Dark Academia: Aesthetic, Culture, Fashion, Lifestyle, Literature and Thinking

So, what exactly is dark academia?

Dark academia started as a subculture on Tumblr and TikTok, leading to be one of the most trending aesthetics on social media.

It revolves mainly around the idea of intellectuals, higher education, and elite culture of 19th-century Europeans. It emphasizes on art, Gothic architecture, poetry and studying.

Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.

Donna Tartt, The Secret History

Aesthetic

The colour pallete for academia contains earth tones, black, brown, tan, navy blue, deep crimson, frost green, and maroon.

The art movements that it generally favours are Romanticism, Renaissance, Greek-Roman, Gothic and classic Victorian.

Fashion

Fashion is the ‘key’ to becoming a dark academic, though not entirely necessary (unless you are on Tumblr and TikTok).

The clothes worn by dark academics are usually turtlenecks, ankle pants, jumpers, sweaters, shirt dresses and plaid long skirts for women, cigarette pants, linen shirts, trenchcoats and tweed jackets. These are usually worn with Oxfords, Chelsea boots and Dr. Martens.

Aside from the apparel, these are accompanied by brooches, leather-strap watches, wire-frame glasses, belts, umbrellas, ties and gold-silver embroidered handkerchiefs.

Lifestyle

Perusing the library, reading in the candlelight, studying till late night… it’s all dark academia. Here a a few tips:

• Carpe diem, seize the day, don’t waste a minute of your life on tedious mortals.
• Remain an enigma, keep your background a secret, talk less about yourself.
• Peruse the library, hold the old editions of classic books in your hands, feel your way through the spines and smell the bibliosmia.
• Listen to classical music, can be fantasy or jazz.
• Visit the coffeeshops, and sit there for hours pondering over the thoughts of others.
• Roam through museums, understand classic Romantic art.
• Light the candle, gaze at the flickering flame and read in a tiny, cozy place.
• Wander into the woods, take a moment to yourself in solitude.
• Recite poetry, learn your favourite poems by heart.
• Go to an antique store and buy anything that intrigues your eye.
• Write letters to your family, friends, to anyone in the world, to yourself.
• Play the piano, violin or cello, close your eyes and let your fingers wander.
• Read as much as possible, devouring each word you find.
• Learn a new language, Latin, Greek or French.

Literature

Classical books are a must read; preferred genres are crime, gothic, murder, mystery, philosophy, psychological and thriller.

Some of the famous dark academia books:

• All of Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt
• Dead Poets Society by Nancy H. Kleinbaum
• Kill Your Darlings by Terence Blacker
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare
• Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
• Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
• Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
• If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
• Tales of Mystery and Imagination by Edgar Allan Poe
• Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling
• The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
• Complete Poems by John Keats
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Thinking

Dark academics tend to be very pessimistic, or at least stoic. They have no good expectations of the mortal world, as they believe in ‘memento mori’, the dark reminder of the inevitability of death. Because of this belief, the progress and pursuit of knowledge and to get the most from life is the utmost goal of every academic.

Curiosity and the passion to learn more are crucial for a true academic. One must be an intellectual (art, literature, philosophy and science are welcome) and devote their life to studying the ever growing knowledge.

Contemplating and pondering over the slightest action is a habit.

Dark Academics

A person who relates to or loves dark academia aesthetic is called a dark academic.

Dark academia is my most favourite aesthetic (besides goblincore and cottagecore). You can follow my boards for these on my Pinterest! I have also made a playlist for dark academia!

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This is it then. Antio sas! (goodbye in Greek!)

P. S. Word of the day: Solivagant, ‘wandering alone’.

✧─── ･｡ﾟ★: *.✦.* :★｡ﾟ･ ───✧