Last night I found myself a little out of my element. At 9pm, I was sitting with an old high school friend in a tiny bar on Queen Street in downtown Toronto, sipping on Strongbow and listening to a band that played blue grass. After a couple of drinks and some tunes I had never heard before, nor do I think I will again, we headed out to a Gothic fashion show.

My friend’s wife is a wiz with leather. She sculpts the most beautiful designs for masks, chokers and accessories that I’ve ever seen. She was accessorizing some of the fashions for the show and since we’d never met, it was about time we did the face-to-face. Well, the show was good! It was a mix of traditional and cyber goth wear. There were enough spikes to go around and I felt out of place with no piercings or tats. One of my friends was actually in the show, although I didn’t know it beforehand. She strutted her stuff, decked out to the nines in cyber. She wore mostly tight PVC and her boobs were wrapped so tight they looked like they could pop at any point. Luckily, they stayed where they were supposed to be.

It was an interesting environment to be in. I wish I had of kept some of my clothes that I had back in my old raving days. I had a bunch of outfits, mostly consisting of shiny PVY and other accessories that added to the glam of a night spent on the dance floor. They would have gone nicely last night. Instead, I simply wore black pants, a black and gray stripped shirt and a long black dress jacket. I don’t know how well I fit in. Someone called me a dandy, but she said it nicely, so I didn’t know how to take it.

I certainly didn’t want to admit that my wardrobe was lacking in the “spikes-and-plastic” department. I guess next time I’ll just have to hit the shops on Queen a little earlier - pick up some gear that will allow me to fit in a little better. But do I go cyber goth or traditional? And should I be an unhappy goth or perky? Who knew this whole scene would be so much work!