Goths. Whatever do they do when it's warm and sunny out?
All that makeup, long black leather and rubber must get very sticky. I think we should show our respect for these poor unfortunates, struggling to stand out from the vanilla crowd despite blazing temperatures and sunshine that puts the rest of us in shorts and vest tops. Join me in celebrating the majesty of the Goth, who, eschewing any practicality whatever, still has the commitment to don a full length leather trenchcoat, stupid New Rock boots, and half a Superdrug counter of makeup. All hail the Hot Goth!
gothsinhotweather.com (via @richardmetzger, via coilhouse.net)
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I propose a summer collection for goths.
Now that's funny. Plus, no animals were embarrassed or made nauseous, so let's score it a win!
Brisbane, Australia, is said to have a huge goth scene. Which sounds surprising, given that it's sweltering up there.
Does that photo make anyone else think of Stage 9 at Menses Fair?
Heh. Just as my parents' generation made fun of us for wearing long hair in the 70s ... "aren't you hot? You'd be more comfortable with short hair!"
Knew an intensely goth girl who wore a long wig and a floor length black vinyl dress under her graduation robe. It was an outdoor graduation, and under the tent it was approximately the temperature of hell except more humid.
Somehow, she remained absolutely immaculate for the entire three hour ordeal. Makeup perfect, no sign of discomfort, I am forced to assume she has some mutant power rendering her immune to the heatstroke mere humans would have succumbed to.
Goths do have an underactive albedo.
I wasn't a goth, but I did wear a black duster (oilskin, not leather) in high school, over the usual jeans and T-shirt. It did get really hot in the summer but I wore it anyway.
Not because I didn't sweat (I did) and not because I wanted to make a statement (I didn't), I just found the heat less uncomfortable than giving up a nice big coat to hide inside.
Then Columbine happened, and I switched to an old surplus field jacket, which was mercifully a lot cooler and lighter, and only a little harder to disappear inside.
my buddies sister's boyfriend back (still with me?) when i was in high school was "goth" i suppose. (he was actually more metal-y, but same difference. black, black, black, leather, boots, nets, whatevr...
in any case, i saw him randomly at san dimas' Raging Waters waterpark (Bill and Ted's "Waterloo")
stomping around in the shallow part of some pool in a black wifebeater, black cutoff shorts, black leather cuffs, black socks and BOOTS.
all metal... all the time....
that would be over-active.
Cold Packs. Renfaire performers use them as well.
Wouldn't a Goth dressed all in black be just fine and dandy while standing in the shade, even on a hot day? Black is only a minus because it absorbs more light, but if you're in a dark area, it also emits more infrared radiation.
And Goths are always in a dark area...
This is not a new problem by any stretch. At Glastonbury Festival in 1990 there was a heatwave, and the Cure fans refused to take off their large black jackets, and very sadly, some of them were treated for heat exhaustion.
Luckily the year that Nine Inch Nails played, it was cold and wet.
Let the beatniks, hippies, and punks slam the goths...
Speak, memory!
#12: I think later investigation revealed that to be an extensive case of "The Vapors."
Got to love the Morris goths, well someone has to anyway.
I've always found it mildly amusing how every counterculture subgroup seems to have its own strictly enforced dress code. Especially the ones that think of themselves as rebellious and edgy.
new rock boots? thats more rivethead than goth. then again my personal tastes may be biasing my view
Reminds me of the IT Crowd:
Jen: How come you never see goths driving cars?
Richmond: Oh we drive cars. We're just like you really, except we listen to Cradle of Filth.
Same thing young women in Miami do when it snows?
Ha! Last time we were at Lake Powell there was a Goth kid in a black sweatshirt and jeans with all the chain accoutrement. It was at least 110 at the dock. What a dipstick!
It may not all be about being hot. An umbrella is a reasonably good way to keep off cancer-causing UV rays. More people should use them. And wear sun screen. Every day.
Not only can they survive in summer, they managed to sack Rome. Baffling.
I live in Rio de Janeiro, under a scorching sun, and yes, we have Goths.
Let me tell you what they do: they sweat. They stay home. They hunt for air-conditioning and shelter from the sun, whilst using high-factor sunscreen . But mostly, they stay home and go out at night.
And they seem to have adapted. They sweat admirably less than I would if using those heavy black clothes. Maybe they developed lower body temperatures!
If they can stand 35°C wearing a trenchcoat, I wonder, if you leave one of them naked in a 20°c environment, will he/she freeze to death?
I remember being sixteen and at the Wasteland in Berkeley, schadenfreuding at the sight of the pancake makeup on the poor goth girl working the counter running down her face in 105 degree heat. It's funny how unadaptive some humans make themselves.
Brainspore: You sound like my dad; all subcultures have an aesthetic component. As a subculture absorbs those who find meaning, identity and expression in it, squares interpret and marginalize this as a desire to be different for its own sake. This excuses them from their inability to appreciate subcultures on their own terms.
I'm glad my subcultures (road biking and speed skating) fully embrace temperature-appropriate clothing. We may look just as silly to outsiders, but we're a lot more comfortable.
@ Eh #23:
I have no problem with people of like-minded interests congregating into subgroups and developing their own aesthetic conventions. Dress like a hippie, dress like a goth, call everyone else a "square," what have you.
Just don't tell me your attire is "rebellious" when it's become so standardized that you have your own chain store at every shopping mall in America.
Looking like a Goth in hot weather isn't all that hard, especially if you're into Victorian garb. Victorian undies (camisole, drawers and/or petticoat/s), boots, and a parasol. There you go.
Hell, if it's hot enough I'll either substitute a pair of geta or even my Birkies for the boots.
I had friends who lived their whole lives in the western half of San Francisco and decided to have an afternoon outdoor wedding in Vegas in July. Sweaty bride syndrome ensued. Coming from Palm Springs, I was perfectly comfortable wearing black in 110° sun. Saudi women wear all black in 130° and high humidity in the coastal areas.
Takuan - if they were naked goths (or becky) you'd be right
Black fishnets, a la Marilyn Manson?
It could be worse, though--what about the poor furries?
I thought they melted.
/actually, some black string bikinis on pale girls would be kinda nice...
What happened to me with goth is what happened to me with punk rock: exposure brought an appreciation. I respect these kids for having the courage to be what they want to be. I know the heat they're taking- I had the longest (male) hair in high school, most of the time, back in the 60's.
What do they do about summer heat? They go to the indoor mall!
In related news: girls wear short skirts in cold weather.
People have been putting up with the weather (and worse) for the sake of fashion, for as long as there's been fashion.
Thats at least several thousand years, for the people keeping track.
Whatever do they do when it's warm and sunny out?
Black T-shirt, black baggy shorts, shaved head, stupid New Rock sunglasses.
Oh sorry, is that not Victorian enough?
Black T-shirt, black baggy shorts, shaved head, stupid New Rock sunglasses, H. P. Lovecraft novel.
Next silly question.
In hot weather, this goth wears light, loose (but still predominantly black) clothes. I'm still clearly goth, but I'm not uncomfortable.
I dress like I do because of some combination of enjoying being different from most (but still similar to a few), the very occasional stare from a tourist fresh off a plane, because I like the stereotypical music (etc) and want other goths to know I do, and because it's fun, even though I can't pin down why.
In any case, being a bit hot in the summer is less ridiculous than wearing only a tiny skirt and a revealing top all through winter, which is what I see thousands of young women wearing while walking round towns and queuing for nightclubs when it's 5C outside.
I can't believe no one stated the obvious: True goths only come out at night.
Geez people.
British People in Hot Weather...i.e. M.E.S. and the Fall:
British people in hot weather
Have a heart-to-heart with your sister
People in shorts drunk before ya
Beached whale in Wapping
His armpit hairs are sprouting
Serpentine ah.... Serpentine grrr...
British people in hot weather
(couldn't resist, pretty much the same phenomena)
Dudes, enough with the "you're all about being different so why are you all the same" thing. It's not about being different, it's about having your own tribe, and your own tribal customs that you feel good about.
Sheesh.
I'm not a Goth, but I have what would be called a goth dream job (one anyone familiar with Cory Doctorow's book "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom" would recognize). This job requires me to wear dark wool slacks, a satin vest, and a tuxedo shirt -- with tie -- in the Florida summer heat and humidity.
Whatever do they do when it's warm and sunny out? They sweat-- a lot. They just don't let you see it.
is it possible for a Goth to BE naked?
I still wear a leather jacket in the summer. When people started freaking out around Columbine, I traded the black trench coat for a brown A-1, but I've gone back to a well-worn Perfecto clone. With black jeans, a black t-shirt, 8-hole boots and long hair. As long as you stay hydrated, it's not bad. Once you get used to it, you don't sweat too much. (Maybe more than you would in a t-shirt, but not that much more.) Who needs A/C? And a leather jacket typically has lots of pockets (my current one has enough room for a full tool kit) and keeps the bugs off.
#42, would they cease to be a goth in that situation? Do piercings and tattoos count?
I have in previous summers of my life done quite well with 'goth beachwear' of knee-length bloomers & a sleeved lacy undershirt, which have the advantage of covering me up enough that I can swim without dealing with the horror of being female & partially clothed at a public beach (skin-crawling, ugh), and also protecting pale skin from sunlight. Win-win.
Then I discovered women's only beaches & pools. Now I swim in nothing but sunscreen. It's better. But, it's not THAT hard to find goth-appropriate things that make for comfortable & practical swimwear, if needed.
#17-
Is it only counterculture subgroups that have strictly enforced dress codes?
Especially the ones that think of themselves as rebellious and edgy—ah, like business-men, politicians, golfers, lawyers, et al?
#42
yes, yes, oh god yes it is indeed!
you need to find yourself one.
#28
Who the fuck is telling you they're being all rebellious? Know any personally? And why the fuck do you care?
You kids ain't no real rebels now get off my lawn!
And you do realize that at several times throughout history entire nations have been rebellious. Like in the revolutionary war, the civil war, poland, hungry, czechoslovakia, cuba… jeez.
Having a large tribe doesn't make one any less rebellious, just more effective.
#40
♥
I'm not a goth, but I live in Arizona and go to my share of goth/industrial shows. One word: fishnets. They're getting more airflow than anybody.
Straights, whatever do they do in hot weather?
they stare at anyone wearing black, or a hat, or a coat or with sunblock on....
apparantly its normal to spend every minute of a sunny day absorbing as much light as possible whilst wearing unflattering and frankly moist clothing until their flesh is a disturbing shade of red, then spending the next 4 days whining about the pain
Ah,what would we do without the yardstick of normality?
:P
GothicGeek
;)
@ #49
True, Gothicgeek. If you don't wear sunblock in little old New Zealand in summer you get melanoma due to our lack of ozone layer/air pollution. Goths will likely avoid this fate. Makes me glad I was semi-gothic in my teenage years while the other teens roasted their bodies and set up their skin-cancer futures.
Hey, this is fun!! I wonder who BoingBoing can pick on next??
Maybe gals who bleach their hair?
Or guys who wear those oh-so-trendy "nerd" glasses?
Because here at BoingBoing we're all MUCH cooler than *those* losers ...
Hey, Cheqyr, take the chip off your shoulder. I don't think these guys are making fun of goths- not like you might see on some red-neck site. In fact, they make fun of themselves more than anyone else. You're the first one to use the word 'losers'. Relax. A high percentage of these folks ARE goth, and I think we're all fine with it.
@ #45 posted by mfrankly:
#17-
Is it only counterculture subgroups that have strictly enforced dress codes?
Of course not. It's just more ironic when they do it.
I was actually thinking more about the licensed Harley Davidson® apparel-clad bikers with their mass-produced "Rebel" jackets and t-shirts than the Goths (and yes, I've seen mass-produced clothing embroidered with the word "Rebel"). But the Goth look also went corporate mainstream the day that the first Hot Topic opened for business.
To be fair to the hippies, skaters, goths, bikers etc. it's pretty hard to stay ahead of the curve on that sort of thing- the hipness of "outsider" groups gets appropriated by the establishment with incredible speed these days. (Just look at Shepard Fairey.)
As I've said there's certainly nothing wrong with adopting a look that's consistent with your tribe, but the real fashion rebels are the ones who can't be easily categorized.
i am a goth and hot weather really used to get to me. now after years have gone by i have built up a tolarance for t and i barely notice the heat now