Gothic Coats.
The gothic coat and the culture originated with a medieval German family that eventually, after many generations, found their way to the United States. The family brought with them the style of the coat which later carried their name. During the Victorian era the gothic coat was worn as a mourning coat.
In the United States and the U.K. during the punk era of the 1970’s, the gothic name and apparel became a fashion and a culture. The punk era was the time of the nonconformist. A time to say “I don’t care what you think of me” and “I will do as I please.”
With this attitude there came a form of dress which included the gothic coats. They were a coat that had a tight fitted top, tight sleeves and a flared skirt.
The style of the gothic coats varied. They were single breasted or double breasted, zippered or snapped and always black. One particular style was zippered in the front off center and had a faux lacing on the opposite side.
The member of the gothic culture was called a ‘Goth’ and whether man or woman they wore the classic uniform of the Goth. This consisted of the black ‘Goth’ coat, black dyed hair, black eye makeup (worn by both men and women), black lipstick and religious jewelry.
The jewelry consisted of crucifixes, skulls, rosaries, and carried over into pierced lips and tongues.
The men wore tight pants with the loose coat and always wore a crisp white shirt. Women’s gothic clothing tends to be more sexy with corsets, fish net stockings and see though blouses.
The classic gothic coat has been seen in films, mostly in vampire movies because, Hollywood never misses a chance to promote something new and different. The coat is, in fact often referred to as the vampire coat.
It began as early as the l920’s with the silent movie entitled Noferantu where the vampire wears a long full length coat with a tight bodice and tight sleeves a flared skirt and a small fur collar.
The vampire coat or gothic coat was further made popular by Bella Lugosi in all of his vampire movies. His vampire coat was long and looses fitting, almost like a cape, convenient for transformation into a bat for a quick get-a-way.
It continues to be the choice of modern day vampires like Count Alucard, who brought the color red into the Gothic culture.
The gothic coats are the type of wearing apparel that the confident man wants in his wardrobe, especially if he wants to make the attitudinal statement that the members of the gothic culture make. In this day and age it is a significant piece of day-to-day wearing apparel.
The gothic coat has a long history and one wonders if the originators had any idea of what was in store for it. Named after a prominent medieval family, traveled to the U.K. and U.S. and became a cultural attraction.
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Vampire Coats.
Because the vampire coat and the Gothic coat are similar in style, they are each referenced in the same category.
The single and sometimes double breasted coat has various styles. Although, all of the coats are tight fitting, some have a short skirt and others have a long flared skirt. All of the coats have long tight fit sleeves. The collars can be faux or real fur, small cape, stand up, or cowl. The fabric varies as well from satin, leather, and velvet to cotton or twill.
The vampire coat was usually always black in color until the introduction of Count Alacard (which just happens to be Dracula spelt backwards), one of the most modern of vampires who added red to his vampiric wardrobe.
The similarity between the vampire coat and the Gothic coat makes it able to be worn by both men and women. The women’s vampire or Gothic apparel leans more toward the sexy look than the practical look although it does have some practicality. The women’s apparel consists of corsets and bust enhancers as well as long and short skirts and dresses also long and short coats. Women’s apparel also has various shoes and boots. The men’s apparel is restricted more to pants, coats (long and short), crisp white shirts and shoes and boots.
Although the vampire coat has been in existence since the early Victorian era it gained popularity with the 1920’s silent movie, Nosferantu . The vampire in this movie wore a long coat that fit tightly at the top with a flared skirt and tight long sleeves trimmed with a small fur collar.
No one could ever wear the coat in the same menacing way that Bella Lugosi did as Count Dracula in his many movies. Bella Lugosi so liked his role that when he died he was dressed in full costume. His was a full flared coat with a small cape collar which allegedly made it easier for him to shape shift from human to bat when the need for a quick retreat was necessary.
The vampire coat is now associated not only with the vampire cultists but with the Gothic culture. The punk rock music of the 1970’s and 1990’s was the inspiration of the Gothic culture and the apparel and its accessories became the apparel of choice.
The stereotypical Goth is a person possessing the need to be nonconforming thus breaking the bond of conformity. To be a true Goth one has to have an “I don’t care what you think of me” attitude and dress accordingly. Along with the aforementioned apparel the Goth adds to his or her accessories pierced lips, razor blade earrings, skulls and crucifixes along with black hair, black face makeup and until now all black clothing.