Gothic Idols- Victoria Francès

Victoria Francès is a spanish illustrator born in Valencia in 1982. She's very talented and known for her drawings inspired by gothic and romatic atmospheres. In her drawings you can find ghosts, vampires, women in long gowns and corsets, all in scenarios like cemeteries, forests, cathedrals or venetian palaces.

She has a degrees in Beautiful Arts and I consider her the pioneer of modern gothic art together with Luis Royo (which is by the way one artist she took inspiration from :P). You can find a lot of merchandise of her art, from posters to mugs, from puzzles to blankets! You can buy jewelry inspired by the jewels she drew in her most famous illustrations!

(I own this poster xD)

Her most famous works are contained in her books called Favole  and Misty Circus !!

Check out her official website : victoriafrances.es for more infos about this amazing artist

♥BallerinaDark♥

ADORA BATBRAT'S OFFICIAL BLOG

Another blog you'll be wanting to check out is the official blog updated every day of Adora Batbrat , gothic model and make-up artist we already talked about (click here to see the article about her)

adorabatbrat.blogspot.com ^__^

amazing isn't she? :D

She is a true fashion icon. I suggest you read her blog to have tips on clothes, make-up and even...cakes! ahah you'll see. Very well-done blog ^_^

♥BallerinaDark♥

I bet you do...

...want to see this. I just found out about this blog Gothic Tea Society . (click it to see it)

"The Gothic Tea Society contributers are a collaboration of interesting and eccentric personalities, with a Gothic focus on the Odd, Mis-Matched, Bizarre and Unusual."

I'm sure you all will LOVE this blog :P

♥BallerinaDark♥

EDIT: Sorry I realised only now that I put the wrong link to the blog. I will soon correct it. Sorry again.

EDIT EDIT: ok I corrected it. Sorry for the mistake..it was Gothic Tea Society..not Gothic Tea Party xD The link is right now :)

Bats Day

Many of you should have heard about this big event called BATS DAYS. It a 4 days event in Disneyland in California dedicated to goths.

This year the event will take place in May. Exactly from 6th May to 8th May !


The Bats Day in the Fun Park events consist of 1 or all of these 6 events:




►The Bats Day Dark Park Festival™: A concert event festival that features bands and DJs from the Dark Alternative Subculture.



►The Bats Day Black Market™: A vendors event where you can find that extra spooky thing for that spooky thing in your life. Over 50 vendors will help you find what you are looking for, from clothing, music, artwork, books, collectable's, toys, to other original items.

►The Nightmare before Bats Day™ - Dinner Meet & Greet: Have you ever wanted to spend the night in a haunted ballroom during a full sit down dinner? Meet your fellow attendees who are attending Bats Day in the Fun Park, and enjoy a unique opportunity to dine with the entertainers who are performing throughout the Bats Day weekend. All attendees receive a full three (3) course sit down dinner, a special limited edition “Nightmare before Bats Day™” keepsake and other surprises all within this intimate setting.



►The Bats Day Ghoulish Gala™ : Adorn your best attire and attend The Bats Day™ Ghoulish Gala. Enjoy catered Hors D’oeuvres in this spooky atmosphere. Attendees of the Ghoulish Gala are entered in the Bats Day Ghoulish Gala Raffle with a chance to win some great prizes provided by our features vendors and sponsors. All guests will receive a special limited edition “Bats Day™ Ghoulish Gala” keepsake and we other surprises fill your night with mystery and fun.



►The Bats Day Happy Haunts Swing Wake™: A Costumed Celebration - NEW FOR 2011. is a Costumed Gala Event, where attendees are required to dress as the deceased. Creativity is celebrated, and appearances by spooks and spirits from all time periods are encouraged to attend and celebrate the afterlife. We hope to have several prominent ghosts from creepy old crypts all over the world in attendance. From elaborate ghostly visages, to the ghastly faces of the recently deceased, this is one party everyone will be dying to attend. This event happens the night of the Black Market, and is a catered hors d'œuvres cocktail party, for the first hour, with a raffle, Djays and Live Entertainment.



"It was once told to me, what started out as a small group of goofy, creepy death rockers going to Disneyland, has grown into its own institution and is just crazy and amazing. At the first official Bats Day, there was only about 80 people. At the second Bats Day, there was just over 200 people. The best thing is that everyone who goes to Bats Day can just leave all their cares and worries at the gate, and just have a fun time. May Bats Day in the Fun Park be around every year"


all infos taken from the official site: www.batsdays.com


♥BallerinaDark♥

Gothic Hairstyles !

Some of you has issues with their hair. Some ask me "how can I make my hair look more gothic?" but my answer is, ANY hair suites the gothic style! of course the stereotype hairstyle is raven black hair, better if long but goths are known for trying to be unique so why following a stereotype? I went through the internet and found out some cool images of hair that you might want to try if you want to spice up your look.



♥BallerinaDark♥

Emo is NOT the new Goth - Part 2

A smart person, but even a child of 2 years old can already understand the abyss of difference there is between goths and emos after reading the first part. But I'm definitely going to help you SEE it, if you still didn't get it. Let's start from the appearance. I'll pick two kids of the same age, of the same sex.

EMO GIRL:

GOTH GIRL:

Now...how can you not see the difference??????????

First: The graciousness. Can't you see how gracious and solemn and not pretentious the pose of the goth is?

Secondly:The inspiration. The goth is clearly inspired by the music she listens to which talks about death and love, darkness, dark literature, art and history. All the emo is inspired by is how many "likes" she will get on Facebook or Netlog as soon as she posts the pic. Nothing else.

Third thing: the clothing. The emo wears the classical teenage clothing. T-shit with a skull (omg so hardcor3 <3!! -_-"), hot pink skinny jeans (like her idol Avril lavigne probably teached her), checkered belt and a Mana Sama like haircut! (too bad she has no idea of who Mana Sama is -_-"). The goth is wearing a long classy dress in black velvet, with a corset like bust, laces and webbed details, a chocker like in victorian era. Inspired by idol Morticia Addams. She looks mature.

Now let's get back to the music. Where it all starts. As I said in part 1 the music of the emos is mainly emo-core, screamo and pop-punk. Well here comes the BIG difference. Goth listen to gothic rock, gothic metal, darkwave, EBM, industrial. See?? If you listen to the genres and make a comparison you'll definitely hear the difference.

You might say: "but goths are or act depressed just like emos!! So they are alike!"

Once again. NO. Goths can be depressed, of course. But anybody can be depressed! Even your mother or your prep classmate! But one thing you'll know for sure. Goths would never lie on depression because it's not part of the "ritual" to be a goth. You don't have to be depressed to be a goth. A goth is someone who listens to the music genres listed above, that likes a kind of clothing inspired by the beauty of darkness, history and art and sex in some cases and that likes thing that are nomally considered creepy by "normal" people.That's it! Nothing more, nothing less.

And after this PLEASE!! STOP SAYING EMO AND GOTHS ARE THE SAME THING!! STOP MISTAKING US!

Thank you for your attention,

♥BallerinaDark♥

Emo is not the new Goth -PART 1

I'm very sick and tired of being labeled EMO instead of GOTH. Many people still didn't get the difference between this two cultures,of which one I'm not even sure it is a culture. (guess which one? xD)

so...WHAT IS "EMO"?

Emo was (and is some cases still is) a MUSIC GENRE which derives from punk-rock and is also known as emo-core. Emo-core is a music genre that's hardcore but melodic in the same time, lately it has become even more MAINSTREAM and INDIE and at the same time more POP.

The emo wave is born in the second half of the 80s, precisely in Washington DC where some bands like Embrace (considered the first true emo band) decided to make a music genre that was hardcore but non-violent. That's why, as a consequence in the following years the genre got more similar to pop music in many cases. Pop-punk bands like My Chemical Romance or 30secondstomars are considered in fact emo.

With every music movement comes a clothing style. Emo style has evolved through the years, just like the music. At first emos would wear a clothing style inspired by skaters of the 80s who were actually different from today's skaters. No baggy clothes but only skinny jeans, t-shirts and tattoos. The hairstyle was short or very very short, almost bald. No sign of the long fringes covering the eyes which is the main characteristic of today's emo style. The average age of the followers was from 15 to 30 max and boys looked like men, not like girls... xD Now the followers of this style are mainly teenagers who didn't start to be emos because of the music but as a consequence of the popularization of this style. The media started infact to emphatize especially the physical aspect of being emo, putting the music in second place. Kids started to translate "emo" into "emotional", believing that emo is a state of mind and the clothing a consequence of that. These very confused kids started to mix all the clothing styles they had seen so far. The studs of the metal heads, the crazy shaped colored hair of the punks and especially the dark clothing and make up of the goths. That's why at first sight they are often mistaked as goths (but we'll talk about this fact later, in a specific article).

The mixture of this clothing style took to this:

Now I'm not saying it's a ugly style. I'm not here to judge. But the main reasons emos are not very welcomed by goths (and anybody else!xD ) is that they wear and act certain ways just to get attention. Maybe this fact was favoured by the advent of social networks like Netlog and Facebook where people, especially this kids, are encouraged to post pictures of themselves so they can make "friends" more easily, so the appearance is the x factor. As I already said, emos are mostly teenagers. But these ones are total spoiled brats! no offence (or maybe yes...xD). Thanks to the confusion the medias created in these kids minds, they associated being emo with being depressed, having problems, suicidal tendencies (no..not the band! xD) and cutting themselves "to let the pain out" (as many songs they listen to tell).

These kids are making of depression, a SERIOUS illness, a fashion trend. (and here all the respect you might have had for them should have gone forever.. U.U)

In fact many so called emos are only acting depressed so they look more emos to the eyes of the world. They fake they have problems, making of every foolness a traumatic experience (example: My girlfriend left me so I'm going to suicide myself or today I fell off the bed which means the world is against me and so I'm going to cut myself in corner of my room while listening to MCR.). They show off their scars to everybody (thing a true depressed wouldn't absolutely do) and all just to get attention.

Today's youth is sick.

♥BallerinaDark♥

PS. Part 2 is coming soon!

The Birthday Massacre

Genre: Synth Rock, Electronic, Industrial, Alternative Rock.

Country: Canada.

Activity Period: 1999 - Present.

Members: Chibi: Vocals.

Rainbow: Guitar, Programming, Back Vocals.

Michael Falcore: Guitar, Programming.

Owen: Keyboards

O.E.: Bass, Back Vocals.

Rhim: Drums.

Discography: 2000 Imagica I (Demo)

2000 Imagica II (Demo)

2002 Nothing And Nowhere

2004 Violet EP

2005 Violet

2007 Walking With Strangers.

2008 Looking Glass EP

2009 Show And Tell (Live)

2010 Pins & Needles

Videography: 2005 Blue DVD

2009 Show And Tell

The Birthday Massacre is a Synth Rock band from Toronto, Canada previously know them under the name Imagica formed in 1999. The band has passed for changes line-up in keyboards with Dank (1999–2001), Adm (2002–2004) and Brett Carruthers (2004) and bass with Aslan (1999-2007). Currently the band are formed by Chibi on Vocals, Rainbow in Guitar, Programming, Vocals, Michael Falcore in Guitar and Programming, Owen in Keyboards, O.E. in Bass (previously in drums), Vocals and Rhim in Drums.
The audiovisual proposal of the band combines a sound is unique, fusioning electronic and rock sounds including Synth Rock, Industrial Rock, Gothic Rock and elements of 80's to work aggressive guitar sounds combined with the elegance of the synthesized melodies with dark lyrics mixing adult and child topics about horror, inocence, tragedy, infancy and fantasy. All This elements help to the aesthetic of the band is quite obscure, sometimes with a fetish character, bloody clothing, and clothing of a child model.
The Birthday Massacre after to have released of independient way their firsts and limited demos also released of independient way their album "Nothing and Nowhere" in 2002 and "Violet EP" in 2004 till in the fall of 2004, the band was signed to Repo Records and in 2005 the band signed to Metropolis Records releasing the album "Violet" with wich they did known as global way; this same year release their dvd "Blue DVD". In 2007 released "Walking With Strangers" and one year after "Looking Glass EP". In 2009 the band published their live album and dvd "Show And Tell", featuring 16 live tracks from their show in Hamburg, Germany from their Walking with Strangers European Tour in 2007.
The band posted a blog on their official MySpace announcing that they are going to continue writing and recording the new album which were be released in 2010, Pins & Needles.
The Birthday Massacre have a lot of loyal followers of differents styles but mainlny from gothic subculture.

The Birthday Massacre - Violet

♥

http://www.thebirthdaymassacre.com/
www.myspace.com/thebirthdaymassacre

Why people fear goths

We had a discussion about "Goths and discrimination" in GothicDivine club on Stardoll and member Kittychild gave a simple but very clear explanation on why people have fear of goths.

"The way I see it (a little lesson here)
It's a common human instinct to be afraid of anything "different". Way back in the stone age, anything could have been a threat, so the best way to stay alive was to attack anything that was different, in case it hurt you. And that builds fear in whatever it is.
People are particualairly scared of dark things. Dark is always used to symbolize evil and whatnot. Because in the dark, you can't see anything, and thus, anything could be a threat.
So people who dress suposedly "dark" and "different" are a perfect example of people fearing what they won't give a chance to understand.
I understand that this happens, but I can't relate to it."

I think she is right but still i think the people reaction is exagerated. How can you discriminate a human being for being a bit different from you? People go on saying the world is nice because it's full of different things but when they meet the different thing all they do is discriminate it. A bit incoherent isn't it?

I knew people who where afraid of me, they thought I was the child of satan, a demon, mad, freak and a lot of bad thing that HURT me. But then when they got to know me they realized I was exactly like them. Except for the fact that I was into a different type of music that they ended up saying "it isn't so bad after all", a different kind of clothing that became "cool and classy" to them, a different kind of taste in things and a vision of the world that they then realised was "cool and interesting".

Never judge people before you get to know them.

THANK YOU!

Sorry but lately I don't have much time to write or search for information about gothic culture in the internet and I can't post much. But I'm so glad to see that Gothic Divine Magazine followers have grown to 76!! Wow it's 16 people more than last time I logged on xD

So thank you for supporting GothicDivine!

Keep on following us! If you have ideas on how to improve the magazine just write it in the comments!! :)

♥BallerinaDark♥

Traditional Goths

Before there was goggles, latex, and platform boots, there was the original "Trad Goths". These were the ones that started it all (at least the subculture). They came to rise from the grave around the late 70's, early 80's, just around the time Punk was slowing down. Citizens of England were noticing a group homosapiens who dressed in mostly black, fishnets, and wild hair. Goth was a subculture started by the music. Bands like Sisters of Mercy and Bauhaus (specifically our goth-hero, Peter Murphy) popularized the music scene into lifestyle, bringing out the beauty in darkness and embracing it. A Trad would usually be caught listening to Goth rock, Deathrock, Synth-pop, Punk, and Darkwave. Many would respect Trad Goths, but unfortunately, they're a rare breed. Many would say Trad Goths tend to believe that goth is dead as the neo-goth generation is growing, but as the way I see it, many of the young ones are following their elders path (some even to dislike the cyber-goth trend) to keep the original, and the most respectable kind of goth alive.

*~Mystic~*

Gothic Idols -Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees

Siouxsie Sioux was the vocalist of Siouxsie and the Banshees, a British rock band formed in 1976 by her and bassist Steven Severin.

Initially associated with the British punk rock scene, the band rapidly evolved to create "a form of post-punk discord full of daring rhythmic and sonic experimentation." The Times cited Siouxsie and the Banshees as "one of the most audacious and uncompromising musical adventurers of the post-punk era."

After the break-up in 1996 Siouxsie began a solo career from 2004.

During her adolescence, she was a self-described "loner," who enjoyed listening to the music of David Bowie, Lou Reed, Roxy Music, T.Rex, The Velvet Underground and The Stooges. It was during this period that she began frequenting the local gay discos. She became well known in the London punk rock scene for her glam, fetish and bondage attire, which were notable of punk fashion. She also later popularized the gothic style of dress with her trademark feline-style eye makeup, deep red lipstick, spiky dyed-black hair, and black clothing.

"Her voice is, in its own right, the common thread through all of it. There is no one who sings like that. And I think there are a lot of people who were influenced by it, but even if you try and sing like her, you can’t do that. You can’t throw your voice like that. You can’t throw harmony like that. That is a very distinct voice. Her technique is a thread between the really far-out stuff and opera and pop music. It’s distinct. It’s all her own. ”

— Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio


Garbage's singer Shirley Manson said:
“ (In 1981), the press began to describe them as a goth band. I never thought of them as goth. Goth has never been particularly angry, just a little dismayed. It had a weak, submissive side to it. Siouxsie & The Banshees always had a real edge to what they did. There was so much articulated spite, humour, politics with a small 'p' there that I never felt they went down that simple, gloomy path. People try to pass them off as a goth band because they find them dangerous and don't understand them. Today, I can see and hear the Banshees' influence all over the place. "

Famous songs by Siouxsie and the Banshees I LOVE : Arabian Nights, Spellbound, Hong Kong Garden, Cities in Dust, Cannons.
info taken from Wikipedia :P

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 2011 is finally here!

2011 is knocking on your doors ^_^ for some of you it's already here that's why I'm posting this now :)

HAPPY NEW YEAR BY GOTHIC DIVINE MAGAZINE!!

Keep on following and supporting us in the new year too ♥


Hugs by GothicDivine Magazine Staff

Gothic Idols - Helena Bonham Carter

I thought it was a right thing to dedicate an article to Tim Burton's wife Helena Bonham Carter. She often played "gothic" roles in movies. Probably highly influenced by his husband's view of the world. (For those who don't know, Tim Burton is the director of Edward Scissorhands , Nightmare Before Xmas and Beetlejuice (just to say some..) !!

(playing Ms. Lovett in Sweeney Todd)

(with her hubby Tim Burton)

Bonham Carter did not receive any formal training in acting. In 1979, she won a national writing contest and used the money to pay for her entry into the actors directory Spotlight. She made her professional acting début at the age of 16, in a television commercial.
Her first starring film role was as Lady Jane Grey in Lady Jane (1986) which had mixed reviews. The story reflected the troubled life of England's nine-days' Queen from her troubled adolescence and arranged marriage to her ill-fated accession and subsequent execution. Her breakthrough role was Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View.

These early films led to her to being typecast as a "corset queen" and "English Rose".

Recently she played the role of Bellatrix LeStrange in Harry Potter movie series and the Red Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland!

♥BallerinaDark♥

ON-LINE SAFE GOTHIC SHOP (for Europe Only)

Hello my Gothic Divinities ^_^ As suggested by a friend on StarDoll I decided to make an article about an ON-LINE SHOP where you can buy GOTHIC CLOTHES, SHOES & ACCESSORIES of all brands which is very safe. (I tried it myself !)

It's called EMP ONLINE .  The site is http://www.emp-online.com/ . Here you can find corsets, laced gowns, dresses of all kinds, t-shirt of your favourite bands. The prices are not high and the quality is excellent ! You can pay with Pay Pal, Credit card or pay cash directly to the delivery ! :)

I'm sure you'll love this site! They deliver very fast too! Last order I made arrived to me in 3 days only xD

Too bad it works in Europe only but they said they are working to make it international. ^_^

(This dress by Queen of darkness is awesome! (I own it eheh))

♥BallerinaDark♥

Merry AntiChristmass & Christmass 2010

hello hello hohoho
we're in christmas eve that we either celebrate or not, one of  the facts is the fatty Santa Claus can't be unnoticed (literally, he's fat), here we are..
leaving behind the consumism and religious motives, the music is what we matter
we remember the songs from the last year: xmas 2009 Gothic Christmas by Within Temptation, The Christmas Song by London After Midnight and Don't shoot me Santa by The Killers.
i left you songs for this eve

Billy Corgan (The Samashing Pumpkins) and a redhead girl.. oh isn't Emilie Autumn?!!!! with the song We Three Kings

Peter Murphy & Tom Waits with the song Christmas Sucks

Personally i remain with Peter Murphy and Tom Waits song (Grande Murphy!)
Merry AntiChristmas and Merry Christmas :)

Merry Christmas and Happy winter holidays!!

The title says it all. For those of you celebrating it..

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

For those not celebrating it..

well..HAVE NICE WINTER HOLIDAYS!

I found this very good drawings one by the amazing Scarlet Gothica (italian artist) and one by Russian artist Anna Marine who make wonderful gothic drawings.

(Anna Marine)

(Scarlet Gothica)

♥by all GothicDivine Magazine Staff♥

A Proud Counterculture

Dear Gothic Divine,

The time of year has finally come in which Montey's exams are over, thus allowing her the time to contribute to this wonderful blog.

During my adventures in post secondary i've come across an inconsistency in how we, the dark and the beautiful, refer to ourselves and our place within society.

Guess what? You've been duped again by the media!

So many times I have heard a goth proclaim proudly "I am part of the goth subculture!" ... and I am taking this time to explain quite clearly why this is not the case.

How can one define a subculture? well it goes a little something like this....

"A group of people within a single society who possess, in addition to the cultural practices that they share in common with members of the larger society, certain distinct cultural practices that set them apart."

Now I know many of you are reading this and thinking "Oh, yes! That sounds as if it could be me....". I am here to tell you that this i not the case, so please, dear readers look at the definition of counterculture below:

"a group of people within a single society who strongly oppose the cultural patterns widely accepted within that society."

Doesn't this seem a little more accurate? If goth was a subculture, we would not dress and appear so dramatically different from the rest of the world, correct? Even our ideals in aesthetics differ greatly.... what is beautiful to us is not necessarily beautiful to the greater north american/european standards. The term "counterculture" is so much more effective for describing goths.... just think: if hippies were dramatic enough to be considered a counter culture so are we. Think of everything we are trying to make a stand against, and everything that you personally are fighting for. Doesn't it just make you want to proclaim "I am part of the goth counterculture!"

I sure do. I'm proud of who i am, just as we all should be:)

Remember: Goth is a proud counterculture, not a subculture!

Make up tutorial - Gothic Doll + surprise :P

Does any of you know Michelle Phan?? Well I already talked about her in a previous article about make-up anyway for those of you who don't know this, she's a pro make-up artist for Lancome and a few days ago she surprised her fans with this AMAZING make up tutorial to become a perfect gothic lolita doll! :) Inspired by Rozen Maiden (Vampire Knight) anime.

Here's the video!



I also found this really sweet tutorial on how to look like director Tim Burton kind of character!!



Isn't she amazing?? :)

♥BallerinaDark♥

Steampunks

Many would often see Goths as a subculture inspired by music, literature, and creativity. Steampunk, however, was inspired by fashion sense: mixing victorian with technology. Which include corsets, gowns, coats, vests, and military-inspired garments. Along with goggles, top hats, canes, parasols, and pocket watches as favorite accessories. As said before, Steampunk was not inspired by music, so musical tastes can vary from synthpop to classical, but many perfer to be within the industrial genre. As for the social scene, there are many festivals surrounding the subculture such as Saloncon. Steampunks have wickedly awesome creativity, combining 2 contradictions from the old and modern world.

*~Mystic~*