Gothic sub-culture developed in UK in the 1980s, in the aftermath of the fallout of the Punk culture. The term “Gothic” is related to the Goth tribes of East Germany, who lived around he region of Crimea. This gradually became a generic term for art, architecture and also fashion all over Europe, not necessarily coming from Germany. UK has contributed a lot in evolving the Gothic sub-culture and also the mainstream art, architecture and literature.
Gothic clothing draws on the Punk, Victorian and Renaissance dressing styles and mixes them with the modern clothing fashions. Overall, it creates the image of a person trying to break the traditional ideas of social spaces and form a disjointed impression. Use of dark colours, especially black is very typical of Gothic sub-culture. Western men and women who follow this sub-culture, dye their hair black, use black nail polish and lipstick and wear dark or black clothes to project a Gothic sub-cultural appearance.
Garment industry in has made use of this sub-cultural trend and has begun to provide Gothic dresses made to suit the taste of this sub-culture. Gothic skirts are especially popular with women who follow this Gothic sub-culture. These skirts are in dark shades, black, white and also red and maroon.
They are often full-length or come down to the knee or just above ankles, to provide a Gothic look. They are characterized by frills and laces on the hems and pleats on the vertical line of the skirt. The upper part of the skirt is usually figure hugging and the lower part flares out in pleats, thus combining a sleek modern look with the Gothic flare look.
The appearance of a sub-cultural Gothic skirt transcends the definitions of modern, mediaeval and well-defines. Rather than following a set pattern, it evolves its own style to make an individualistic statement.
