Romantic Gothic Clothing Guide

“This style relies on traditional 18^th and 19^th century clothing for its inspiration and closely ties in to the 80’s New Romantic movement.” Andrew Fereday

The Romantic Gothic style worn today has its origins in Victorian and Edwardian mourning clothing. This style of Gothic clothing also incorporates the cloaks, waistcoats, long gowns with sleeve extensions and swashbuckling pirate shirts from the Medieval and Renaissance eras. 

The style is dark but elegant and captures the romance, poetry and tragedy of the gothic novel s that were popular in the Romantic period from 1790-1830 and during the Victorian era.

The fabrics tend to be brocades, velvet, silk and satin with frills and overlays of black lace for women and leather look, cotton, velvet and satin for men. Romantic Goth style usually has a foundation of black but often, this is expressed in black lace over a colour or as a black background with coloured patterning. There is an emphasis on strong colours with ‘blood’ red and purple being favourites for all Gothic styles, including the romantic style.

Romantic Gothic clothing for women imitates the Victorian or Edwardian staples of corsets, bustles, fascinators, hats and gloves. This style sometimes incorporates brown, green or gold as well as the standard red and purple. Brown and gold were introduced in recent years with the "Steampunk" theme which is based on the age of discovery in the early 20th century. Sometimes the fascinator or hat may have a fuchsia pink or shocking blue flower to add a dash of colour. Mix and match hats, fascinators, corsets and skirts to create a multitude of different looks to suit your mood.Another style for women harks back to the Medieval or Renaissance period. This style relies heavily on cloaks and long, simply styled flowing gowns with tight sleeves, sometimes with sleeve "extensions" of lace. These sleeves can have two or three pieces ending in a point and can be as much as thirty six inches long. 

Today cloaks are usually worn for rituals or circle work and less often in the street but they are an important element in the Romantic Goth’s wardrobe. The main aim for this style is to recreate an atmosphere of castles, abbeys and epic battles with supernatural forces.

Romantic Gothic men don’t tend to have the range of choices that women have but they do have the swashbuckling pirate, the Victorian gent or the Medieval or Renaissance poet as the foundations to build their unique persona on.

The swashbuckling pirate with his frilled poet’s shirts and waistcoats, belts, buckles and boots is a popular choice. The shirts can be dark colours or white and often have frills, ruffles or ties. The trousers are usually tight and leather, leather look, denim or cotton.

The Victorian gent can be recreated with a tight fitting shirt in black, purple, red or white, tailored velvet or brocade jacket with tails or a long frock coat or great coat. Top this off with a top hat and complete the look with drainpipe trousers in denim, leather, velvet, or cotton. It’s a good idea to invest in second hand suits and waistcoats, the older the better, which can be adapted or mixed and matched with other elements to create a unique look.

Medieval and Renaissance styles for men also use the poet’s shirt as a foundation. In this style the shirt is paired with a brocade waistcoat or long sleeveless coat and tunic pants. Belts, buckles and big black boots complete this look.So now you have the basics of a Romantic Gothic wardrobe and you understand a bit about where the styles come from. The main thing to remember is that being Goth is about being uniquely you, so use these suggestions to create a wardrobe that expresses who YOU are.

What's your Romantic Goth style advice to this blog - please leave a comment.