The term "mall goth" is used to describe those who dressed in a specific edgy and alternative way in the nineties. -my friends and I were definitely alternative teens-There was a bunch of us and we mostly listened to goth , industrial metal or "nu-metal". We did not use the term "mall goth" at all back then, and definitely not to describe ourselves. Most of my friends and myself would try to avoid any and all labels and definitely did not associate ourselves as any kind of subculture like "goth"or "industrial" even though we listened to these kinds of music. Looking back I think that I was part of what would have been considered a part of the "mall goth " subculture.
Finding info on anything alternative was a lot harder in the nineties. The internet was really different. You had to know websites and addresses to get anywhere so although you could find fan sites or music themed AOL chat rooms most of what you learned about industrial metal and goth subculture came from word of mouth. Either friends who were more knowledgeable or from adults who had been/still were involved in the movement.
Although I've heard that there was magazines that were focused on the industrial and goth movement, My friends and I really didn't have access to those. If we wanted to learn about bands we were kinda stuck with documentaries and popup video on VH1, MTV, or current industrial metal bands in magazines like Rolling Stone and Spin.
Most of us were buying the new goth music that was being released at the time from more mainstream bands like The Cure or Depeche Mode but we were also buying industrial metal music like Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails, Rob Zombie and those of us did listen to the older or more obscure goth music from the 80s would have to find those cassettes in the used section of the music store.
We mostly found clothes at Hot Topic because it was so easily accessible. There were other places were we might find some cool dark or gothic looking stuff. Melrose Ave. always had cool stuff and so did a shop called The Electric Chair in Huntington Beach. People really didn't shop online at this time so most clothes were bought in person. Thrift stores were a great place to find cheap clothes that looked old and mysterious. Mostly, my friends and I tried to look like modern edgy vampires. the girls wore long dark skirts, slips layered together, pants, and dresses usually in black or burgundy and flowy blouses, band shirts or edgy tops from hot topic. We would wear capes, cloaks or coats as outerwear. Collar necklaces were a must. Some of us dyed our hair Bright Red or Black and we wore lipsticks in red or black with heavy eyeliner. The guys wore dark pants or cords in black or burgundy and also would wear silky flowy shirts (oftentimes the guys would find their clothes in the women's department). Dark Jackets or Hoodies and goatees with long hair dyed black. Also sometimes top hats for special occasions and sunglasses (think Gary Oldman in Bram Stokers Dracula). There was Lots of velvet, leather, pleather, and Lace on the clothes for both men and women. Everyone wore 20 eye doc martins or combat boots, fishnets, striped knee socks, eyeliner, black or blue nail polish leather cuffs and silver jewelry.
Since there was not a lot of all ages clubs that played goth or industrial metal music we would hang out at a few gothic looking coffee houses like The Bourgeois Pig and No Future Cafe.
No Future was a coffee house that opened every Friday night and was an all ages punk venue with live bands. There were different genres that would play there and if we were lucky we would get to see one of the dark wave/ ethereal wave/metal rock bands.
As I got older, we would hang out at the midnight showing of the rocky horror picture show and a Los Angeles club called Club 80s. There was an awesome "Dark Wave" room at club 80s.
Club 80s was such a fun place. It was really a place that you could just enjoy the music you liked and dance however you wanted with no judgement. I saw so many beautiful dance moves there and heard so much great music from the 80s. Not everyone "dressed" for the club and it was really just a magical place to be yourself . Looking back club 80s was great because it wasn't an "official" goth club so the focus was really on the music and not the fashion.
For me, it was all about romance, discovery, emotion, the freedom to express yourself and be free however that looked to you.
"If tonight lasts forever, It won't matter if there's no tomorrow"- Marilyn Manson
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