Romantic Goth style is inspired from the Romantic era (1800-the 1850s), especially the Victorian and Edwardian clothing for mourning. This goth style incorporates waistcoats, gothic blouses, cloaks, long gowns with sleeve extensions that belong to the Medieval and Renaissance eras. Along with these, Gothic jackets women’s are highly preferred/worn too.
This style is elegant and dark and captures beautifully the dark romance, tragedy of gothic literature from the 1790s to 1830s. The beautiful, dark things attract this set of people…moonlight lit graveyards, dead roses, ravens, bats, cold, nights are all very special to them. They are very creative and deep-thinkers and tend to daydream. Along with the beautiful, yet dark and morbid things, the Romantic goths prefer old-school, softer, classical music. The brooding mood is what they prefer.
Fabrics as preferred by the Romantic Goths
The favorite fabrics of the Romantic Goths are brocades, silk, velvet, satin. Women’s gothic dresses saw a lot of usage of satin and silk with frills and overlays of black lace, the men’s outfits saw cotton, velvet, satin, and leather. Black is THE most favorite color with even black-on-black outfits being favored, along with black lace and black self-designed fabrics. Blood red and purple were the favorite next-in-line.
The Romantic Gothic clothing for women
The Romantic Gothic clothing for women is an imitation of the real dressing from the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The staples were sassy corsets, bustles to support the drapes, frilly gloves, and elaborate hats, and the Goth style uses colors like brown, green, gold, and even red and purple.
Brown and gold were introduced much late, with the introduction of the Steampunk theme in the early 20th century. Gothic women have also been seen wearing fuchsia pink or shocking blue flowers on hats to add some pop color to their look. Different kinds of hats and fascinators, skirts, and corsets are mixed and matched to go with their mood of the day.
Women’s gothic style that travels back to the Medieval or Renaissance period is the one that includes long cloaks, simple flowing gowns, and as mentioned before, sleeves with extensions with laces. The sleeves can be as long as 36-inches.
Cloaks, which are an important element in the Romantic Goth’s wardrobe, are worn rarely otherwise. This is the aura of alternative dresses; you wear what is not usually worn. The main aim behind wearing these cloaks is to recreate an atmosphere of the Victorian abbeys, dark castles, and the battles with supernatural forces.
Alternative dresses by the Victorian Gothic Men
Very similar to the situation of the scanty outfit options for men over women, Romantic Gothic men too face the same. They do not have the range of choices that women have, but what they do have as inspirations are the Medieval or Renaissance poets, Victorian gents, and Swashbuckling pirates.
Medieval/Renaissance Style:
In this poet-inspired style, the shirt is paired with a long sleeveless coat or brocade waistcoat along with tunic pants. Big black boots, buckles, and boots complete this Medieval look.
Victorian Style:
The look inspired by the Victorian gents consists of a fitted shirt in black, red, white, or purple, paired with a made-to-measure brocade or velvet jacket with long tails or a long frock coat. To complete the look, drainpipe trousers with velvet, cotton, denim, leather, along with a top hat. If you want, you can even choose to invest in preloved waistcoats and suits, the older the better, for the right amount of charm which can be mixed and matched with other elements.
Swashbuckling Pirate Style:
This style consists of frilled shirts and waistcoats, along with belts and buckled boots. The shirts in white or dark colors often have ruffles, and frills along the collar and neck. The pants are usually tight, made of leather or denim.
Now that you have a fair idea about the basics of a Romantic Goth wardrobe, and how came into the forefront, you can try and implement them into your Gothic styling. The only thing that you need to keep in mind when buying alternative dresses is that they must express your real self.