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Somber-Looking Goths Get Together For Fun

Photo by KEVIN HOWE

Michelle Betenbaugh of Houston prepares a gothic dress she made and designed for display during Convergence 14.

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 9, 2008

TAMPA - Nicole MacArthur's mode of transportation fit right in with the dark humor at today's Goth conference in downtown Tampa.

She drove a 1980s hearse from her home in Hollywood, Fla., to the Tampa Hyatt Regency.

"Goth is vaudeville. It's like a show," said McArthur, 37, trading castoffs from her closet with other pals at a clothing swap in one of the suites.

Called Convergence 14, the gathering offered the chance for those who talk on Gothic message boards and chat rooms to connect in person. Events included musical acts and vendors, an ice-skating social, a bicyclist jumping a remote-controlled shark in a kiddie pool and a focus on dark, elaborate fashion.

"If you wear boring clothes every day, it's nice to have fun," said Kim Hope, also swapping clothes.

Hope, 37, wears a uniform to work as a zookeeper at Lowry Park Zoo, but for today's gathering she donned thigh-high fishnet stockings, black heels, a pleated plaid miniskirt and black blouse.

According to enthusiasts, Gothic subculture has its roots in the post-punk music of the 1980s and 1990s, with bands such as Bauhaus, Siouxsie & the Banshees and The Cure. Although known for wearing dark clothing and skull accessories, Goths say they love borrowing looks from different eras, whether it's a pink circle skirt with big black polka dots, a Victorian-looking white blouse, an airy gown with a rosebud belt or a pinstriped corset.

The subculture embraces mysterious elements from Romanticism and the supernatural, a high sense of drama, individualism and irreverence. T-shirts spotted at Saturday's events included, "I'm a brain-eating zombie – Don't worry, you're safe" and "Old Goths don't dye. They just fade to gray."

"It's a very supportive scene," said Kambriel, 35, a one-named fashion designer from Charlotte, N.C.

The fashion in particular has drawn more mainstream interest, she said, citing an exhibition she's participating in this fall at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City called "Gothic: Dark Glamour."

"I always say it's for femme fatales and decadent gentlemen," Kambriel said. "You can pretty much be very dramatic and be that in your own way."

Organizers expected about 200 people at the conference, which runs through Sunday. A schedule of events is available at www.c14ybor.com.

Creativity showed in the vendors selling their own comic books, jewelry, illustrations and handmade clothing. Michelle Betenbaugh, 30, also known as "The Stitch Witch," came with her husband, Kenney Arocha, 33, from Houston to promote her custom-made corsets and other outfits.

"It's a lot of playing dress-up, which is my favorite part," said Betenbaugh, who works as a crime-scene technician in Missouri City, Texas. "You can have this whole range of looks and everybody gets along. There's not a lot of places you can do that. Be accepted as you are even if you look like a weirdo."

Because many Goths are fans of horror stories and the styles of Edgar Allen Poe, Edward Gorey and Tim Burton, Goths say they're often misunderstood as being morbid, hateful or violent.

"I don't like the looks that have meanness behind it, all that 'Don't judge a book by its cover.' We kind of dare folks not to do that," said Hope, the zookeeper.

Most of the time, she said, "The 'normals' either stare down their noses at us and think we're about to sacrifice cats or something, or smile and laugh behind their hand.

"I secretly think they're all jealous because we're a good-looking bunch of people."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at (813) 259-7800 or vkalfrin@tampatrib.com.

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