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This is why DIY is really important, especially in goth and punk spaces. Customizing your own personal look and making your own clothes is so rewarding.

well if we actually go outside it's still going to be seen as alt fashion. the algorithm on our phones just makes it look more common than it actually is.

Too many mid gym hype beast clothing brands are ripping off death metal aesthetics.

The concept of “alternative” fashion has now been so skewed that the word alternative has become void of almost any meaning in a cultural context. I feel like that’s why we’ve seen the rise of so many niche ways to describe either fashion or music genres

Tbh i miss when being goth or punk was weird and uncanny to the common people
As soon as it got watered down to a tiktok trend and shein merch the aesthetic lost actual meaning
So tbh I'm really pro of purposefully wearing actual weird shit and makeup, and random granny clothes from thrift stores

I work at busy store next to a University. Gotta say it's all yoga pants, booty shorts, khakis and polos, vaguely hiphop(which is it's own tragedy), shiny tassel shoes and status business attire. The same two Nirvana and Tupac tshirts OVER AND OVER, I swear they must hand out at school admission.

For what it's worth, when any level of a goth, punker, etc walks in, it's still authentic, rare, and refreshing.


This could be way off, cause i don't hit bar scene, but...
My experience is TIKTOK and social media creates the illusion that these alt fast fashion people are everywhere. But they might even never wear it out, just toss it and move on to the next shein haul unboxing.

Thankfully I'm at the age now where I no longer give a shit what's "cool" and just wears whatever the hell they want.

Man I miss when people wore stuff to say something abt themselves

bc of posers and social media specifically tiktok

I find it really telling that what made me "cool" to people in school was that all my clothing was cut and sewn to look alternative, I dyed my own hair and extensions, I drew on blank walmart sneakers to make them unique. There was no "where did you get that" only "how did you make it?" Which made it so when those trends were noticed, they were not copied. My friends didn't cut their shirts in the same way, the younger girls who asked me for advice didn't dye their hair or cut it the exact same way. What made me "cool" inspired others to make themselves "cool" in the way that felt authentic to them. Culture, connection & growth is lost when we just let these giant corporations feed us back what we created. Nothing is youthful or creative about a middle aged marketing executive telling kids what's hot and in.

I'm metal head. There is no need to looks alternative. I wear my fav band t shirt, nothing more.

I think this is mainly an online issue. I go to lots of goth clubs and metal shows and you rarely see anyone with these types of fits, it’s usually just camo pants, jeans, bullet belts and leather jackets/denim.

Cant wait until 2040 when fashion runs out of original nostalgia and comes full circle back to Roaring 20s and then the cycle repeats again

My "alt" is just my normal fit but with a band shirt

But again, I think it's mostly poseres on the internet, you see them much rarely irl and are most of the time criticized for wearing brands such as Shien

I feel like a lot of alt people dont actually realise that alt isnt like the new norm and that is mostlycaused by just how much you see of it on social media, while most young people dont dress alternative and think its weird.

I miss the legitimate weirdos and sense of community in alt subcultures. People who liked Deftones back in my day where sad and sketchy dudes who'd sell you an ounce out of his Civic with a gun on the passenger seat and then go home to write actually decent poems about existential ennui on his scratch-built website. I was involved in goth and industrial in my teens and 20s. None of us were particularly sane, sober, or what you could identify as thriving. But we found comradery and mutual aid in each other. I don't think you'd find that today where most alt cultures just seem to be an Onlyfans subgenre.

I remember whem malls were still widespread and popular. All us DIY punks mocked hot topic and for good reason, but we all also liked that they had t shirts that weren't easy to find, we just wouldnsay it out loud.

When something becomes commodified and commercialized, it becomes a former shell of its self. Alt fashion happened to go this route.