Trad goth, short for traditional goth, is goth as it first looked in Britain at the start of the 1980s: black clothes layered in lace, mesh, velvet and leather, hair backcombed high and dyed black, a pale face and heavy black eyeliner. To wear it now, keep that outline (big dark hair or a sharp eye, a slim black leg or a long black skirt, something sheer on top, lace-up boots) and build it from pieces you would put on for an ordinary day.
The people who wear this look know the records, so the details matter. Below is where it came from, what the clothes, hair and faces were, which half of that wardrobe we stock, and three outfits from our shelves with sizes and prices.
Key Takeaways
- Trad goth is goth's original look, grown from post-punk records between 1979 and 1982 and from club nights such as London's Batcave, which opened in July 1982.
- It mixed two wardrobes: punk (torn fishnet and leather) and horror-film romance (lace, velvet, long black skirts). We sell the romantic half.
- The face and hair carry as much of the look as the clothes: Siouxsie Sioux's cat-eye and spiky black hair, Robert Smith's pale skin and smeared red lipstick.
- Our core trad goth outfit is a lace blouse, high-waisted skinny trousers to XL and lace-up knee boots in US 4 to 11.
- Above XL, build it on the lace corset (S to 6XL) or a dress that runs to 4XL.
What is trad goth?
Trad goth is the original goth style of the late 1970s and the 1980s, the way people dressed in the clubs where the goth scene took shape. Wikipedia's entry on gothic fashion defines it as the aesthetic that "reflects the classic and original aesthetics of Goth from the 1980s". The "trad" tells it apart from every type of goth that branched off later, and our goth style guide for beginners sets it beside those later styles.
It helps to read trad goth as two wardrobes worn at the same time. One came from punk: torn fishnet, leather and spiked hair. The other came from horror films and the nineteenth century: lace, velvet, long black skirts and dead-white faces. The Cursed Closet sells the second wardrobe and not the first, so the outfits below lean on lace, mesh and velvet.
Where did trad goth come from?
Trad goth came out of British post-punk at the end of the 1970s and found its home in a few club nights of the early 1980s, the Batcave in London above all. The records came first and the clothes followed.
The records, 1979 to 1982
By the late 1970s, critics such as Nick Kent were already using the word "gothic" for the atmosphere of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magazine and Joy Division. In August 1979 Bauhaus, a Northampton band formed the year before, put out their debut single, "Bela Lugosi's Dead". It runs past nine minutes, takes its name from the actor who played Dracula in 1931, and is now often looked back on as the first gothic rock record. The Cure followed with Seventeen Seconds in 1980, Faith in 1981 and Pornography in May 1982, the three albums that fixed their place in the genre.
Film caught up in 1983. Tony Scott's first feature, The Hunger, opens in a nightclub with Bauhaus playing "Bela Lugosi's Dead" and Peter Murphy on screen.
The Batcave, Soho, 1982
The Batcave began as a Wednesday club night in July 1982 at the Gargoyle Club, 69 Dean Street, in Soho. Olli Wisdom, singer of the house band Specimen, ran it with the band's guitarist Jon Klein as art director, and its regulars included Siouxsie Sioux, Robert Smith, Nick Cave and the members of Bauhaus. In February 1983 it moved to Leicester Square, and later to other rooms around Soho.
In 1983 the NME briefly called the scene around it "positive punk", a label covering Alien Sex Fiend, Specimen, UK Decay, Sex Gang Children and Southern Death Cult. London was not the only centre, either: the Museum of Youth Culture names Le Phonographique in Leeds and The Banshee and Underworld in Manchester alongside the Batcave.
Deathrock, the American cousin
A parallel scene grew out of Los Angeles punk at the same moment. Christian Death formed in Claremont, California, in October 1979, and deathrock became the name for that side of the music. When the two scenes met, deathrock picked up some of the Batcave crowd's style, but it kept more of the punk wardrobe: fishnet worn as a top, band and horror T-shirts, combat boots.
What did trad goths wear?
Black, in as many textures as one outfit could hold, slim through the leg and big at the head. Clothes, hair and make-up worked as one look.
The clothes
Trad goth clothes sat close to the body and set textures against each other: lace against leather, mesh over a vest, velvet next to something torn. Wikipedia's account of deathrock fashion lists fishnet worn as a top or as tights, combat boots or Doc Martens, and skirts, leggings or slim trousers. Specimen's Olli Wisdom wore mascara and black lace. Pointed winklepickers came back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and the goth scene called them pikes; Robert Smith wore brothel creepers.
Siouxsie was a particular influence on how the scene dressed. Reviewing the Banshees at Futurama in 1980, the NME's Paul Morley reckoned about half the girls at Leeds had based their look on her, from hair to ankle.
The hair
Hair was the loudest part of the look. Siouxsie's was spiky and dyed black, Robert Smith's unkempt, wiry and black, and Specimen's keyboard player Jonny Slut wore what became known as the deathhawk, a teased-up cousin of the mohawk, as we would describe it.
To get the height without shaving anything, backcomb the crown in small sections, set it with strong hairspray and smooth only the top layer so the volume looks meant. Black dye is the classic, but the outline counts for more than the colour. We do not sell hair or make-up products, so this part is technique rather than shopping.
The make-up
The face was pale, the eyes dark and the mouth either black or red. Siouxsie's cat-eye make-up and deep red lipstick shaped gothic dressing for years afterwards. Robert Smith's pale skin, smeared red lipstick and black eyeliner did the same for everyone who copied him, and deathrock used pale or white foundation with black or very dark eyes.
For daytime, a foundation a shade or two lighter than your skin does the job of the white base, with black liner winged outward and one red or dark lip. Keep the full white face and the sharp graphic eye shapes for a night out.
How to wear a trad goth outfit now
Take the romantic half of the wardrobe, keep the shape (a slim leg or a long skirt, something sheer on top, lace-up boots) and let your hair or your eyes carry the decade.
The Batcave regular: lace, skinny trousers and knee boots
Start with the Black Lace Blouse, lace in acetate and polyester, $31.02. It comes in one size with a 43 cm chest width and a 45 cm length, and in the listing photos it sits off the shoulder with lace sleeves and lacing down the front, so check those two measurements against a top you own before ordering.
Below it, the Draco Black Lace-Up Ankle Pants give you the slim black leg the look depends on: cotton, high-waisted, a skinny pencil cut with lace-up detailing and a zip fly. They cost $31.32 in S and $48.04 in M, L and XL. Our trousers collection holds wider cuts if skinny is not for you, and our guide to goth pants sorts them by cut.
Finish with the Gothic Lace-Up Knee-High Boots: a 9.5 cm square heel on a 3.5 cm platform, a 35 cm leg height and 34 cm around the leg, with a PU shaft and a short plush lining. They are $34.24 in US 4 and $69.59 in every size from US 4.5 to 11. For more pairs from independent makers, see our guide to goth boots for women.
The long black line: a mesh knit over a long skirt
This is the version with less punk in it and more of the horror-film heroine. The Invoke Dark Mesh Cardi is knitted polyester, 42 to 44 cm long depending on size, at $32.89 in S and $41.41 in M and L. Wear it open over a black vest or a bra top so the mesh shows what is underneath; our guide to black mesh tops goes through what to put there.
For the skirt, choose between velvet and lace. The Black Velvet Split Skirt is velvet in cotton and polyester, 92 to 94 cm long, with a split and a bow, at $32.34 in S and $36.27 in M and L. The Dahlia Long Skirt is layered, with a sheer lace overlay, $45.49 in every size from XS/S to XL; its model is 5'4" (165 cm) and wears S.
Under a long skirt, a chunkier boot balances the hem. The Black Lace-Up PU Leather Boots are mid-calf, with a 9 cm heel and a 5 cm platform, in EU sizes 35 to 43; the listing converts each to a US size. They cost $36.58 in EU 35 and $87.82 from EU 36 to 43. More long pieces in this register sit in our gothic romance collection.
For a night out: a lace or velvet dress
The Black Goth Mesh Lace Dress is the closest single piece to the Batcave look: mesh and lace with long sleeves, in cotton, polyester, acetate and acrylic, 84 to 86 cm long. It costs $31.37 in S and $36.71 in M and L. If velvet suits you better than lace, the Hollow Heart Velvet LBD is velvet in polyester, 76 to 79 cm long, at $32.89 in S and $41.41 in M, L and XL. Wear either with sheer black tights, the knee boots above and the full white face.
How is trad goth different from romantic goth and 90s goth?
Trad goth is the sharp original, romantic goth is the softer and more Victorian branch, and 90s goth is what happened when the look reached the cinema and the shopping centre. Trad goth keeps its punk edge in the hair and the boots even when the clothes turn lacy; romantic goth drops that edge for slips, florals and mourning silhouettes, and our romantic goth guide covers it. For the next decade, our 90s goth fashion guide follows the look into vampire films, club fishnet, mall goth and the teenage witch.
Trad goth outfits in plus sizes
Where each piece in this guide stops:
- Black lace off shoulder corset, S to 6XL.
- Black Deadbeat Grunge Dress, M to 4XL.
- Dark Lace Goth Dress, M to XXL.
- Draco trousers, Hollow Heart Velvet LBD and Dahlia Long Skirt, up to XL.
- Invoke Dark Mesh Cardi, Black Velvet Split Skirt and Black Goth Mesh Lace Dress, S to L.
- Black Lace Blouse, one size (43 cm chest width).
- Knee-high boots, US 4 to 11, with a 34 cm leg circumference; mid-calf boots, EU 35 to 43.
In the first outfit the trousers reach XL and the blouse is one size; the long-skirt outfit stops at L, or XL with the Dahlia skirt and a sheer top you already own. Above XL, start from one of three pieces.
The Black lace off shoulder corset has lace sleeves in 90% polyester and 10% spandex, at $31.37 in S and $36.71 from M to 6XL; wear it over black trousers or a long skirt from your own wardrobe. The Dark Lace Goth Dress is 80% cotton and 20% Tencel, with a square neck, lace detailing and full flared sleeves, at $33.66 in every size. The Black Deadbeat Grunge Dress is cotton and polyester, 80 to 82 cm long, with a bust from 100 cm in M to 128 cm in 4XL; it costs $31.32 in M and $48.04 from L to 4XL.
If 34 cm around the leg is too narrow for you, our guide to gothic boots for wide calves covers boots with more room. For other independent labels and how far their sizes run, read our plus-size goth guide; for more of our own larger pieces, browse the plus-size collection.
Frequently asked questions
What is trad goth?
Traditional goth is the first goth style, which grew out of late-70s British post-punk and was worn in clubs such as the Batcave in the 1980s. In practice it means black layers of lace, mesh, velvet and leather, with backcombed black hair, a pale base and strong black eyeliner.
What music is trad goth?
The bands most tied to it are Siouxsie and the Banshees, Bauhaus, The Cure and Joy Division, and the bands that played the Batcave, among them Specimen, Alien Sex Fiend and Sex Gang Children. In California, Christian Death was one of the deathrock bands that ran alongside them.
Is trad goth the same as deathrock?
Close, but no. Deathrock was the Los Angeles side, from bands such as Christian Death and 45 Grave, and it kept more punk in the wardrobe. Trad goth usually means the British original, which leans further towards lace and velvet.
Can you wear trad goth every day?
Yes, if you scale the face and hair down and keep the silhouette. Lace or mesh on top, slim black trousers and lace-up boots read as goth at work or at the shops without looking like fancy dress.
Begin with the lace blouse, the Draco trousers and the knee-high boots, then add the hair. That is enough of the 1980s for most days.
