gothic - 53 Halloween Costume Ideas
Gothic costumes lean into dark colors and dramatic shapes, Jareth's glam-dark styling, the Mad Hatter's exaggerated silhouette, the White Queen's stark black-and-white palette. Understated doesn't really belong in this tag, the bigger and darker, the better it reads.
Makeup carries a lot of this look, pale skin, dark eyes, dramatic contrast. Budget time for it specifically, a great outfit with plain, undone makeup looks half-finished here.
Most benefit from it, pale skin and dark eye makeup are common threads across this tag.
Related but not identical, gothic leans more dramatic and theatrical, horror leans more toward actually scary.
Black as a base, with one dramatic accent color. Skip anything bright or pastel.