Our Story

Born on
Melrose

Two Angelenos who grew up shopping Melrose Avenue and couldn't find a store worthy of the culture they loved — so they built one.

Who We Are

Made By
Goths.
For Goths.

Not a trend. Not a Halloween shop.
A lifestyle — and we've lived it since we were teenagers on Melrose.

It started on a Saturday afternoon in 2018 on Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood — the same legendary strip that shaped the alternative fashion scene in Los Angeles for over four decades. Seraphina Voss and Dorian Blackwell, two lifelong goths who had grown up haunting every dark boutique between Fairfax and Highland, were walking past a shuttered storefront that had once sold the most beautifully curated gothic clothing either of them had ever seen. It had been replaced by a juice bar.

"We stood there outside that juice bar and looked at each other. The store we needed didn't exist anymore. So we decided to build it — but bigger, and for everyone, not just people lucky enough to live in Los Angeles."

— Seraphina Voss, Co-Founder

Both had spent years being frustrated by the alternatives. Mass-market retailers producing cheap Halloween approximations of gothic fashion. Big alternative brands that had lost their subculture roots in pursuit of mainstream revenue. Independent sellers whose quality couldn't match their aesthetic ambition. There was no store that felt like it was genuinely made by and for the community.

Seraphina had been designing and selling her own pieces out of her apartment in Silver Lake since 2015. Dorian had spent a decade working in alternative fashion retail on Melrose itself — he knew the suppliers, the community, and what genuine quality looked like when you held it in your hands. Together, they had exactly what it took to build something real. So they did.

GothStores.com launched in 2019 from a small studio on Fountain Avenue, a few blocks from the Melrose strip that had made them who they were. Within three months, orders were shipping to 22 countries. The community had been waiting for this without knowing it — and when it arrived, they responded immediately and powerfully.

14K+
Dark Souls Served
500+
Curated Products
42
Countries Reached
2019
Founded, Los Angeles
The Chronicle

From Melrose
to the World

The Spark
A Shuttered Storefront on Melrose
Seraphina and Dorian watch their favourite gothic boutique on Melrose Avenue close its doors. Standing on the pavement outside, they make a decision: if the store doesn't exist, they'll build it — but for the whole world, not just Los Angeles.
2018
2019
The Launch
GothStores.com Goes Live from Silver Lake
Operating from a studio apartment two miles from Melrose, Seraphina and Dorian launch the site. Eighty-three orders in the first week. Twenty-two countries in the first three months. The community was ready.
Homecoming
Pop-Up on Melrose Avenue
A two-week pop-up on the very strip that inspired everything. The line snaked back past three storefronts on opening day. Los Angeles welcomed its store home — and the city that started it all confirmed everything the two founders had believed from the beginning.
2021
2023
The Artist Programme
Independent Designers Join the Coven
Goth Store launches its formal artist partnership programme, bringing independent gothic and darkwave designers into limited-edition collaborations. The Melrose spirit — small, authentic, community-rooted — goes global.
Now
14,000 Customers. One Soul.
Over 14,000 customers across 42 countries. New drops every month. Still run by the same two people who stood on Melrose and decided the store they needed had to exist. The darkness only gets richer.
2026
What We Stand For

Our Dark Principles

I
Authenticity Above All
We never chase trends or dilute the aesthetic for mainstream appeal. Every decision is made with the subculture's integrity at heart — just as it was on Melrose.
II
Community Is Sacred
The gothic community gave us everything. We give back through artist support, inclusive sizing, and a platform that amplifies alternative voices worldwide.
III
Quality Over Quantity
Fifty exceptional pieces over five hundred mediocre ones. Every item has passed through our hands and earned its place — a standard learned from the best boutiques on Melrose.
IV
Darkness Is Inclusive
The darkness belongs to every body, every gender, every budget. Our sizing is expansive, our pricing is honest, and our doors are open to all who feel its pull.
V
Artistry & Craft
We partner with independent designers whose work carries genuine soul. The spirit of LA's alternative art scene runs through every collaboration we take on.
VI
The Long Dark
We think in decades, not seasons. Building a lasting home for the gothic community means resisting shortcuts and staying true to the vision born on Melrose Avenue.
The Founders

The Faces of
the Dark

Seraphina Voss
Co-Founder & Creative Director
Grew up in Los Feliz, discovered Melrose Avenue at fifteen, and never left. Seraphina has been designing and wearing gothic fashion for over two decades. Her eye shapes every collection we carry.
Dorian Blackwell
Co-Founder & Head of Curation
Spent a decade working in alternative fashion retail on Melrose Avenue before co-founding Goth Store. Dorian knows every supplier, every fabric, and exactly what authentic gothic quality feels like in your hands.
Lyra Nightshade
Artist Relations & Community
LA-born, raised on darkwave and death rock. Lyra manages our artist partnerships and community programming — the bridge between Goth Store and the independent designers who make the subculture extraordinary.
Corvus Thorne
Head of Operations
The shadow behind the curtain. Corvus makes sure every order arrives perfectly and every customer experience lives up to the standard that Melrose Avenue taught us to demand.
Our Pledge to the Community

The Melrose Promise

The boutiques on Melrose Avenue taught us that alternative fashion is only authentic when it's made by people who actually live the life. We carry that lesson into everything we do — every piece we stock, every artist we partner with, every customer we serve.

Always authentic Independent artists Inclusive sizing No fast-fashion compromise Community first Born on Melrose
Get in Touch

Ready to Enter
the Darkness?

Explore the full collection — curated from LA to the world, by goths who know the difference between costume and conviction.

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