Gothic sub-culture evolved in England in the 1980s, in the aftermath of the decline of the Punk culture. The term “Gothic” has evolved from the Goth tribes of East Germanic origin, who lived around Crimea. However, this gradually became a generic term for forms of art and architecture and also fashion across Europe, not necessarily associated with Germany. UK has contributed a lot in evolving the Gothic sub-culture and also the mainstream art, architecture and literature. Gothic Romanticism evolved in Britain as a major literary art form.
Gothic clothing borrows from Punk, Victorian and Renaissance dressing styles and mixes them with the contemporary clothing styles. Overall, it gives the impression of a person attempting to break the traditional sense of social organization and form a disjointed look. Use of dark colours, especially black is characteristic of Gothic sub-culture and fashion. European 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 create a Gothic sub-cultural fashion statement.
Garment industry in Europe and especially in Britain has made use of this fashion trend and has begun to market dresses tailored to suit the Gothic sub-cultural tastes. Gothic corsets and Pirate shirts inspired by the Gothic sub-culture follow the essential fashion style of this sub-culture. Hence, mostly colours such as black, grey, brown, deep blue are used in these specimens of Gothic clothing. A liberal use of white is used to compliment and contrast these dark shades. Since the garment industry does not restrict itself to the clients only from the Gothic sub-culture, there are some pieces of Gothing clothing made which combine the dark shades with splashes of other brighter colours such as yellow, red, maroon, green and beige. This kind of ensemble can be appealing to even those who are not followers of the Gothic sub-culture.
Black frilly Gothic corset inspired by the Gothic sub-cultural movement is figure hugging and lined with laced frills on top and bottom edges. This Renaissance look is combined with the black colour of this Gothic corset, which follows the Gothic sub-cultural norm.
Pirates in medieval times lived on sea and land and were outlaws because of indulging in piracy. This makes the idea of pirate fashion attractive to the Gothic sub-cultural people, who want to break free of the social codes. Pirates in medieval times usually wore loose shirts with long sleeves. These shirts went up to the waist or thighs and were comfortable to wear in different weather conditions of land and sea. Pirate shirts used by the Gothic sub-culture use these essential fashion styles in dark or white shades. They also often have frills around the collar, in front and on the edges of sleeves.