Pastel goth (sometimes referred to as "creepy cute" though "creepy cute" doesn't necessarily mean pastel goth) is a fashion oriented style often associated with Japanese street styles, nu goth and Tumblr. It's a blend of dark themes and iconography (e.g. monsters, blood, gore etc.) with cute/kawaii and almost childish themes such as bows, candy and of course the sweet pastel colors. There are many key elements from other styles that carry over into this one i.e. lolita style doll makeup and decora style accessories.
The style has been the source of much debate and has received some flak from the overarching "goth community" as wrongly applying the goth label to a fashion. Pastel goth popularity has died down in the recent years however the same elements of creepy icons and pastel colors are still carried over into mainstream fashion. The decrease in popularity is also due to medical researchers capturing and dissecting the pastel goths, since no one is quite sure how they turned into cartoon characters.
Mix the creepy with the cute, there's no reason your pink bow can't have fake blood dripping down it. You can even wear jewelry just let it express the cute but creepy feeling like a dinosaur or maybe some skulls.
Or to put it simply its the mix of kawaii j-fashion , pastel and goth
A few other good names for the subculture that I’ve seen around include, but are not limited to;
- Pastel Black
- Darkkawaii [though this one may be confused with yamikawaii]
- Dark Pastel
- Kawaii Goth
- Spooky Kawaii
- Spookkawaii. It’s important to know that goth is a music based aesthetic, so, to be goth, you have to listen to goth music. Pastel goth music is a bit harder to find then standard goth music but I would recommend this Spotify playlist (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0HJwcWQ8eAy8APPB1wEJi0?si=MFOS3bHOSl-PCUaEGCscgw&pi=u-3aF07_3vS7av) to help you understand pastel goth music.
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