Here it is, Snarklings! The long-threatened list of gothy fashion links from the Lady of the Manners!
Is this a comprehensive list of every goth or alternative fashion resource out there? Sweet darkness, no. The Lady of the Manners seriously doubts that anyone could pull such a list together and have it be accurate. This list is a collection of the merchants that the Lady of the Manners either has purchased items from, or frequently browses when she’s in a window-shopping mood.
And! As a bonus! The Lady of the Manners has included a list of keywords that she uses when searching eBay, Etsy, shopgoodwill.org, and other marketplace sites.
So, without further ado, the clicky-links!
Clothing
Chic Star
Crowd-sourced fashion, heavy on the rockabilly dresses and Victorian-esque jackets and coats. Women’s sizes up to 26.
Drac In a Box
Classic gothic clothing, custom-made in the UK. Women’s and men’s sizes up to 2X.
Dracula Clothing
Formal gothic jackets, blouses, shirts, skirts, corsets, trousers, vests, and coats. Women’s and men’s sizes up to 2X.
Dress Like a Pirate
Goth and pirate wardrobes share some basics, like billowy shirts, frock coats, and full skirts. Women’s and men’s sizes up to 3X.
Fan + Friend
EGL/EGA fashions, gothic, Victorian, steampunk, plus some cosplay designs. Offers custom sizing and fabric choices.
Gentleman’s Emporium
Reproduction historical clothing for men and women! Women’s and men’s sizes up to 2X.
Gloomth
Indie goth designer from Canada. Morbidly sweet designs. Custom sizes offered.
Good Goth
Almost a one-stop-shop for goth supplies! Clothing, corsets, shoes, accessories, makeup, hair dye, and bath and body goods. Plus sizes available.
Heavy Red
Elegant modern gothic designs. Sizes up to women’s XL.
Holy Clothing
Flowy blouses, skirts, pants, and dresses that are perfect for witchy or mori fashion. Be warned: they have a tendency to toss the word “g*ps*” around in names and descriptions. Women’s sizes up to 5X.
Kambriel
Clothing and accessories for your dream self. Full of whimsy and darkly-shimmering romance. If the Lady of the Manners ever achieves the fabulously wealthy part of being a fabulously wealthy eccentric, her entire wardrobe will be from Kambriel. One-of-a-kind and ready-made pieces are her current focus.
Lotus Traders Clothing
Similar to Holy Clothing, but with slightly different styles and more tie-dye. However, they make fantastic “peasant” dresses that can double as Gothic Heroine nightgowns! Women’s sizes up to 5X.
Orchard Corset
Well-made corsets in a wide range of styles and sizes. Offers plus-size corsets up to waist measurements of 46″.
Recollections
Reproduction historical clothing for women. Bustles and blouses and lace collars, oh my! Sizes up to women’s 4X.
Renn Store
Yes, renaissance fair clothing. Billowy shirts, full skirts, and chemises are useful in goth wardrobes, too! Women’s and men’s sizes up to 3X.
ReStyle
Goth fashion that ranges from spooky t-shirts to velvet coats. A wide selection of gothy jewelry, belts, and handbags. Women’s and men’s sizes up to 2X.
Retroscope Fashions
Gothic/Victorian/steampunk finery. Women’s and men’s sizes up to 2X.
Rose Mortem
Flowing gothic gowns, skirts, and tops. Custom sizing available.
Shrine Clothing
Best known for their decadent goth coats in ultra-lush fabrics. (They also offer shirts, pants, skirts, dresses, and cloaks. OMG THE CLOAKS.) EXTREMELY expensive, but worth saving up for. Women’s sizes up to 2X, men’s sizes up to 3X.
Somnia Romantica
Beruffled romantic goth clothing, hand-made in the Netherlands. Women’s sizes up to XL
SOVRIN
Hand-printed dark and witchy leggings, tanks, cardigans, and scarves. Plus patches to adorn your existing garments!
Uniformal Warehouse
Men’s formalwear, so a good source for waistcoats and tux jackets. More importantly, a budget-friendly place for top hats!
Shoes, tights, accessories
American Duchess
Reproduction historical footwear. Someday the Lady of the Manners will own a pair of Tavistock button boots, oh yes she will.
Bella Lili
Beautiful necklaces and pendants with intricate filigree.
Bloodmilk Jewels
Gorgeous witchy jewelry, including the original sterling raven claw pendant.
Callisto Jewelry
Chunky crystal pendants, handcrafted with love. The Lady of the Manners owns rather a lot of pieces from here.
Cyberoptix
Silkscreened ties to add a darker bit of interest to your shirts.
Evil Supply Co.
Deliciously evil patches and pins to adorn your clothes. Plus fantastic stationery and planners!
Haute Under the Collar
Vintage and modern ties, all embellished with hand-set rhinestones. Add some sparkle to your wardrobe.
Mordaunte’s Coffin Gems
Exactly what it says! Coffin-shaped gems, set as rings, earrings, pendants, and tie tacks.
Poison Apple Print Shoppe
The Lady of the Manners’ favorite witchy/occult patches come from here.
Omnia Oddities
Beautiful jewelry (oh, the Lunar Oracle ring!), and bat leggings!
Sock Dreams
Socks, tights, stockings! All colors and styles, and sizing tips for everything they sell!
The Gothic Shoe Co.
POINTY TOES. Winklepickers. All the buckles. This is THE place to go for trad goth pointy-toe footwear.
Tormented Artifacts
Leatherwork! Masks, utility belts, bracers and handwraps, and BOOTWINGS!
We Love Colors
50+ colors of tights, stripey tights, and fishnets! Plus sizes available!
Keywords
You can find some great things on eBay, Etsy, and shopgoodwill.org by using the right keywords. You will also find some hilarious, terrible things. It helps if you filter your results to remove any “costume” sections. Also, do not buy/bid on things if you are sleep-deprived or in an altered state! Window-shop responsibly!
In no particular order, the keywords that the Lady of the Manners will occasionally frequently search for:
80s goth
90s goth
Edwardian
EGA
EGL
black chiffon
black lace
black maxi dress
black maxi skirt
black sheer
bohemian/boho/g*ps* (UGH. But sometimes sellers tag wonderful things with questionable terms)
gothic romance
goth punk
mourning
new romantic
pirate
poet
strega
Victorian gothic
Victorian romantic
Victorian vampire
visual kei
witch/witchy
Finally, there’s some behind-the-scenes housekeeping that needs to be done here at Gothic Charm School, which means the Correspondence page may or may not be working. So if you have a question, this link should help you reach the Gothic Charm School inbox!
Well, I just spent the last few hours clicking away. Thanks for the list. Lots of favourite websites and some new favourites also!
I would suggest adding Rose Mortem and Moon Maiden Gothic to the list. They both have beautiful old school romantic goth dresses.
I started shopping at Gentleman’s Emporium a few years ago thanks to you. I absolutely love their clothing and if I may; I’d like to correct the sizes you have. They go from small to 3x/4x depending on the item of clothing. The quality of their clothes is second to none.
I thought GoodGoth were considered a bad site, since they’re known for basically reselling stuff from elsewhere, some with questionable or terrible quality, at a huge markup? Or is that just their corsets and not the rest of the site?
I’d add Alchemy Gothic (Alchemy England) to the list. They’re famous for jewellery but I like their bags more – their bat bag is amazing! Also in the UK, Cyberdog lean much more to cyber/raver side of things than to cybergoth but still have the odd gothier or black piece for those who prefer cybergoth and industrial looks.
I’m also a fan of a lot of Japanese goth brands like h.NAOTO, Black Piece Now, Atelier Boz, Alice Auaa and some stuff from Demobaza. The latter two are incredibly expensive even second-hand but they inspire me a lot. I tend to look on second-hand sites like Closet Child, Tokyo Alice and Maiden Clothing for them.
Of course I’m speaking from a UK-centric perspective. Ordering anything from outside the EU causes a lot of hassle with shipping and customs, so it’s the same amount of trouble for me to order from Japan as it is to order from US shops.
I found some great EGL/EGA stuff at mystery garden (http://mysterygarden.storenvy.com) back when i was a loli. It looks like the store is under construction right now, but in the past there were pieces with classic lolita silhouettes and gothic prints and color schemes, if that makes any sense. Handmade by a lady in poland, very reasonable prices. I hope it comes back soon.
I also have what may be a silly question: what is the g*ps* tag of which you speak? I don’t believe i’ve seen it before
What could you do if no one you know is goth and you are the only goth person in the entire town?
Ooo, can you do some makeup sites next? I’ve been having a terrible time finding decent lipstick.
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Thank you for this beautiful list!
I would venture for those that are inspired by or love corsets, check out corset-story.com; their selection is wide-ranging, their quality is wonderful (although I will admit that I only buy steel-boned myself), and they have the sizes to fit almost anyone.
I love Lady of the Manner! She has the best thing to say.
To especially fellow Europeans, a site called ‘Fantasmagoria’ is definitely worth checking out.
I can recommend MoonMaiden Gothic Clothing – they make beautiful items in various kinds of velvet and cater towards romantic/vampire/witch spooks *and* they offer custom sizing! http://www.moonmaiden-gothic-clothing.co.uk
I find it a struggle to find victorian/edwardian/romantic styles, I try to use such keywords as vintage. Theres a few on etsy, though takes a lot to go through to find something decent, especially as I’m not very creative when coming up with outfits. I do like the stuff on devilknight and darkincloset, though they seem to frequently change their style types.