Looking for alt outfit ideas? You’re in the right place!
This post features over 180 outfits for both female and male Alt fashion lovers.
Whether you’re looking for something Goth, Punk, or Steampunk, or any alt styles we’ve got you covered. So get ready to be inspired, and have fun dressing up your unique style!
You can jump straight to Female alternative outfits by clicking here or Male alternative outfits by clicking here.
All items that are listed, are the best products on Amazon as they are all at a minimum of 4 stars out of 5 and above.
We want you to get the best out of this post by saving you some time in your outfit research and finding great items for cheap.
Table of content:
- 1. How Do You Dress Like An Alternative?
- 2. What Styles Are Alternative?
- 3. What Makes A Style Alternative?
- 4. How To Dress Alternative In The Summer?
- 5. How To Dress Alternative In The Winter?
- 6. Female Alternative Outfits Ideas
- 7. Male Alternative Outfits Ideas
- 8. Alt Accessories
- 9. Being Alternative In Raves, Festivals, Or Concerts VS Daily Life
1. How Do You Dress Like An Alternative?
What Is Alternative Fashion?
Most people think that the alternative style is all about wearing black, which is not at all the case, if that was true, night clubs bartenders or bouncers would be alternative…
Alternative is a great way to show part of who you are or fully express how you feel and not conform to the norm.
Because the term “alternative” encompasses a lot of different styles (more on that below), some will express their style towards utility while others will clearly and ultimately reveal themselves through fashion.
That said the vast majority of alt styles are more dedicated to fashion and style than utility.
Again this is all about expressing oneself through outfit and clothing.
The beauty of alt fashion is that you could create your own alt style, as long as you are out of the norm and you own it, your style will be alt.
How To Dress?
Your Style
First, you will have to choose your style, and to be even more accurate, you are not per se choosing a style but rather unveiling who you are.
So it is more about letting all society codes or norms go and putting on what makes more sense to you personally.
Your Body
Second, once that is clear, a good way to put together your outfit would be to know what part of your body you prefer.
You have to have some parts you prefer over others and once you know which are those you want to build your outfit around them.
For instance, let’s take shoulders, if you have beautiful shoulders you would search for cold shoulders top outfits first and then try things out for the bottom.
Or if it is your legs you love, you want to look for a nice and cute short dress, or a pair of shorts or skirts (add some fishnets if that is the style you are going for) and work your top from there.
Your Confidence
And third, some will say that confidence and style go together, but that is not necessarily true.
Once you have picked your style and know what are your favorite parts of your body, you will have to pick clothing that gives you confidence.
While some aspect of alt fashion is to reveal who a person is, it also gives people more confidence with what they are wearing.
That said, it is not because some clothes fall under your typical style that you will necessarily be confident in it.
So find the sweet spot of knowing your style, knowing your body, and knowing what makes you feel best, what makes you feel confident.
Don’t wear something that does fall under the category of the style you embody if you don’t like it.
You can jump straight to Female alternative outfits by clicking here or Male alternative outfits by clicking here.
2. What Styles Are Alternative?
Alternative fashion IS actually the perfect word for what it is, alternative fashion is all about being outside of the norm.
And because it is such a wide term many, many styles fall under that alt category from Goth, to Emo, to Egirl/Eboy, to Punk, to Cyberpunk, to Kawaii, to Steampunk, etc…
The list goes on as new styles are popping up every year, and they would fall under the alternative category.
If you have a hard time getting what alternative is you can look at it this way:
Imagine another human planet that would have different rules and fashions of what mainstream clothing would be… well those mainstream clothes would be alt wear on our planet.
If you can imagine this kind of planet, and you wear what they would wear on that other planet, your style or outfit would definitely be considered as alternative to our world.
This is also why a lot of alternative styles are coming from either fantasy or sci-fi books, movies, or series.
The alt-art, alt-fashion is truly infinite and that is the beauty of it, everyone can come up with their own style and wear anything they want.
This is also why we personally deeply respect people going alt because they are willing and daring to be out of the norm and truly show who they are and how they prefer to be.
The world would be a much more interesting place if more people would dare alt fashion, but we digress.
You can jump straight to Female alternative outfits by clicking here or Male alternative outfits by clicking here.
3. What Makes A Style Alternative?
In order to really consider your style alternative two parameters needs to happen.
First, the style you go for needs to be different from what is considered to be the norm.
Second, as it will be viewed by the many as “unusual” you have to own your style.
Out Of The Normcore
You can’t be alt if you are too close to normcore fashion.
Ok, so how do I know if I am out of the norm?
One simple way to know if you are alt or not would be to notice if people look at you when you go outside or if you are invisible to them.
If you are invisible it could mean your style falls into the norm.
We underlined “it could” because as the nature of alternative is to be different from mainstream it would mean that people are not used to seeing alt clothing.
But that said, you could be in a particular open-minded neighborhood and even with the craziest style people will not glance at you as they will not be surprised.
But in our experience, in most places, people usually do have a look and wonder what is going on.
Owning It
Well, we have heard people saying that “if you are comfortable with what you wear it means that you are wearing normcore clothing”.
That comment could not be further from the truth.
People that are not familiar with alt styles usually do not understand right away that people are not wearing disguises.
The whole truth and nature of alt fashion is that people wearing what they wear really is to express who they are.
As a joke, some said that alternative people would wear normcore clothing on Halloween as it would be in fact a disguise for them.
Alt people own the way they dress, better yet they feel better in what they wear than being in any other type of clothes because it is what they are.
You can jump straight to Female alternative outfits by clicking here or Male alternative outfits by clicking here.
4. How To Dress Alternative In The Summer?
Like we said, even though black is not good evidence to say this or that style is alt, we do admit that it is the color that is the most used.
The problem with that is that black does not go well with sunny days.
But don’t you worry you can wear black alternative clothing during summer and not be stopped by the sun or the heat!
One of the best ways to pull it off is to wear short clothing, white outfits like a white crop top or alternative wear with light fabric while making it even more alternative with the right accessories.
Find below Female alternative outfits by clicking here and find Male alternative outfits by clicking here.
Summer is also a good time to try out some colors with your outfits, either by wearing new colorful clothing or even trying or daring some hair dye, depending on your style it could really improve your overall look.
The type of outfit for summer you will be looking for are shorts, skirts, and short dresses for the bottom and outfits that leaves your midriff exposed, or a top with no sleeves or even going backless.
From there, fishnets whether it is for your arms, midriff, or legs, is the way to go, they will not keep you warm, and it is perfect for your style.
5. How To Dress Alternative In The Winter?
As alt outfits come with a lot of accessories, winter or cold weather is a great time to try new things out.
Depending on what style you are looking for, winter has its black and white charms and ambiance with the white snow and the dark trees with no leaves.
This is why it is a good time to go black and white during winter but also adding some color accent here and there is definitely worth it.
Like we said for summer, you could dye your hair and there are many colorful outfits that are warm enough for winter for you to dare some colors.
Accessories are also great for winter as you can add leg or arm warmers and even go with some beanie or hat to cover your head and keep the heat.
Not to mention there are some really cute long sleeve outfits that would not work for summer but they are a win for cold weather.
That would be true for any outfit, but layering during cold weather is really the best approach you can have to stay comfortable whether it is cloudy, rainy, windy, or cold.
So play around with long sleeves outfits, leg or arm warmers, chokers, and beanies or hats to find the best alt outfit for this cold season.
You can jump straight to Female alternative outfits by clicking here or Male alternative outfits by clicking here.
6. Female Alternative Outfits Ideas
As alt fashion is vast, we did our best to cover as many styles as possible and other aesthetics so you can find a lot of great inspiration and ideas to buy.
We have also put both warm and light clothing, so you could find cool outfits whether you are looking for new ideas for summer or for winter.
Female Alternative Tops
Long Sleeve See-Through Summer Top
Women’s See Through Fishnet & Mesh
Women’s Scoop-Neck Strappy Backless
Sexy Hollow Out Buckle Front for Rave
Women’s Strappy Mesh Crop Tops
Other styles and colors are available
Women’s Long Sleeve Industrial Fishnet
Half Cami Lace Bra V Neck Camisole
Women’s Mesh Lingerie for Women
Women’s Mesh Lingerie for Women
Women’s Sleeveless Crop Tops Sexy One
Women’s Crop Top Spaghetti Camisole
Vintage Victorian Corset Skirt
Lace Sheer Long Sleeve Gothic Shirts
Female Alternative Bottoms
Punk Lace Up Fishnet Gothic Pants
A-Line Short Knee Tutu Gothic Skirt
Women’s Sequins Tassel Skirts Shorts
Women’s Destroyed Ripped Shorts
Women’s Basic Solid Flared Skirt
Vibrant Junior High Rise Jeans
7. Male Alternative Outfits Ideas
As alt fashion is vast, we did our best to cover as many styles as possible so you can find a lot of great inspiration and ideas to buy.
We have also put both warm and light clothing, so you could find cool outfits whether you are looking for new ideas for summer or for winter.
Male Alternative Tops
Victorian Tailcoat Steampunk Jacket
Men’s Fashion Slim Fit Dress Shirt Casual Shirt
Men’s Fashion Shirt Casual Shirt
Tailcoat Jacket Vintage Victorian
Men’s Victorian Waistcoat Vest
Men’s Victorian Waistcoat Vest
Brocade Vest Waistcoat Sleeveless
Brocade Vest Waistcoat Sleeveless
Men’s Dress Party Stylish Blazer
Gothic Tshirt Long Sleeve Punk Top Hood
Male Alternative Bottoms
Pants Breathable Below Knee Short Pants
Casual Graphic Trousers Sweatpants
8. Alt Accessories
The accessories section is a mix of both male and female items so feel free to scroll through to find unique and awesome products including combat boots and doc martens for the feet, so your one-of-a-kind alternative look is complete.
High Wild Diva Goth BootsThese Goth boots are killing it, different styles and colors are available.
Dr Martens Lace Up Women Boots
You have a black version as well
Faux Leather Steampunk Armor Cuffs
Men’s Gravedigger-250 Calf-High Boot
Vintage Punk Goth Studded Rivet Pu Leather Collar Choker Necklace
Necklace/Skull Feather Necklace
Black Long Fishnet Fingerless Gloves
Women’s Fishnet Long Sleeve Bodysuit
Women’s Leg Harness Caged Thigh
Punk Black Waist Chain Belt Leather Belly
Women’s Strappy Leg Garter Studded
Leg Avenue Women’s Industrial Fishnet
Women Fishnet Bodystocking Bodysuit
Nude Nipztix Pasties Nipple Covers
If you are looking for more black clothing click here as we have a dedicated selection.
If you are looking for more steampunk outfits click here for a dedicated selection.
If you are looking for more goth outfits click here for a dedicated selection.
If you are looking for more white clothing click here for a dedicated unique selection.
If you are looking for more see-through clothing click here for a dedicated selection.
If you are looking for more Techno type of style outfits click here.
9. Being Alternative In Raves, Festivals, Or Concerts VS Daily Life
The last point we wanted to make for alternatives or people that want to know more about it, is that it will be easier to feel fully free in events like raves, music-festivals or concerts as people can wear anything they want.
That said, for daily life, some are quite happy they work in places where people get it, but for the rest of you, we know how hard it can be sometimes.
We truly love the fact that people dare to express who they are, and we would love workplaces to be more open to it.
We have friends that, even though they made efforts to dress professionally, were not taken seriously. This can in some cases make alt-people mad and that would make sense.
Furthermore, attracting attention works for some but for others, it really is not what they want.
Even though, it is not a blog post that will change something in that regard we just wanted to say that we are hoping you find the best places to live and work with your personal alt look, and we send you a ton of love.
We hope this article helped you or saved you some time in your research.
Have a great event!