Gothic styled dolls

I would love to have a romantic goth doll. I have always loved the fashion but never had the money or ingenuity and sewing skills to make my own. Back in the day I was a glitter goth, it would be pretty fun to experiment again with that fashion style on a doll.

 

@parapluie Here are some images

 

I just love anything that’s typical “witchy” for a lot of my dolls. I’m sure some would call it goth. I’ve just always liked witches and fairies, old and young, and forests. I have no idea why. I was like this before things were called goth and will probably be like this all of my life. I wish I could find more “mori girl” type of clothing for my dolls AND myself!

 

Speaking as a creaky old bat myself (I was "goth" before they had a name for it) the term itself encompasses a variety of looks, as has been stated. The original style that came to be called "goth" came out of the New Romantic movement of the early 1980s sported by music performers such as the Cure and Adam Ant (yes!). As time went on, the punkish elements were phased out (later to be revived in the gothic-punk look) and, perhaps in a nod to the fin-de-siecle esthetic of the late 1890s, the faces went paler, the hair went darker, etc., and somehow the whole scene got caught up in a fascination with death and the macabre--again, like the fatalism of the 1890s when tuberculosis was laying waste to the populace and everyone was in mourning at some point.

In short, what is thought of as "classic" goth today is actually based at least partly on Victorian style, specifically Victorian mourning attire. (Think dark colors--not just black, but deep red, dark purple, etc., but not necessarily dark green or blue for some reason, with ornamentation based on the "stage" of mourning.) So what @saraquill is showing in the above pictures, with the right accessories and hair/makeup, would not look too out of place in the scene, especially in the first pic.

Mind you, YMMV. This is the take of someone who has been around for a very long time and has seen fads come and go in the scene. What goth means to me may be considered poseriffic by someone else.

 

Thanks for clarifying! I want to definitely get my guy full victorian goth eventually!

 

Oh man I wish this stuff was more popular today!!! I'm gothic myself so making my dolls gothic was a big plan of mine! Then I realized how hard it is to find that style for my dolls. I can still find some things so I shouldn't complain.

 

Although I got my first bjd way back in 2007/2008, I wasn't really involved in the hobby until about 2015. So...I guess I missed out on the gothic craze.

Regardless, I have always liked to add an element of something gothic into some of my OCs (I'm a general fan of the aesthetic myself, although I don't actively practice it), and have a few who are more distinctively gothic than others. I tend to think Tahno (the guy in my avatar) tends to veer a bit towards a gothic aesthetic, and Nira's theme in general was sexy-goth when I was creating her character:


Her bf, Valon, also tends to have a bit of this as well, and I know a few others of mine have a touch of it to a degree.

Spoiler: Valon behind the cut

I don't categorize their aesthetic into any particular category of gothic especially considering they exist in one alternative universe or another.

As for me personally, I've always been drawn to the night---to ethereal, ghostly things; magic, Wicca, vampires, darkness, creepy crawlies, bats, cats, the moon. Darker, cooler colors are also my jam. And I have a bit of a fascination with death as well.

It's fun to find ways to incorporate that into my OCs, and by extension their bjd counterparts

 

I too was "goth before it had a name," still am really. But now, I'd classify my style as "Gothic Otaku/anime" more than anything.

I have a few goth-style dolls that wear clothes that I got back when it was still popular. I have one girl who leans more towards neo-Victorian lolita and occasionally punk, a somewhat classic German Goth boy, a vampire that only wears his funeral clothes, and a few dolls that occasionally rock the Gothic aesthetic. Oh, and I have a Alucard from Hellsing that wears goth clothes...at least until I have his canon anime clothes and hat made.

Goth's not dead, it just went back underground...at least in the BJD community it seems.

Ryu

 

I’m looking to make all my dolls gothic style. I guess sense I’m getting ring dolls alfanso that is a perfect example what I’m looking for! But I do plan on getting a grown doll soon but I can’t seem to find rlly cool gothic outfits. I mean I can find some but it would mean months of waiting. I’m lookingto get the clothing in a few weeks or so. Also, I’ve found that it’s eaiser to find female gothic clothing rather then male. It’s a pain looking for the perfect gothic outfit...

 

I got very, very depressed one day and threw away my goth dresses. I regret this. However, I scored a bolt of black cheesecloth a while back though, so I am going to make my Iplehouse Carina a dress out of it, a slightly wispier version of the classic Morticia Addams dress is what I am thinking of. I think of my Carina as a Circe or piratical sea witch. I have a PERFECT cast iron cauldron for her! I need to make her a besom. I collect little resin cats for her.

 

Ptolemaeus, my token goth-boy, is still proudly in black. It's not impossible to find bits and pieces that work for the sort of Victorian-esque/Romantic look that I ended up settling on for him back-in-the-day... but his outfits do tend to be pieced together from different sources rather than found and purchased all-together. Those complete sets are fewer and farther between than used to be.

Having had a decade-and-change to pick up those scattered bits and pieces here and there has helped a lot. Building a wardrobe piecemeal takes time and patience... But it's not an impossible task, even if you're just starting out. Keep your eyes open. Haunt the second-hand market. Look at new outfits with an eye towards "What can I borrow from this?" rather than thinking of them necessarily as full-sets of things your dolls will always wear together. Sometimes it's a matter of "Pants found on Company A's web site + a shirt from Full Set 1 + that crazy-complicated corset you found on Etsy from seamstress B + the coat you made yourself = Eureka!"

 

Reading emails I missed, and I found one for this thread. Its been a while since anyone posted on it, so I thought I'd revive it.

Here is Tielo (Luts CP Delf Shiwoo Dreaming Vampire) and Manfred (Luts CP Delf Shine). Technically, both are Goths, but it was Halloween and Manfred loves his pikachu kigurumi so....


Tielo and Manfred Halloween IKEA Meetup 2019 by Ryuichi Sakuma, on Flickr

Ryu

 

I absolutely miss those decadent gothic lolita looks. I used to be goth myself, kept the hair but I’m too lazy for the clothes now. The impeccable goth face ups were something to behold! You can still see some old ones of Volks every now and then.

My new doll arrives on Tuesday, I’m currently looking for a dark priest(from RPGs) style look for her because she’s supposed to be a grim reaper. I’m definitely going to embrace a gothic look for her!

 

My new girl Harriet definitely qualifies as mall goth. She has a replica of my prom dress, actually made from cutting up my prom dress that came from Hot Topic in 2001!

Sixx might qualify sometimes. He’s inspired by Marilyn Manson, but also by Lady Gaga, so it depends on the day whether he looks goth or just plain weird and eccentric.

You can see both of these dolls on my doll profiles and judge for yourself!

 

I really enjoy the gothic style for BJDs, and I agree..when I first learned of this hobby it was popular. I feel like now, the new style is for dolls to look as realistically close to modern fashion as possible; especially style that has been made popular by movie stars, reality TV celebs and those in the music industry. Fairlyand Minifee is definitely a culprit when it comes to being that "Fashion Model" type bjd.

Nevertheless, I love the fresh take on the Gothic look; especially with eclectic witch vibes. (Also getting to be more popular and mainstream).

Starting with a basic color scheme (even if it's not just black, but gray tones or deep reds or purple) is a good start. From there, you can narrow down the type of clothing and accessories you. It may take time to find them or commission an artist, but it can come together. Ive found a lot of good pieces via Etsy and on Ebay.

 

I'm an old fart, and have dressed in all black clothes since before I could read (all thanks to my bff, I met when we were both in kinder). I never considered myself a Goth, never was into the style nor followed any of the music, believes, or celebrities. However, many people thought/think of me as a Goth and even describe my dolls that way, just because I love black clothes and that's all I sew for them. I personally would like to think most of my dolls lean more towards metal or punk fashion styles (even with body mods and scarification), but I don't like to argue about it so I just let people say whatever they think my dolls (or my) fashion styles are. I don't feel like labeling fashion styles is that important myself, so I don't mind if my dolls are considered Goth, or anything else really. Although, I do understand why people who are not Goth or into it, would immediately think anyone wearing more than two black articles of clothing at the same time, would be a Goth. A little bit shortsighted, but definitely human nature, I guess. DX

 

That is interesting, because I suppose I'm your exact opposite!

I'm also an old fart, and like I tell people, "I was Goth before Goth had a name." I had my own Goth style back in the day, and I have some of the beliefs, love the music and followed some of the celebrities. So, despite whatever colors I wear, and I wear a LOT of bold colors, I still consider myself Goth, or more precisely, "Gothic Otaku" (Gothic Anime fan.) I even occasionally still will put on black makeup when I go out in public, despite being male.

I made some dolls that are specifically Goth, mostly because of where they came from when I bought them. The two in the photo *points up* came from the same seller in Germany, so I thought, "why not make them German goths?" Of course, Tielo being a vampire is a natural Goth, and Manfred, despite his pikachu kigurumi, had to be Goth. What else could I do with that frowny face?

So, for me it was a win-win. Eventually, I'd like to get Manfred a darker, more Goth faceup, but for now, this one works. He has a few more dolls that need work done that are ahead of him in my plans, so his new faceup is somewhat of a low priority.

I also have a doll that is mostly a Gothic lolita, but occasionally strays into Punk lolita territory. I'll eventually post pics of her here.

Ryu

 

I'm incredibly happy to have run across this thread. The VK style dolls are what pulled me into being interested in this hobby years ago, and I've only recently managed to obtain my own little edgy bastard, but I've been too nervous to show him off because of how fashion and style trends have shifted so much. Maybe I'll actually make a profile for him after all...~

 

I'm planning some gothic style clothing for my BJDs. However, I was told by someone more knowledgable that leather and vinyl can damage resin and thus should never be used for doll clothes. Is there a workaround for this?

 

That is interesting indeed! I've never been a fan of Goth fashion, although I do appreciate some of the clothes and styling. As a whole (with the make-up) I wouldn't say I'm a fan of it. I love black anything; I would have all my walls painted black if it wasn't for my extreme fear of any and all bugs (I'm vegan, so I like to avoid killing any, even by accident, I rather see where they are and take them outside immediately after I've spotted them!). I think I like the Visual Kai fashion style a bit more, but I'm not a fan of the make up. Although I am a female, I've never worn make-up myself and I can't see having any of my dolls wearing much of it either. I did have my favorite male doll wearing blue "eyeshadow" for a very long time, as part of his character, but it wasn't meant to be or look like make up. He's a vampire, as are most of my dolls based on OCs. He just happens to be a high-priest who has a lot of rituals he likes to follow, despite having being exiled from his clan, he still follows most of the daily rituals. That's why I kept the blue "eyeshadow" for a long time, but I wasn't a fan of most people thinking he was wearing make-up, so I got rid of it quite some years ago (the blue "eyeshadow," I mean).

I love the Gothic Lolita style, but don't own any dolls I feel like could pull the style well enough, and I sew all my doll's clothes, so I like to keep them less ornate due to my lack of sewing skills. I like a lot of different fashion styles really, I just love black and find it hard to feel comfortable wearing any actual color. Because I am a huge weirdo, I feel my dolls would feel uncomfortable was well, so I force them into black clothes. Although again, most of them are vampires, they don't necessarily need to be wearing black all the time. I just prefer to use black for all the clothes I have my dolls wearing. ^.^;;


@Toxigenesis, you don't have to feel like you need to follow what's popular to post your doll! I've always been a weirdo, so I post even if my dolls are not popular and suck at sewing (taking photos, and face-ups!). However, it's fun seeing other styles than whats popular, so don't feel shy about it! I miss all the VK styled dolls, they were very popular at one point as well. I loved all the wild wigs that came out from that time. (:


@Mistress Arachnia, I dress most of my dolls in black vinyl and faux black leathers (because I'm vegan), and never had any staining issues. However, I do put all my resin BJD back in their boxes, undressed and un-wigged, so maybe that's why I haven't seen any staining. There are body stockings you can use though, if you are worried about staining and planning on leaving the dolls in the vinyl or leathers for prolonged periods of time. Hope that helps! n__n