I went into hot topic just to look around, and i realised that I'm a little too goth, old school, thirty something, goth for that place. its really sad...when it opened, i was like "cool, i don't have to sew as much anymore." (sewing, the halmark of an old school goth...along with a crapload of safety pinning)

Are there any older goths, and where do you shop?

I just get odds and ends of clothes from anywhere. I'll find an awesome skirt at JC Penny's, a workable shirt at *gasp* Walmart, and and easily alterable dress at a thrift store. For me it's a matter of being able to pick out individual items that work with style. Of course I do still enjoy sewing things on my own.

I remember when Hot Topic was FOR goths in the 90s! Now its.. I dunno what to call it. I am too out of the loop, lol.

Anyways, when I dressed more gothy I would shop at buffalo exchange and sex shops. The shops that sold "novelties" had a lot of cute bondage type stuff, shoes, etc. Sometimes smoke shops sell stuff goth clothing as well.
Check into the local scene in your area and sometimes when bands come to play vendors will setup and sell stuff, too.

Good luck!
Also, ebay is great!

I remember those beautiful gothic dresses that used to hang in the back at Hot Topic and how I always wanted to lose weight so I could wear one to prom (never got to ). Now Hot Topic is considered where emos as well as "wannabe" punks and goths shop. At least that's what my little sister said. I still find some interesting stuff there from time to time tho. Usually if I'm looking for something that's goth I'll look at consignment shops.

I used to do Torrid but they have a lot less goth clothes nowadays and a lot more of the mainstream or Baby Phat. I think it's a better deal to just keep sewing, that's my next thing to mark off my to-do list once I feel comfortable enough to dress more gothy and not just a lot of Nightmare B4 Xmas T-shirts and purses lol.

Morbid Thread and LipService...
online shopping ALL THE WAY.

eBay is not bad either, I got a pair of wicked cyber boots for $45 once... score!.