. In truth, you never stop learning, never stop developing yourself. The journey is the fun.

If you can afford to buy brand stuff then more power to you. But remember you don’t have to have the brands to be goth. As I said in my last article, there is a general feeling from new people seeing social media influencers thinking that you need the new expensive stuff to be goth. You see it, you see people talk about it, you want it, you buy it if you can.

There is nothing wrong with buying things you like. But you do not need expensive things to be goth. Buying these things will not make you more goth. You can not buy a “goth card”, if anything it has to be earned.

Want to earn your goth card? Participate in the goth subculture. Listen to goth music. Do something with other goths. Develop yourself as a goth. You can do this online and/or in real life. Build experience and people will question your “goth cred” less (your goth cred gets questioned no matter how experienced or old you are) because you build confidence, you know what you are doing and it will show. We were all new once, we all had to start at ground zero. People don’t start looking amazing or knowing a lot of goth music out of nowhere.

DIY vs Brands… there is another way

There is a big emphasis in fashion with DIY vs branded stuff. So much people forget the other option. Goth style can be as simple as black basics from a cheap store like Target with cheap accessories from flea markets or websites like ebay, amazon, wish or aliexpress. It is a base to work from and if you decide to DIY or buy brands later you can add to it. There is no pressure to replace it and you won’t rock up to the club looking exactly the same every week because you only have one expensive thing to wear. I find it is better to buy pieces than complete outfits anyway as you can mix and match to create new outfits and combinations. It makes even a small amount look like a lot more. And you’ll hone your creativity.

I should add that in theory you generally get what you pay for. Cheap stuff won’t always last but there are complaints about branded stuff not always lasting anyway. In which case all you are really paying for is the brand name on it. Shop around, compare prices and find the quality and bargain that works for you. It doesn’t take long to pick up when something looks under-priced and is likely crap or when something is clearly overpriced.

As for hair and make up, they aren’t my strong points and there are loads of tutorial videos on youtube. Find something you like, copy it, practice it, learn it, learn new variations. Notice a pattern here? It is all about getting confident and experienced.

Okay, now we have that out the way, the other reason for this article relating to goth’s affordability…