Our friend Anabbelle posed the following question: "I'm into very gothic clothing and style but I want to look cool and sophisticated and not like trash. Do you have any help on where to find great clothes?"

An excellent question. Let's start by first getting something straight. Goth can so easily go bad, as we see here at left. The big difference between being a bad one and a goth who is well put together is, well, nihilism, and of course not being sloppy. Just because you dress in dark clothing doesn't mean you must also be chronically depressed. Smile, and above all, be neat about it. The hair will really be the deciding factor. Keeping a feminine style (and doing it well) will soften whatever you are doing down below, so it will give you the girly aspect of an edgier look. Also, as we stated previously,you can accomplish a look gracefully by making sure the pieces you wear are good quality and well-presented. Don't wear sloppy jeans or shirts - it will only make you look sloppy. That being said, the question of where to get good goth clothes is a little bit more difficult.

My first thought was to go directly to Hot Topic and not look back, but after doing a little more research, it became obvious why it's the most popular destination for goth apparel - it's the only store that seems to take the subculture seriously. A lot of the other stuff that's out there is jokey or just plain ugly, and we wouldn't do that to you. Really, it doesn't matter where you get clothes as long as you wear it well, which is true for any style of dress. The thing you must keep in mind, though is to choose carefully, and there is no such thing as overaccessorizing in this culture. I especially liked the necklace I found, such as at right. It's goth, but it's feminine, and would go great with a low cut top or a dress. Now, there are a few don'ts that I feel I should pass on before we conclude: no ripped things, no hair with more than two colors, and don't hide your face under black and white makeup - you are far too beautiful for that.