Recently, I read a book where the protagonist wore a lot of Goth gear: Black leather, lace-up pants, huge boots or stilettos, chokers, etc.. And the protagonist was supposed to be a rebel, someone who had gone through a rough patch in her life and had emerged, but had kept the trappings of her previous incarnation as a wild child.
To me, however, the protagonist’s wardrobe was such a cliche it rang false. Because every single item of her clothing was part of the standard Goth wear, it felt like she was dressing like that because she was trying to fit into her unconventional lifestyle rather than choose to dress like that because she actually wanted to. Also, that style of dress has been around for about three decades, so they don’t seem rebellious—more like you went on a shopping spree at Hot Topic.
Perhaps it would not have been an issue if her clothing choices weren’t so lovingly, and repetitively, described throughout the book. But nonetheless, it showed the author had very different ideas about what was cutting-edge fashion than I do.
Has anyone else been thrown out of a book because of something the characters wear?
