Anyone notice that Hot topic has changed?

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

I can't find any evidence of this, but I remember the one in my mall being called Hot Gothic for years. It really felt like that kind of store too. then in like the late 2000s they changed it to the word Topic and while the store and lighting didn't really change, Their stock and employee attire became lighter and more colorful. Now it's just a tame Spencers, if any of you know what that store is.

Yea, Spencer's changed quite a bit as well too. Half the store is now poor quality sex toys, bad party games and random mainstream figurines. I don't think Hot topic is like Spencer's though, the Hot Topic here still carry's mostly goth stuff. Though with all the T-shirts they sell now, they are more comparable to Gadzooks before they bought out by Forever 21 in 2005.

Not familiar with Gadzooks, But My Topic Doesn't really have any Goth items. Just Geek and Band apparel. Band apparel is half my Spencer's with the shitty sex and games stuff being the other. That's where the comparison came from for me.

I wish Spencer's still sold all those cool lights they used to carry. The ones they have now are lame compared to the ones I bought there years ago.

Spoiler: I still have quite a few lights I bought from Spencer's in my collection

I bought my 51cm blue lumiglas Plasma disk like this there:

I put that one inside a table top.
I have 4 of these I bought there:

I have 6 of these type lamps but they are larger floor lamps rather than what I can find for sale now:

I also bought a few plasma balls plasma skulls, and Fog machine for Halloween over the years there, but most of what they have now is just junk in comparison to what they used to carry.

Yea.. I might have a freaky light addiction.. LOL

I don't remember those being in my Spencer's last I checked. That was a little over a week ago. Those are now found in those hobbyist stores with the pop culture icon cutouts in the front of them. That or Target maybe.

I can only find the larger lights I like online or at art shows now. Stores have miniature versions of them, but I have no use for smaller ones. I like them tall/ floor type lamps even up to ceiling height when I can find them. It is difficult to find unique ones these days though. Spencer's used to carry some really cool stuff now they primarily sell useless junk/ gag gifts.

 

[Axelthefox]

I can't find any evidence of this, but I remember the one in my mall being called Hot Gothic for years. It really felt like that kind of store too. then in like the late 2000s they changed it to the word Topic and while the store and lighting didn't really change, Their stock and employee attire became lighter and more colorful. Now it's just a tame Spencers, if any of you know what that store is.

Yea, Spencer's changed quite a bit as well too. Half the store is now poor quality sex toys, bad party games and random mainstream figurines. I don't think Hot topic is like Spencer's though, the Hot Topic here still carry's mostly goth stuff. Though with all the T-shirts they sell now, they are more comparable to Gadzooks before they were bought out by Forever 21 in 2005.

I have noticed that Spencer's has changed as well. I remember one time when they used to have dragon figurines in the store,bought a few dragons from them when they had them.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

I can't find any evidence of this, but I remember the one in my mall being called Hot Gothic for years. It really felt like that kind of store too. then in like the late 2000s they changed it to the word Topic and while the store and lighting didn't really change, Their stock and employee attire became lighter and more colorful. Now it's just a tame Spencers, if any of you know what that store is.

Yea, Spencer's changed quite a bit as well too. Half the store is now poor quality sex toys, bad party games and random mainstream figurines. I don't think Hot topic is like Spencer's though, the Hot Topic here still carry's mostly goth stuff. Though with all the T-shirts they sell now, they are more comparable to Gadzooks before they were bought out by Forever 21 in 2005.

I have noticed that Spencer's has changed as well. I remember one time when they used to have dragon figurines in the store,bought a few dragons from them when they had them.

Yea, I remember when they carried dragons and wizards and medieval stuff too. I had purchased some as gifts for friends as well as some pretty cool dragon candles from them. I remember they used to have large dragon and wizard fabric prints for the wall as well that were black light reactive.

 

[Programmed_For_Damage]

I had a pair of Tripp pants. More chains and straps than the local bike shed. Went well with my Demonia boots. I had a situation where I had to take both off to get through an airport scanner. You only make that mistake once.

Yea, I have learned my lessons from what to where and not to where as well a few times now.. The worst I think was when I was wearing a lace up dress out clubbing in Deep Ellum and someone cut my laces up one side with a box cutter on the dance floor and the entire dress fell apart. Due to it being a lace up dress, you cannot wear any undergarments with it so my friends were helping me hold my dress up to keep me clothed. Lucky for me guys are always wearing black leather coats when they don't need them so I wound up wearing a friends jacket as a dress with some of the dress laces tied around the waist with my thigh high boots the rest of the night making me look like a flasher. LOL

Someone actually did that? Not only is that pathetic of them, but if they cut too deep you would have been bleeding. To be honest I've never seen that or similar sleazy behaviour at any goth clubs I've been to. Except for that one fetish club, but you know that comes with the territory.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

I had a pair of Tripp pants. More chains and straps than the local bike shed. Went well with my Demonia boots. I had a situation where I had to take both off to get through an airport scanner. You only make that mistake once.

Yea, I have learned my lessons from what to where and not to where as well a few times now.. The worst I think was when I was wearing a lace up dress out clubbing in Deep Ellum and someone cut my laces up one side with a box cutter on the dance floor and the entire dress fell apart. Due to it being a lace up dress, you cannot wear any undergarments with it so my friends were helping me hold my dress up to keep me clothed. Lucky for me guys are always wearing black leather coats when they don't need them so I wound up wearing a friends jacket as a dress with some of the dress laces tied around the waist with my thigh high boots the rest of the night making me look like a flasher. LOL

Someone actually did that? Not only is that pathetic of them, but if they cut too deep you would have been bleeding. To be honest I've never seen that or similar sleazy behavior at any goth clubs I've been to. Except for that one fetish club, but you know that comes with the territory.

I actually was bleeding, not bad enough to need stitches or anything luckily and was glad that it was not worse. My friend Courtney, at another time in Ellum, had her face slashed by a chic who pulled a box cutter out of her mouth while walking down the sidewalk and she had to get 17 stitches in her face. Sadly, I do not think this is all that uncommon in Dallas. I have seen much worse happen in Mosh pits here though I was not even in a mosh pit when it happened to me.

 

[Tanis]

Our local one is still kind of rock/goth.

But their music is just shit.
Emo/Scream-o/White-people-jamming-embarrassingly-to-DMX-yo type of music.

 

[sXeth]

The Hot Topic in my previous town (isn't one at the mall here) I always remember just kind of being another sort of pseudo-punk pop culture shop. Like back in 2006 or whenever it first showed up (as a booth originally) it just sold Sublime Wallets or Guns n Roses and rolling Stones hats/beanies. All the stuff was black, and maybe some more metal band options then the other similar shops and some piercings but nothing overtly gothy.