I’m having second thoughts about posting this… but I’ll just follow the initial whim before I chicken out. Besides, worst things have been posted under the “goth” tag in tumblr, right? 8D;; 

This is my take on summery “grown-up goth” - hence the visible toes. I also went easy on the jewelry, since I prefer to keep it simple when I go to visit my family. There is no excuse for the awkward hands and legs other than I’m terrible at posing.

I first stumbled upon the “grown up goth” concept a few years ago, after reading this article on Neogoth by Gala Darling and discovering Haute Macabre. I didn’t really like it a first. Having been into goth since I was a teenager, I found it boring. The corsets and layers of tulle were missing. Where was the goth (and the fun) in that?

The more blogs about people who somehow fitted in the style, the more it started to grow into me, though. 

Some goths will argue that this is not even goth to begin with. That neogoth and gown up goth shouldn’t even be associated with the original subculture. And you know, I guess it’s fine.

I get that goths prefer to keep the label for others who they can empathize with, music and clothe-wise, and they may find the style too simple. I understand that. The only reason I like neogoth and grown up goth, and keep calling them that, is because I like to view them as a more calm, more blended in version of goth, keeping the same “details” you could find in an original gothic outfit, just one at a time instead of several - if that makes any sense.

Personally, even if I only every so often wear my corsets and my lace blouses again, and am generally leaning towards less dramatic make-up, I still kind of consider myself a goth. Other people will disagree, and I don’t really have a problem with that. I think I’m developing a “personal style”, and I guess I’m at that point where I don’t care much about labels anymore. 

So yeah, I just felt the need to share my own view on this somewhat controversial topic /shrugs