Music genre dictates listeners’ fashion
By Nikki Lane
Music and fashion always flock together. From the days when fans of swing and big band music strutted around the town with their hair slicked back and their zoot suits, wing tipped shoes and fedoras on for everyone to see, or since the birth of punk in the mid 1970s that gave us facial piercings, neon colored Mohawks and plaid cut offs, fashion has played a vital role in music.
Why is it that we dress like the music we listen to? I just can’t understand why you should limit your wardrobe and stereotype yourself just because of the songs on your iPod/MixTape/8-Track/CD/Ghetto Blaster.
Do hippies generally like their dreadlocks and tie-dye or do they like the music? Did B-Boys and B-Girls like the jumpsuits they wore? Did they think they were comfortable for break dancing or did they just think that Jam Master Jay looked awesome?
Do people that listen to country need to wear cowboy boots and Wranglers? Or do they enjoy sweaty feet and tight pants?
We have all been guilty of it. For me, in high school it was all about ska and old school punk. I wore the cut off pants from Goodwill and the T-Shirts with suspenders.
I don’t need to dress like the music I listen to because I don’t have those high school insecurities and I don’t need to look like a certain group of people.
I also feel that this is COLLEGE. It’s time to start growing up and your high school threads are starting to look a bit ridiculous. I’m not saying you can’t listen to the same music I plan on listening to The Misfits until the day I die, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to look like it.
You should wear what you like, not what the genre of music you listen to dictates. I’m sure that if you looked at me you couldn’t tell that I have a penchant for Doo Wop and Gangsta Rap.
For once I would like to meet someone who dresses like a hippie and whose favorite band is AC/DC instead of Bob Marley, or a trendy girl with big sunglasses and Chanel earrings that prefers The Ramones over Lindsey Lohan. Because, after all, how interesting is it to meet someone new and already know them?
hoodia
Let me start this comment by thanking u for putting into words some of my frustrations concerning music and stereotypes. I listen to a lot of different kinds of music, regardless of genre or how many other ppl like the band. My stuff ranges from U2 to Mae and The Used all the way back to Mozart and Maroon 5. Several of the ppl I know (okay, MOST of the ppl I know) only listen to the bands they think other ppl like. Not b/c they wouldn’t like other stuff, but b/c they are afraid their little bands of friends will make fun of them if they decide to love AC/DC AND Mae. Goodness forbid. A lot of the stuff I have been listening to lately (especially The Used and Mae) are refered to by the general public as “emo” bands. Emo being emotional. So for everyone who asks me why I listen to emo but don’t wear all black and contemplate suicide my question is this: Aren’t emotions an integral part in every form of music? When did that become a seperate genre? And why do ppl think I have to wear all black and pierce odd parts of my body in order to enjoy that type of music? I don’t think I have to do any of those things, I think if I like listening to it, and I buy it, then that should be enough. The whole black lipstick thing shouldn’t be a requirement for The Used. But that’s just me.
:):) In conclusion I appreciate the fact that someone else brought that up, if for no other reason than I got to rant about it. hehehe