Today we are going to play a game! It’s called “Gothic Outfit or Halloween Costume?” There are eight gothic ensembles in this post; some of them are actual outfits designed by alternative clothing labels to be worn out and about in the scene, others are Halloween costumes intended for adults who want to play-pretend to be goths one day out of the year. Can you guess which is which? Test yourself after the jump!
Scroll down for the answers.
Dress #1
Dress #2
Dress #3
Dress #4
Dress #5
Dress #6
Dress #7
Dress #8
And now, the answers! If you played and guessed correctly, what gave it away?
- HALLOWEEN COSTUME: Onyx Adult Goth Costume. $56.95. From Amazon.com.
- GOTHIC OUTFIT: Jen Long sleeve Dress. £70.00. From the Black Rose.
- GOTHIC OUTFIT: Al Capone Dress. €139.00. From X-Tra.
- HALLOWEEN COSTUME: Until Death Do Us Part Dress. $54.99. From Costume Super Center.
- HALLOWEEN COSTUME: Velvet Coffin Dress. £31.73. From Best Price Fancy Dress.
- HALLOWEEN COSTUME: Royal Vampiress. $79.95. From Haunt Your Home.
- GOTHIC OUTFIT: Eternal Love Princess Cobweb Dress. $96.00. From Arsenic Fashions.
- GOTHIC OUTFIT: Sinister Gothic Long Velvet Lace-Up Black Rose Dress. £70.50. From the Gothic Shop.
December 21st, 2007 at 5:45 am
6 out of 8, got the first two wrong. Should I be proud or sorry of myself?
FWIW dresses #1 and #5 should be goth outfits, they’re much more stylish than the usual oh-i’m-so-gothy outfits. The goth scene is severely deprived of style these days…
December 21st, 2007 at 6:00 am
No. No. No. NO. NO. No. No.
NO.
December 21st, 2007 at 6:04 am
Mer, it’s OK. I know it’s hard to guess them all right!
December 21st, 2007 at 6:24 am
this is fun but i suck at it.
i only got one right!!
booo!
December 21st, 2007 at 6:27 am
That was more of an existential outcry from the depths of my soul than anything else.
December 21st, 2007 at 7:35 am
I don’t care if it’s a costume. I want Dress #5. Only in dark red instead of black.
But Dress #2 makes my soul die a little, and I don’t even consider myself gothy-inclined. Or maybe it’s just the awful wig. Either way–ugh.
December 21st, 2007 at 9:12 am
all right.
i do a lot of online shopping - so i’ve seen most of these. so i guess it’s not fair. for the most part, i couldnt’ get past most of the awful wigs or lack of styling. i cry.
December 21st, 2007 at 10:09 am
Had me fooled on a bunch of these. Secretly though I hoped they were all costumes!
December 21st, 2007 at 11:28 am
I thought that crushed velvet and tattered handkerchief hems would be sure giveaways for Halloween costumes. But they’re not! Oh god…
December 21st, 2007 at 11:29 am
My eyes bleed from these outfits, just like the models’ cold dark hearts bleed from sorrow. And I only got 1 right.
December 21st, 2007 at 12:23 pm
I guessed correctly for all of them. Probably because every Halloween season, I go to the Halloween Superstores to see what horrible things are being done under the name of my chosen subculture.
December 21st, 2007 at 1:05 pm
I got them all wrong. I had the exact opposites. Turns out goth clothing is really cheesy and tacky. Who would have thunk it…?
December 21st, 2007 at 1:59 pm
good golly miss molly. wench dress overload cranked up to 11.
December 21st, 2007 at 1:59 pm
#5…what exactly IS that?
These days the line between costumes and a subculture are mighty thin aren’t they? I pretty much thought they were all costumes…is their really a difference between an outfit and a costume once you get to a certain level of say…theatrical or historical influence? For that matter would it be more interesting to see someone commit to such an outfit for everyday use as opposed to say a special event? Seems like once you decide to wear something like that for a club event or a party it feels far more like a costume.
December 21st, 2007 at 2:11 pm
mate, that is a tube-top left to its own devices for much too long.
December 21st, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Is it embarrassing I rather like #6?
December 21st, 2007 at 4:37 pm
foxtongue, no way! I like all of them :)
December 21st, 2007 at 5:49 pm
I would love #6…well, on someone. Must be some sexual deviation (gets ready for electric shocks and long, cold showers).
December 22nd, 2007 at 9:31 am
[...] a Halloween witch costume and a genuine goth outfit? Well, put your goth radar to the test on this post from Coilhouse and pick out the costumes from the [...]
December 26th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
Uh, what’s the difference? They all look cool to me.
December 28th, 2007 at 4:31 am
I quite like 3 & 8, although 3 really doesn’t fit the model.
I think all of the others have potential, but they are just a little too over the top for my taste. Take the cobweb bit off 7 and lower the hemline or give her some coloured tights and it would be okay. 1 would be fine without the head. The others would need a bit more work.
December 28th, 2007 at 2:11 pm
#2 and #7 I was sure were Halloween costumes. Sighhh.
I guess it was intended to be tragic, lol.
January 4th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Hmmm… I really would love to see #6 in person. Goth could always use more colors… as long as it is red or black.
January 5th, 2008 at 8:45 am
I got them all 100% right.
It’s pretty easy to tell. And quit being sterotypical, not all goths dress like this. There are very few goth people out there anyway, now it’s all about being ‘emo’ or ‘rocker’ or something along those lines.
January 8th, 2008 at 8:35 am
I would totally wear 6. The rest should be set aflame.
January 28th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
I must say, dress #4 is kind of pretty, only without the veil and plastic flowers…
May 3rd, 2008 at 12:09 pm
These are horrible representations of the beauty that is gothic fashion, whether they be costumes or not. With the exception of the last one, which would have looked beautiful on someone not so tall, they made the seamstress in me cry.
December 12th, 2008 at 7:47 pm
1, 3, 5, and 8 are the only ones I could see as actual clothes. 1 and 5 have a kind of club-y futuristic look that I’ve seen in some movies and zines, while 3 and 8 are pretty similar, with a different look achieved from the fabrics chosen. Those two are more well-made looking than the rest and are easily told from plain costume. There is no excuse for the others though!
June 3rd, 2009 at 12:24 pm
wowwww…..