Shibuya, C.1987

Quick review of 79 goth brands.

ACDC Rag - A Japanese brand! Runs small and short. Won’t fit plus size at all. A bit pricey, but good quality and looks interesting. Alchemy Gothic - Great quality, great look. A bit pricey. Sometimes Halloween stores sell their cheaper stuff for good prices. Appalling Apparel - Average quality horror t-shirts for average prices.  Banned Apparel - Cute, decent quality, and usually pretty good price. Shop around, places like to sell this brand for more than it’s worth sometimes. Blackbird Parlor - If you want a custom knitwear, this place will make anything to your specifications for a decent price. Handmade, so it’s a little expensive. Begotten -  Lasts forever and looks great but good luck finding a second hand dress. If you do, it’s either stupid expensive or fifteen bucks. No inbetween. Blackcraft Cult - Don’t go for their clothing. It’s overpriced and not that creative. Their furniture is nice, though. Castle Corsetry - Expensive, but super nice quality. Save up for this if you want a corset as a main statement. ChicStar - Cheap both in price and quality. Use it when just starting out or for DIY. Runs a bit small. Corset Story - (Also CorsetDeal) CHEAP AND ABSOLUTELY SHIT QUALITY. DO NOT BUY, YOU WILL HURT YOURSELF. Cryoflesh - A bit expensive, but nice looking and good quality cyber clothes. Current Mood -  Expensive and surprisingly generic looking. You can find better stuff that looks the same from other companies. Cutting Edge Threads -  I think they merged with Jawbreaker. Nice quality, a bit pricey. Find it second hand if you can. Cykxtees - REALLY nice, REALLY expensive. Try finding online, because you’re not gonna find these in stores. Does medieval and I love it. Dark In Love -  Runs REALLY small. On the low tier of expensive. Unique designs but won’t be the same as the picture. Quality is decent. Get a fancy outfit while on sale, but don’t buy full price. Don’t get your basics here, either. DarkStar - A bit pricey and falls apart REALLY easy. A lot of their stuff looks like Lip Service stuff from the 90s. If you want to go 90, I’d suggest them, just have basic sewing skills and be ready to use them. Dead Threads -  Good quality but expensive. Get on sale. You can find some stuff similar to Hearts n’ Roses for a bit cheaper. Edgy teenager vibe. Delightfully Deviant - Wish they’d use less satin… Nice quality, a little expensive. Can make some really fantastic stuff when it’s not satin. Owner is a gem of a person. Demonia - Expensive and easy to ruin. Their shoes will usually lower in price the longer they’re up, so wait a year or so before buying or get it on sale. You can also find some of the same styles at their child brand, Pleaser. Devil Clothing - Sold by most places online for more than it’s worth. Really soft, could be stitched better on shirts and dresses. Get it on sale only. Runs a bit small. Disturbia - SUPER overpriced. T-shirts you could easily make at home with some scissors and safety pins. Either that or really basic clothes sold for ten times the normal cost. Don’t even bother with this brand. Doc Martens - Expensive for plain boots, but these things last DECADES and feel great while doing it. The price is worth it. Can be used as work boots as well. DollsKill - Generic looking and over priced. Average quality.  Dracula Clothing - Medium quality for a medium price. Okay for starting out a romantic wardrobe. If you can sew, you can find some of their jacket patterns at Joanne’s. Drklght Clothing - If you like Killstar and Dollskill shirts, but wish they were cheaper, this is the place for you. Good quality, decent design, decent prices. Dulce Calaveritas - Really nice quality accessories for great prices. More horror themed, but classy. Eternal Love - Looks a little costume-y, a bit pricey. Decent quality. Hard to find, look on eBay. Eva Lady - BEAUTIFUL. Expensive. Great romantic clothes made out of nice materials, but still really expensive. Find a sale. Fi Machine - Spooky bags that are handmade. Decent price, great quality. Fiend Boutique - Cute, causal necklaces for a great price. The black paint rubs off the chains, though. Funhouse - Does this brand still exist? Looks great, price is decent, needs upkeep if you’re gonna be wearing it a lot. Basic sewing skills required. Hearts ‘n Roses - Quality clothing. Runs a bit small. A bit more expensive than it should be. Heavy Red - Expensive, nice quality, you can find a lot of what they have for cheaper or can make it yourself for a lot cheaper. Sometimes they do come out with “WOW” pieces, though, so just wait for a sale. Hell Bunny - Runs small. Seems to have gone to 50s clothes as of late. Not too pricey and thankfully not all dry-clean only. Hillary’s Vanity - Depends on what you buy. Mostly expensive. I wouldn’t suggest their tulle or “brocade” clothes, but their other stuff is pretty good quality. Hot Topic - Yeah, the brand for the the store. Average quality, good for basics. Uses dye that rubs off, so wash it a few times before wearing. Iron Fist - Okay quality shoes for a good price. Nice designs, sizing is all over the place. Buy second hand since the company went bankrupt and isn’t getting orders out anymore. Isabella Corsets - FANTASTIC corsets for a great price. If you want custom, it’ll be more expensive, but these are body modification devices, so don’t try to cheap out. JawBreaker - Runs a bit small. Really nice look, good quality. Expensive. Killstar - Overpriced. Their quality absolutely fell off the map in the last year. Five wears and their shoes are falling apart. Runs a bit small, tends to overuse occult designs. Kreepsville666 - Decent price for decent clothes. More horrorpunk than anything else at this point. Accessories are cheap and great for DIY or Halloween. Lip Service - Decent price. Runs a little small, lasts forever if you maintain it properly. Miniskirts are MUCH shorter than they look at first. Living Dead Souls - Really nice clothes, great quality for a decent price. More high-end, so they’re a little expensive.  Love Pain and Stitches - If you’ve seen a jack-o-lantern bag, it’s probably from here. Phenomenal quality and a decent price. Super hard to get a hold of, though, they’re handmade and sell out really fast. Madame Zombie Fx - Holy crap, these shoes are to die for. Great quality, a bit pricey. Good luck finding them at conventions. They also have some cute accessories for great prices. Memento Mori Goods - High quality, beautiful pins for a great price. Their other stuff is okay. Ms.Formaldehyde Couture - Pricey headdresses, but everything else is pretty and pretty cheap. Quality is a mixed bag. Do your research before buying. Necessary Evil - They overcharge for the basics. Not by much, but you can get the same plain black maxi dress from Target for ten dollars cheaper. Average quality. Don’t bother. New Rock -  A bit pricey, but wonderful quality. Do look a little over-the-top most of the time, though. PawStar - Nice quality belts and accessories for cybergoths and gravers. (And anyone into the furry/kink scene.) Good quality for a good price. Pentagramme - Nice looking clothes with a decent quality. Really pricey, though. Don’t go clubbing in the lace or chiffon styles, they’ll rip easily and it’ll be money down the drain. Pleaser -  Demonia’s cheaper subsidiarity. Falls apart easy, but the price is NOTHING compared to Demonia. Carries some of the same styles for much cheaper, too. Buy if you don’t mind using rubber cement to hold your platforms together. Poizen Industries - Really overpriced basics. Good quality. Wait for clearance, they’ll be knocked down to less than half their price. Princess Madison - Only found at conventions and on etsy. Has nice hats and meh everything else. A little pricey. You can usually find similar elsewhere for cheaper. Punk Rave -  Runs absolutely tiny. Expensive for nice looking, decent quality clothes. A bit overblown, but most other companies don’t make the same style, so what are you gonna do? Queen of Darkness -  A nice look and good quality, but expensive. They overcharge for the basics and a lot of their styles can be found elsewhere. Get a fancy coat or something, but if you just need a black maxi dress look elsewhere. Restyle -  Everything they have is just okay quality. Looks fantastic, but it’s not gonna last. Clothes are a bit overpriced for the quality and run small. Jewelry is a great price. Again, their stuff looks nice, but in two months the silver’s rubbing off and the coat’s snagged. Retroscope Fashions - Pricey, average quality. It’ll last if you maintain it. Leans more steampunk, much like Spin Doctor.  Rock Rebel - Horror t-shirts of average quality for an average price. Rosetic - Cheap quality, average price, nice look. Runs tiny and falls apart REALLY easy. Some styles are a knock-off of Eva Lady. Be careful when buying. Royal Bones - Tripp under another name. Same quality, but pricier. Falls apart easily. Buy on sale. Samiah -  Ask yourself, do you need that extra kidney? If you can sell your organs, you can have a REALLY nice jacket. Seriously, these things make you feel fantastic wearing them but will give you a heart attack once you see the price tag. Great quality, but way too overpriced. Shrine is a better option. Serious - Cheap looking fetish clothes. OK price. Shrine - Expensive as hell, but great quality. These things are made for royalty. Good luck. Sourpuss - Pins are decent quality and price. Clothes are nothing to write home about. Spin Doctor -  Nice clothes with good quality. Can get expensive. Buy on sale. Spirit - Yeah, the Halloween store. Poor quality, cheap price, cute for a year or so if you maintain it. Good for things like shorts to wear under skirts, really cheap petticoats, or a slightly dented pentagram necklace. Subterranea - Looks good as long as it’s not their polyester stuff. PRICEY. Nice quality. Good luck finding these dresses. Usually really pricey since they’re out of business. Super Low Fat - Good luck finding this brand! Usually not that pricey despite being out of business. Good quality, too bad everything looks really cheap. Sweet Midnight -If you like mixing goth and Disney, this is the place for you. Their skirts are a little pricey, but their other stuff is good quality for a great price. 13’s Closet - Good looking clothes. A little too expensive for my taste. Average quality. Their bat accessories are where they shine, but again, it’s a bit pricey.  Too Fast - Rare instance of a pin-up company going goth instead of the other way around. Good quality.  A bit more expensive than they should be. Buy on sale. TrippNYC -  Even though everyone makes fun of these, it lasts a long time. Their larger zippers can break easily. I wish more of their stuff wasn’t dry-clean only. Good quality for a decent price. T.U.K. - Decent quality shoes. A bit pricey, get them second hand. Don’t wear them in the rain or snow. Victorian Choice - Cheap price overall for the dress styles. Meh quality fabric. If you want a Victorian inspired look fast, it’s a good first dress if you get it on sale. Save up and get something better quality later. Vimpoke - Do not buy from them. They just resell cheap AliExpress products with insane mark-ups. Like, charging $70 to $150 more than the product normally sells. Horrible quality products, shady business practices. Just find the same thing on AliExpress for less than half price. Voodoo Vixen - Sadly went the way of the pin-up. Decent clothes, a bit pricey. Runs small. Take measurements before buying. Widow - Meh quality clothes sold for a high price. Most designs can be found in a better quality elsewhere. Don’t bother unless it’s in clearance for dirt cheap. XXX Rude - Great quality basics for guys. A bit overpriced. Wait for a sale or buy secondhand. Some notes: You don’t have to get brand name everything. Most basics of a wardrobe can be found at places like Target or Walmart. Thrifting is super cool in the community. Try DIY if you’re feeling creative. Never buy one-size-fits-all fishnets. Check back later, this list sometimes updates with more brands.

Late 90s/Early 2000s Internet & Goth Nostalgia

I found it! Oh my god, I used to scour these websites as a teen. They all were posted sometime in the 90s and remained online into the early 2000s.

The Angelfire page is so terribly nostalgic. I used to go on goth Webrings and look at Tripod, Geocities, and Angelfire pages of other teens. I would leave a message on their guestbooks and had a nice conversation with a few (whom I sadly lost contact with). I love that Tumblr is the Angelfire of today as it allows you to share your interests and passions and find others who can join in your inner world.

Yet, I still miss the online Goth zines like Morbid Outlook and Gothic Preservation Society/Dark Culture Magazine. As a Black teen growing up in the ghetto these pages made me feel like I wasn’t alone.

*~sign my guestbook plz~*

hi! I have a couple of very old brand pieces that aren't on lolibrary. where would you suggest I look to hunt down additional info and maybe add them to the database? thanks!

Hello! I’m very excited by this question.

I have a few suggestions depending on how knowledgeable you are on the item- if you aren’t sure where to start at all you might have some luck with narrowing down the general era or release date of the item judging by its label or wash tag.

Various tag guides have been published- this one by How To Become An Angel on neocities and this one on Raine’s Crimson Reflections blog.

But since you have checked lolibrary and it isn’t there, i’m assuming you have some information already (release year or print name or something along those lines). It’s possible to access old versions of lolita brand’s websites through the wayback machine and adjust the year to suit your best guess. From the homepage you can go to the brand catalogue and see the dresses / jsks / undergarments / ect and see if any have descriptions that will match your mystery item (even if there is no stock photo available). For example:

- Angelic Pretty 2002- present

- BTSSB 2000- present

- Metamorphose 2000- present

- Victorian Maiden 2001- present

- Innocent World 2001- 2004

- Innocent World 2005- present

- MmM 2001- 2010

- Atelier Boz 2001-2003

- Atelier Boz 2004 to 2017

Lolibrary is an extensive database, but it doesn’t cover every single piece in existence. If I haven’t found it on lolibrary and I haven’t found any information on the brand’s original website, I will usually turn to my lolita magazines and see if I can spot the item anywhere. Lolita History is a great resource that most of you are already aware of. It’s great for GLB scans and even other niche publications that have been kindly submitted. You can filter by Keywords to narrow down your search.

All of the advice above is if you are the kind of person that likes to take your time with research and look into the item personally. If you don’t have time for that, i’d just post it on social media and ask if anyone knows anything. U can post it here on tumblr or u can send it to me! There will always be someone happy to help, and if it’s something I can’t do myself I will volunteer to submit it to some senior lolibrarians and see what can be revealed.

Forever a fav.

‼️Infodump time‼️

HOMOMILITIA is a polish crust/anarchopunk band from the city of Łódź. The band was created in 1991, fully existing till the year 2000. The band consisted of 5 members nicknamed Strzałka, Sucha, Wojtas/Wojti, Zbój and Irek, and for some time Herman and Mopsiu. Their lyrics portrayed views typically seen in the punk scene, considered very radical at the time. Their first album "Twoje ciało-twój wybór" (trans. "Your body-your choice") spoke out about topics of homophobia, discrimination, racism, feminism and abortion.

The lead singer and front man - Wojciech "Wojtas/Wojti" Krawczyk was openly homosexual. He died a year after thier second realise "S/t" (2020) in march of 2021 from covid-19. The band helped spread a bunch of popular phrases used in the punk community to this day.

In june 2022 a tribute record to the band titled "Nic więcej do powiedzenia" (trans. "Nothing more to say") was released. It consisted of 14 tracks, every single one performed by a different band.

Cartoon Crusties

Lolita Accessory tutorial pages from Japanese mook “Gothic & Lolita Patterns”, 2004

Included are: head dresses, hair clips/ties, camisole pattern, drawers pattern, sock stoppers, multiple bag patterns, detachable collars, and jewelry.

Consider this as my Valentine’s gift to you guys!! Thank you for being very kind about my post ^-^

*Also* If you would like the patterns to some of the tutorials (ie: the mini top hats, pattern 62) let me know so I can make a post later!

Kera September 2001, Volume 36.

Sweet lolita through the years

Part 2

2005-2008 (ish) “midschool” sweet

Moving out of the oldschool era we start to see sweet Lolita becoming more like we know it today. While solid color mainpieces and simpler styling were still common, printed pieces and more accessories were becoming more popular.

This transitional period between oldschool and the iconic 2010s ott era is often left out in conversations about Lolita history despite it really having its own interesting trends.

In general this era was very glamorous in its trends- gyaru was a huge influence on the trends and you can absolutely see that influence.

This is the period where balancing colors and having elaborately themed coords started. Brands really started to have their own styles and identities.

As a sort of in between of heavy prints and solids appliqué prints and screen prints were very popular at the time. Brands put a lot out and the community caught onto this trend very quickly

I also often see coords from the early part of this era mislabeled as oldschool despite them already being quite modern. I do think there’s overlap, especially around 2005-2006 but familiarizing yourself with the styling differences makes it pretty easy to see the differences. The “new” way of coording at the time was far more sweet, more elaborate, more detailed, and more accessorized. THIS is the period where tea parties, modern usakumya designs, baby’s heart bags, and many other iconic designs that are often labeled as oldschool were made. Mislabeling them as oldschool both harms the ability to properly emulate oldschool and erases the history of the transitional period between then and the ott era. Wrist cuffs were also becoming common place at this point.

Printed socks started to become both more elaborate and more popular though lace topped otks stayed pretty common and popular in this period.

Jewelry got more detailed and cutesy. Plastic jewelry started to become more common, however more detailed metal jewelry was the majority of what you’ll see. Jewelry and socks that matched the motifs of dresses started to become the standard at this point.

Other accessories were very varied though mini Alice bows were really the most popular and common. A lot of fun and experimental headpieces like plastic headbands, mini hats, and the always iconic napayoshi bunny bonnet were made in this time.

Novelty bags and heavily printed totes also started to become more common and popular. Strangely it seems that plush animal bags fell out of popularity until the tail end of this era moving into the ott craze. Printed hand bags were the most popular, but some shaped novelty bags were still made- especially towards the end of this period.

This is one of the first Lolita eras where hair and makeup became a big part of styling a coord. With the popularization of gyaru you could see many influences in how Lolita’s did their hair and makeup both in this period and in the 2010s. Though the makeup was simpler and typically didn’t veer into full gyaru territory until the later part into the 2010s

More accessories like wrist cuffs, faux collars, brooches, gloves and little chains that clipped from one jsk strap to the other were seen at this time too. Faux fur in details was extremely popular with some brands even including fur trims on their mainpieces. Pearls, polkadots, charms, and florals were all also rampant.

Motifs were all over the place at the time but some of the most popular / common were: poodles, cakes / sweets, polkadots, Alice / card / trumps, berries, crowns, cats, houndstooth, florals, and crowns!

Thanks so much for reading, if you’re interested in reading more see: part 1 part 3

Babyland - You Suck Crap LP

Download probably the finest lofi junk punk industrial album of all time from my Google Drive HERE

Magician Shokyokusai Tenkatsu and her Flower Heaven Troupe wearing a strap-on hooked into a 300,000 volt Tesla Coil to shower bolts of artificial lightning on the girls below holding conductor rods, part of the Japanese artistic movement called Eroguronansensu (literally “erotic-grotesque-nonsense”)