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This here is a thread that everyone with tips on how to spot cool stuff and make it cooler for cheap!

Here is a tip! Learn to sew! If you don't already know it, there is nothing that is more useful to a goth than the ability to sew! (and really, I know im just repeating s**t people already know. So thats why you must post your goth shopping tips!)

Another ting I would like to mention is, that when buying things new, it is usually better to invest in a few excellent quality peices than a bunch of inexpensive and poorly-made garments.

One wonderful thing about gothic fashion is how stable it is. My local gothic clothing store has been selling several of the same peices since it opened, which was over a decade ago. Yet those peices are still as beautiful and in-style as they were when the shop opened.

Since the style is so stable, it is much better to invest in a few excellent quality high-end peices, then a bunch of junk. Why pay $60 for a dress from Hot Topic, which is bound to tear and fall apart within a year, when for $90 you could purchase a better quality dress at your local alt. clothing shop, which will last you for many years to come?

Quality-wise, here is my stance on several brands...

Excellent quality brands:

Shrine, Eternal Love, Moi Meme Moite


Decent quality brands:

Tripp, T.U.K, Lip Service (excluding thier Hot Topic line), Funhouse, Blacklist, Coquette, Mudd (not really a household name in the goth community, but they have really great boots!)


Just don't bother:

Heavy Red, Morbid



That being said, you don't always need to spend a high price to get wonderful clothing. I actually purchased about 90% of my clothing from Goodwill! Thrift shops are AMAZING resources! It may take several visits before you find somthing nice, but don't be discouraged! Finding that 'diamond in the rough' without a hefty price tag is completely worth it! I actually found one of my favorite dresses at The Salvation Army for $8. It's black velvet with bell sleeves. I trimmed it with some pretty lace, and now it's "my signature dress", as all of my friends like to call it. It's held up incredebly well too. Over the past three years, it has not torn, nor faded, nor shrunk. All for under $10!

Another thing, is for accessories, check out Claires or department stores. They usually have amazing costume jewellery, which usually isn't all that expensive, especially at Claires (though, some of the jewellery at Claire's is not very high quality, so be wary of that!)


With some things that you absolutely CANNOT find at a low price, you can try your hand at making it! Most of the satin-lined velvet cloaks I've found are between $300-$450. I wanted one so badly, so I decided to make myself a cloak. With coupons from the fabric store, and the fact that the pattern I used was on sale, the total for my cloak only turned out to be about $145. Admitted, that is still expensive, but it's a hell of a lot less than I would have paied for a pre-made cloak. Plus, I was able to sew in a hidden layer of plush felt, making the cloak much warmer than any store-bought one would be, and I can now show off my beautiful peice of craftsmanship with pride every time I go out in the winter.

Thrift stores are your best friend, but be wary in consignment shops! The charity shops are often less expensive and have funkier pieces. MOST consignment stores only want current mainstream TRENDY pieces of crap that they sell for too much money. It also feels nice to support the local hospital and Humane Society by shopping in their stores.

Yard sales yield surprising things, too! I've gotten some great vintage jewelry for $1 that would cost me $30+ in the local "antique store". And believe it or not, try to go to yard sales in older neighborhoods populated by people 65 and up! I almost always find the BEST vintage pieces at their sales.

Look over whatever you buy carefully. It isn't worth anything to you if you can't wear it because there are ripped seams, loose hems, or broken zippers that you tell yourself you'll fix but never do! Make sure that the flaws don't outweigh the bargain price and that you can and will actually make any necessary repairs.

Never count out a shop just because it's trendy, bright, and in the mall. I found the most adorable Gothic Lolita-inspired pieces in Forever 21, for pete's sake! And cheap, too. Also, if you've got a local TJ Maxx store, it is worth it to dig through the racks and see what you find. Some of the designer stuff is still ridiculously priced, but they often have really neat things if you're just willing to look through a poorly organized store.

My sister tried to make some jewelry once, My friend fell asleep on our couch, so instead, we just crazy glued some jewels to his face.

Good times, but unproductive.

I second that. And you can always personalize it . Like, dying it a new colour. Sew and trip to fit better.

Also, attach random stuff too your outfit. I have a fake eye patch for toys'r'us that I wear as a bracelet. And you can use a piece of scrap fabric as a belt.

I completely agree with the enitre thift stores and stuff, infact i think only about 2% of my stuff wasnt baought at either Good Will or the Salvation Army. I also agree with making your own jewlry, it's WAY cheeper and you get to put your own style into it, for instance if you go to clares to get like a band or some sort of bracelet, it wuold be MUCH cheeper to look at it, go to a bead shop then get the beads or close to the beads you saw and then personalize it by adding something crazy ex) a black beaded bracelet, went to bead shop got the beads and then i put on little stringy chains on it, very cool. But never put out shopping malls. I know that you'll get a couple, scratch that ALOT of weird looks but since when dont we, but they got some pretty good stuff there. And NEVER NEVER NEVER take out an Army Surplus Store, they have THE BEST combat boots!

Amen to that! Half of my wardrobe is 2nd hand!

I could never spend the money on stores like HotTopic for pants or shirts, accsesseries are ok. I'm a Goodwill shopper, and a Ross shopper, you can get good prices for some decent cloths there, and thrift stores.