Our Story!

Let us tell you a story!

Once upon a time....

There was this gothic girl, who liked dressing up in gothic black clothes. The gothic girl grew up to be a mom, and eventually a grandma.

Throughout her whole life she loved all things dark and different. She read dark fiction, she listened to music with dark lyrics or sounds, she dressed in all black (with occasional other colors like red or purple) but she liked the dark.

Everyone always asked her when she was going to grow out of this "phase" she obviously was in. She simply replied,"Never!" Her family shook their heads, but her nail tech loved her gorgeous claws, and her hairdresser loved her long crazy red hair. To the rest of the world, she might have looked like she must be depressed. She was not depressed!

She just liked all things dark, and different, she appreciated the music, the look, and the style of "Gothic." So all her life, doing normal things, and dressing for her career like the "normies," she would come home, change out of her "work attire", and slip into her gothic, comfy clothes. Lounge pants (with bats on them). A big, comfy "Vampira" T-shirt. Wrapped up in her witchy cardigan, with symbols and coffins on it, sitting down with a good scary book, she would sip her hot tea from a Victorian tea cup, and relax into her real, Goth life.

A Goth Grows Up

In her 20's, she went to clubs in her gothic club clothes (lots of vinyl and leather and velvet). In her 30's, she started to wear clothes she could bathe the kids in, or run to the store. Then she got really sick with a chronic health issue, and by her mid 30's, she had to stop working. Now she rarely left the house, so there was no point in dressing up in leather and vinyl. There was no point in wearing a ton of make-up.

By her 40's, she realized most of her clothes were still black, with gothic designs on them or had a gothic theme, but they weren't leather or tight clubbing clothes, they were much more relaxed and comfortable. She realized she didn't need to be "dressed up" to be a Goth. Gothic lived in her heart, and she wore it in a new, more comfortable way. Her clothes were still different, but now they were about the designs and prints, and less about the chains and corsets.

The Birth of Pretty Rottens

But where could she find these kinds of clothes? She looked everywhere for really fun designs that weren't all cutesy Halloween. She kept looking for more vintage Victorian style prints or designs. When she couldn't find many, she started creating her own. She had always been crafty and artistic, so this wasn't new. One day she said to herself, "I can't be the only goth grandma who wants to wear cool, original art on comfy clothes, and shoes, and decorate my house in a Gothic way!"

She looked on social media, and discovered there were all these other people like her, who called themselves "Elder Goths." She thought that was pretty funny, so she decided she wanted to open a store where other "elder goths" could buy cool, comfy clothes, or shoes and purses, along with home items.

Then she came up with the idea of calling it "Pretty Rottens". That name came from her best friend, who always called her fur babies her "Pretty Rottens". As a grandma, she laughed thinking it also worked for children and grandchildren, and was a perfect way to describe gothic styles in general. They are often "pretty" and "rotten" at the same time. So she decided to name her store Pretty Rottens! And so the gothic store became Pretty Rottens, and she hopes to find others like her, the ones who like dark, creepy, and pretty things too! Beauty in darkness, or pretty, dead things! 

Goths Love the Earth, Too!

The other thing that really bothered this goth grandma was the the environment was going to crap! There had to be a way to make her items eco-friendly. So she did some research, and found a way to have the products not made until they were ordered - that way, there wouldn't be piles of products sitting in storage somewhere, waiting for the day someone chose that particular design and size. So she went with this new business model, and now every Pretty Rottens item is made to order.

It made the goth grandma very happy to not waste products and money on storage. It's not a perfect system. It can cause a delay in getting the item. But she thought this was worth it, to not make climate change worse, and to keep her own company's eco-footprint as small as she could. She hired her children and friends to help with the company, and now it has grown from one goth grandma's idea into a new small business.

It's Not Just a Phase!

She also decided to donate a portion of the companies profits to NARAL, a charity that promotes choice in how you live your life. Who wants to be told what to do, how to dress, who to love, or anything else? Life is about choice! It's Not Just a Phase!

So the goth grandma now has a business that she works around her chronic illness, her family stuff, the scary books she still enjoys, and all her "Pretty Rottens". (We'll let you guess whether she means her grandchildren or her pets!)

The End.....?

(Or, the Beginning!)