5 Ways to Wear Pantone’s 2026 Colour of the Year “Cloud Dancer” with Gothic Energy
From Victorian to Vampire and Castlecore, here’s how to turn fashion’s palest shade into something deliciously dark
Cloud Dancer may look innocent at first glance, but the shade carries a haunted softness that feels pulled from marble statues and Victorian night gowns. In the hands of those who adopt a darker aesthetic, the Pantone becomes operatic. The colour of myth, memory and moonlit stone.
The runways of SS26 laid out a blueprint. Designers leaned into palest neutrals with a gothic undertow, which means the shade is not only wearable for the alt-inclined—it is inevitable. Our Pantone edit moves through five distinct themes, each inspired by 2025 + 2026 couture designer collections and timely cultural moments in film.
Festive, But Make It Fashion: A Gothic Guide to Holiday Dressing
The ultimate guide to looking outrageously good at every holiday celebration
By: The Lace Ledger Staff
Holiday season is upon us and, honestly, it’s the best excuse we get all year to sparkle a little harder than usual. It’s the stretch of winter where you celebrate the people you adore and politely unravel with the coworkers you usually only interact with at face value.
It’s gift exchanges, questionable playlists, desserts to die for and the annual reminder that looking stunning is absolutely part of the tradition.
Whatever the invitation says, this is your moment to show up as the most festive, most fashionable version of your gothic self.
Twilight Pirouette: A Balletcore Style Guide for the Romantic Goth
Glide from pale morning poses to midnight reveries in an aesthetic tribute that is poetry in motion
Graceful and hauntingly intentional, Balletcore doesn’t only belong to exclusive stages or mirror studios – it can thread seamlessly into daily life. The Romantic Goth archetype carries her dark-hearted elegance into errands, coffee dates and quiet workdays without losing an ounce of poetry.
The attire of working ballerinas, both on and off stage, is architecture for movement. From 19th century tutus with layers of gauzy tulle designed to catch candlelight to the silhouette-hugging bodices and wrap sweaters that showcase the dancers' form we know today, ballet fashion has balanced discipline with ethereality. Pointe shoes, satin ribbons and flowing skirts have become symbols of grace, fragility and rigour all at once; uniforms that demand precision and creativity.
In curating this guide, we pay homage to those historic shapes: the clinging wrap, the sculpted torso, the diaphanous skirt, the pointe shoes–all reimagined for everyday wear, where echoes of the stage linger on city streets.
Noir Now: Your Shoppable Guide to FW25 Gothic Fashion
When the runway lights dim, the hunt begins. FW25 left us longing for structured suits, sumptuous fabrics and dark romantic details—but you don’t need a couture budget to indulge.
This shoppable edit curates the best ready-to-wear pieces that encapsulate the season’s goth-coded mood without breaking the bank.
Here, you’ll find accessible leather (and vegan leather) jackets, impeccably tailored blazers, romantic lace dresses, gauzy ruffles; each curated both aligned with the season’s trends and to become staple pieces in your wardrobe going forward.
Inherit the Night: Discover Your Gothic Archetype
What does “gothic style” mean? If you ask the average person, they’ll likely describe the trad goths (or mall goths) of our youth – head-to-toe black, piercings, heavy makeup, perceived love of horror movies and heavy metal.
While that archetype does hold space, it’s only one shade in a much richer palette of gothic expression. Some of us are perpetually pensive, some are mischievous, some find joy in seduction, some haunt the board room while others convene with nature and the constellations – and we all have different aesthetics.
We invite you to explore the many facets of dark femininity through archetypal discovery, uncovering which persona resonates with your inner darkness. None of us are only one thing, but each has a dominant current (or two) running through her marrow.
Otherworldly Scents: A Gothic Guide to Perfumes That Cling to Shadows
A perfume guide for the romantically defiant
A spritz of perfume is the final touch, the last defiance before stepping out into the world - a sensory cue announcing your arrival to the next room you enter. Applied delicately at the wrist or whispered at the throat, we offer our signature scent like a secret to those close enough to pick up the notes.
When a perfume entwines with your chemistry, it becomes singular, unforgettable, distinctly yours. Choose wisely and it can follow you through decades, as recognizable as your laughter or handwriting.
Perfume has an ancient lineage: once pressed from resins, oils and rare flowers for monarchs and places of worship, later distilled for courts and lovers. They’ve always existed in the space between adornment and power, commanding the attention of the senses.
What follows is a guide to fragrance by The Lace Ledge archetypes, each one matched to a scent that carries her presence into every room and leaves the air changed after she’s gone.