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?