How to have the courage to dress differently.

Found via Gothbeauty on Tumblr.

Many Goths that are new to the subculture worry about being judged and insulted in public, simply because of what they're wearing. Sadly this does happen but I've learnt to deal with it, I understand how upsetting it can be. For those of you who struggle to wear gothic clothes in public I hope this post helps build your confidence.

Try dressing gothic for the first time at a Goth specific event, like a Goth night at your nearest club or Whitby Goth Weekend. You might even feel a little underdressed! If you can't go to a club because you're under age or there's no events near you try seeking out Goths in your area, being surrounded by like minded people will help. The older Goths probably won't react to insults and you'll blend into the group, which means you probably won't get any personal insults. If you don't have any Goths in your area you should at least walking outside with a confident friend, they'll distract you and cheer you up if anything does happen.

However you'll have to wear gothic clothes outside on your own at some point, I promise it's not that scary! You could dress casually first and build your way up, sometimes when I think I'm dressing casual I'm still different to everyone else. You won't even notice after a while but I know that doesn't help at the moment. Listening to music really helps me daydream and ignore anything happening around me, alternatively you could do an activity that also distracts you. For example you could knit whilst on the bus so you don't see any stares or odd looks.

Before you leave the house you should give yourself a pep talk, get yourself into a mindset of which you don't care what people think. Come on, who cares about that random teenager you'll never see again? Please be prepared for anything that may or may not happen, people staring and making remarks is something you have to come to terms with. If you don't think you can then perhaps this fashion is not for you, but at least give it a chance before making a decision.

I understand that for some people it's no big deal but for others it really is, I used to be very shy and I found it difficult to dress different in public. However I'm no longer afraid of what people may think, I'm still shy but I've got no problem dealing with any issues it may bring up. Here are some further posts on the subject you may find useful:

• Another stereotype, another day. My part rant part post about people making assumptions based on what I wear.
• Coming out the Goth wardrobe. A post about how to slowly introduce Goth to difficult parents.
• The Dealing with Pest series is all about negative reactions and what to do if you find yourself in one, this first part is about the people you'll typically have to deal with.
• The second part of Dealing with Pests is about the type of questions you'll receive and how you should reply.
• Dealing with Pests part 3 is all about being in an unpleasant situation such as being attacked or having a drink thrown at you. Also includes self defense advise and a few sneaky tricks.
• The final part of Dealing with Pests concludes with me sharing my worst reactions and others share their own experiments.
• It's also worth clicking the Fashion and Info tabs for more related subjects.

If any of you are having a bad day or someone has said something that really upset you feel free to comment and offload to me, I promise to make you feel better. Ooh look another cat gif!

Found on cutecatgifs via Tumblr. I love how the dog just accepts it.