So, musicians fashion, right? Everyone talks about it, or at least, you see it. You know, the cool bands, they always look… a certain way. But it ain’t always what you think, or at least, that’s what I found out.
I got curious about this whole thing a while back. Not ’cause I’m in a band, nah. But I was helping a mate, let’s call him Dave. Dave’s band was getting a bit more serious, playing actual gigs, not just in his garage. And someone told him, ‘You guys gotta look the part!’ Easy for them to say, right?
So, Dave was stressing. Big time. And I, being the good friend (or maybe just bored), said I’d help him ‘research’. Sounded easy, didn’t it? Well, it wasn’t. First thing I did was hit the internet. Big mistake. You type in ‘musician fashion’ and bam! A million pictures. Leather jackets, skinny jeans, weird hats, stuff that costs an arm and a leg. Some dudes looked like they hadn’t slept in a week, which, fair enough, maybe they hadn’t. Others looked like they’d just stepped off a high-fashion runway. It was all over the place, and honestly, mostly unhelpful for Dave, who plays in a pub on a Friday night, not Wembley.
My Deep Dive (or something like it)
So, I told Dave, ‘Forget the internet famous guys for a sec. Let’s look at bands we actually see, or bands in our kind of genre.’ His band was kinda indie rock, a bit punky. Not stadium rock, you know? More like, sticky floors and cheap beer kind of gigs.
Here’s what I started to notice, my actual process, if you will, just by looking around and thinking about it a bit:
- Comfort is King (Mostly): A lot of these guys, especially guitarists and drummers, they need to move. So, stuff wasn’t super restrictive. Jeans, t-shirts, yeah, but not like, ‘can’t breathe’ tight. Made sense. Can’t rock out if you’re worried about ripping your fancy pants.
- The Worn-In Look: Nothing looked brand spanking new. Band tees were faded, jackets had a bit of history. Not dirty, just… lived in. I guess it gives off that ‘we’ve been on the road’ vibe, even if the road is just to the local rehearsal space.
- One Standout Thing: Often, there’d be one piece that was a bit unique. A cool vintage jacket, a specific type of boot, a weird necklace, something they probably picked up somewhere random. Not a whole costume, just something that caught your eye and said a little something about them.
- It’s Not a Uniform: Even within a band, people had their own twists. They weren’t all wearing the exact same ‘band outfit’. Thank god for that, eh? Would be pretty boring otherwise.
So, armed with this ‘knowledge’, Dave and I went through his wardrobe. It was mostly old band t-shirts and jeans that had seen better days. Perfect, I thought! We tried a few combos. He put on this old Ramones shirt, his most battered jeans, and a denim jacket he’d had for ages. He looked in the mirror. ‘I just look like… me, but scruffier,’ he said. And that was kinda the point, I guess?
But then we found this old, beaten-up leather cuff his grandad gave him. He hardly ever wore it. He put that on. And suddenly, it clicked a little. It wasn’t a huge transformation, he didn’t suddenly look like a rock god, but it added something. A little bit of his own story, you know?
What did I really get from all this? Honestly, ‘musicians fashion’ is a bit of a scam. Not a scam like they’re trying to fool you, but a scam in the sense that there’s no magic formula. It’s not about buying expensive stuff or copying someone famous down to the last detail. That’s what I truly believe now.
I saw so many trying too hard back then, and still do. You can spot ’em a mile off. The ones who look like they’ve got a checklist: ‘Skinny jeans? Check. Ironic t-shirt? Check. Artfully disheveled hair? Check.’ It just looks… put on. Fake. Like they’re wearing a costume, not clothes.
The guys who looked genuinely cool? They just looked comfortable in their own skin, wearing clothes they actually liked, that told a bit of a story about them. Maybe it’s an old tour shirt, maybe it’s something they found in a thrift store for a couple of quid. The ‘fashion’ part was almost accidental, a byproduct of them just being them, playing their music.
So, for Dave? He ended up just wearing his usual stuff, maybe a bit more consciously. He kept the leather cuff. His band still sounds the same, which is what actually matters, right? But hey, at least he stopped stressing about looking like a ‘rockstar’ and just focused on, you know, rocking. It was a bit of a journey for him, and for me, just figuring that out.
That’s my two cents anyway. Took me a bit of faffing about to get there, but there you go. Don’t overthink it, I reckon. Just wear what feels right and can survive a mosh pit, maybe.
