is whimsigoth the ultimate autumn aesthetic? 🍂🔮🌙 (a study of style)

welcome back to a study of style, the series on this channel where we take a look at a specific fashion aesthetic and do our best to break it down. today we take a look at the whimsigothic aesthetic, the latest 90s trend to make a comeback online. with its witchy, medieval, and victorian gothic influences, is whimsigothic the ultimate autumn aesthetic?

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research assistant 📝
holland rainwater

editor 🎬
aalyiah victoria

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intro/outro by
nicole w.b

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[DioShiver]

"A woman with a disheveled appearance running away from a castle in terrible weather" is honestly a perfect description for my style

[trinaq]

I'm delighted that this aesthetic is making a comeback in style. Stevie Nicks arguably brought the look of layered skirts, dramatic sleeves and overall witchy style into prominence in the 70's, and Florence Welch did it for the more contemporary generation.

[sophiaisabelle]

The whimsigoth aesthetic is indeed one of the most whimsical aesthetics you can ever come across. It's nothing too bright or too colorful. Rather it's more on the neutral side, which is fascinating the more you think about it.

[sarag]

This is THE style that I remember being everywhere in the mid-late 90’s/early 2000’s

[FlowerEmblem]

I feel like the "lighter" version of this is mori kei = forest girl. It emphasizes natural colours, layered loose clothing, and whimsical fairytale-like vibes. Cottagecore is a more recent aesthetic but does overlap. Another old japanese substyle that feels like an in-between of mori-kei and whimsigoth is dolly kei. It takes inspiration from antique dolls and vintage European clothing and tends to use a darker palette while also emphasizing layers.

[staceysaurusrex]

My friends and I have been joking about there being a "goth-to-boho pipeline" for a while, due to so many aesthetically dark folks in our group mellowing out their style in a hippy-ish direction over the quarantine/ as we get older. I'm about halfway along the pipeline now and it's awesome to find a bunch of names for where I find myself now (woodland goth, witchcore and whimsigoth all fit my current vibe)

[BoyInGreyWasTaken]

I’m so ready to once again be educated by the only and iconic ModernGurl

[LadyAhro]

As a goth with a love of witchy and romantic vibes, this look is a ton of fun. A number of regular goths have been enjoying the vibes (several appearing in the tiktok clips) and I've been using the opportunity to share a lot of Ethereal Goth bands for people who want to get into softer goth music.

[aname]

I was trying to explain whimsigothic to my mom the other day and I literally ended up saying: "okay imagine a dramatic vampire from the medieval period living in the '90s who loves velvet and dark rich colours and vintage stuff, but who has also gone through a bohemian phase and loves celestial imagery - the way that vampire would dress and decorate their space... that's whimsigothic" lmao

[artisticagi]

I’m glad this is making a comeback…I was trying to find words for this style myself as I like the goth aesthetic but don’t like wearing it myself. So I was calling it dark bohemia instead of whimsigoth, inspired by dark academia. The bohemian style of layered long skirts, jewelry, patterns and textures softens it without taking it into an anime cartoon like pastel goth. You could wear it everyday if you wanted to.

[DanwiththewhiteVans]

Great to finally know the word for the aesthetic I just called “Phoebe Buffaey/Stevie Nicks/The the Vampire Salyer” aesthetic xD

[RaphaelleLD]

I was LITERALLY doing insomnia-fueled research on this aesthetic last night. I'm so happy you posted this!!

[mariefryzelkova]

This aesthetic is also very timeless because many of these outfits (or similar) shown in the tiktok´s reels were part of my wardrobe when I was a teenager... which is almost twenty years ago 😆

[rayn]

You’re telling me the aesthetic I’ve strived for but never been able to articulate has a name? Why am I just now learning this?!?!? Thank you so much!!!

[Daythinking]

I knew this was gaining in popularity when my whimsigoth playlist on Spotify jumped from 10 to 400 likes in under a few weeks! This is my favorite aesthetic and what inspires me most. Love this video ♥️

[asktheravens]

Loved this breakdown of the aesthetic. As someone who's been practicing witchcraft for over 20 years, I've thought a lot about your last point regarding appropriation. When I started, it was not cool to be a witch where I grew up and it was a struggle to stay true to myself in such a hostile cultural climate. I will admit than when witchcraft and witchy "aesthetics" became popular again I had a hard time being tolerant because it seemed like people jumped on a trend for a hot minute rather than actually practicing the craft itself and understanding what it means. There are still people who do this. However, the witch-hunting of the past had little to do with true witchcraft and more to do with misogyny. Therefore, regardless of your status as a practitioner of witchcraft, it really belongs to all women. As Aunt Jet says in Practical Magic: "There's a little witch in all of us."

[Saffron-sugar]

Moth rather than butterfly 🖤
Back in “the day” the Satanic panic made it actually challenging to dress this way. Looking witchy was very rebellious, especially for one lived in middle America just wearing black nail polish, as a young teen, alone could scare grown professionals into thinking you’re about to Satan them to death 🤣… seriously, you had to be brave to be Gothic or witchy back then!
Now it’s mainstream. Sometimes that surprises me, but mostly I feel overjoyed that we overcame! We ended up changing world fashion, and every generation since ours (gen X) no longer fears the dark side of fashion.
You’re welcome.
As an old 90s Goth, I can tell you that what is seen as a whimsy goth was seen more as renaissance, witchy and romantic at the time. Like late 70s, Kate Bush or Stevie Nicks. We loved it of course! Gothic looks themselves were more Victorian and Edwardian and/or more industrial (the industrial was particularly strong in Germany).
Personally, I always felt a more renaissance, gypsy whitchy look, suited the countryside more and a more pure Gothic look suited the city.
But, there are no rules.
I think what truly makes somebody a goth, whether it’s dressing like a vampire, steampunk, a gypsy, fortuneteller, a Victorian widow, whimsically, romantically, grim reaper-y or just has a deep fascination with Goth-father Peter Murphy. A Goth is someone who would rather be a beautiful moth, than a butterfly, mostly because they are drawn to the mystery

[xLadyRaine]

Whimsigothic, romantic goth and fairy grunge are some of favorite fall and winter aesthetics

[Iquey]

Omg I love this style. I used to call what my aesthetic in highschool was "hippie goth" and it was halfway between like emo, Bohemian crafter, goth, and punk. Whimsy goth is a good name for it.

[gloomy_daisies]

I love whimsigoth so much, it’s like living in Autumn 24/7! Also, I found it awesome that you mentioned Phoebe Buffay in the video! I always loved how pretty her outfits were :)