Strange and unusual is the whole brief. Better still if it’s coupled with an incessant zest for death and a profound knack for sarcasm instead. To deliver punchlines with impact, a morbidly dark wardrobe would be of certain necessity—one that’ll belong right in Neitherworld. If you haven’t caught on already, we’re swinging right back into the grisly universe of Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, with its highly-anticipated sequel set to hit cinemas soon. Which only means one thing: the OG goth girl, Lydia Deetz, immortalised by Winona Ryder, is being revived from the dead once again.
Over the past few decades, the goth girl has assumed alternative sartorial definitions. Avant-garde fashion houses such as Rick Owens, Ann Demeulemeester and Noir Kei Ninomiya often flirt with silhouettes rooted in sensuality and a witchy romance, sometimes opting for more sinister codes of a dwindling humanity. Thereafter spawning a cascade of romantic or ‘sexy’ goth girls; from supermodels to the zeitgeist’s It-girls giving the goth’s wardrobe its now-feminine spin. Yet where pop culture is concerned, few goth girls have been as iconic as teenage Lydia from the 1988 cult classic, who went on to become the silver screen standard for lonesome individuals everywhere, especially every time Halloween came around. For all her deadpan sarcasm and keenness for the afterlife, it’s how Lydia completely embraces her strangeness that has always appealed to the lost soul—and it shows in her sartorial idiosyncrasies as well.
Far from the modern, ‘romantic’ goth, one could describe her dress style as very much her own. Whilst almost always exclusively in black (of course), she wears her accessories like a badge of honour; be it her iconic top hat and Nikon camera or the dramatic lace veil she wears to her first family meal in the Maitland residence to signify how her life is one ‘big dark room’. Her school uniform aesthetic is given a dramatic twist with a petticoat skirt worn under, as if her plain old plaids were simply too boring for her. And of course, there’s the iconic bridal gown; a bloody crimson, like a reflection of her own inner turbulence.
In essence, Lydia’s sartorial brand has always been reflective of what it truly means to be eccentric, sardonic and weird—and the number of characters that have been modelled after her in pop culture (think The Addams Family‘s Wednesday) run the gamut. With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice arriving in theatres soon, here’s a Lydia Deetz-inspired edit of how to emulate the ultimate goth girl that will forever live on our moodboards.
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Lydia in the outdoors
First up? Her trusty top hat goes wherever she goes, especially when she’s spending (undesirable) hours under the sun. So does her Nikon, of course.
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Manolo Blahnik buckled ankle boots, $2,307
Available at Net-a-Porter.
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Not your ordinary school teen
If only our school uniforms could be this cool. A masterclass in preppy goth, Lydia seems to don a petticoat beneath her plaid skirt, and pairs it with some statement penny loafers.
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Noir Kei Ninomiya plissé satin midi skirt, $1,015
Available at MyTheresa.
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Till death do us part
If Lydia could have a bridal gown of choice, it seems it would be neither white nor black. It makes sense that a bloody spot of scarlet is her preferred garb for the special occasion.
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Molly Goddard dress, $1,870
Available at Dover Street Market.
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Always ready for a funeral
One thing about Lydia: she’s not one to shy away from dramatics. So as she laments about her depressing, dark life, her sartorial tune reflects it in kind: with black lace veils and textural chokers.
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Just another day in the Maitland's
Scoring a balance between everyday function and her undying love for black, Lydia opts for unexpected details when it comes to her shirting, allowing her favourite colour to playfully come to life.
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Lydia's all grown up
With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice in theatres soon, grown-up Lydia seems to have upped the ante on her sartorial codes by embracing a love for interesting layers—but her love for accessorising (and the colour black) still very much remains.
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Ulyana Sergeenko check wrap-style blazer, $5,504
Available at Farfetch.
