punk fashion

8/10/2019 Punk Fashion

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Punk fashion refers to the style of dress for people within thepunk subculture. When punk music was first established in the1970's, punk clothes tended to be rebellious, wild, and shocking.While the 70's look was a far cry from the style of punk now,during the time it was considered very confrontational.

Designers like Vivienne Westwoodgreatly influenced the punkfashions of the time, as well as punk icons the Ramones.

Torn t-shirts, offensive clothing, and anarchy symbols were verypopular with the punk subculture during the 70's.


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Additionally, controversial images, patches, and studded orplain leather jackets were staples of the punk style andremain prevalent today.

Footwear for the alternative clothing scene generally variedfrom Chuck Taylors to motorcycle boots. Bondage clothing,tapered jeans, and leather pants dominated the punkclothing scene as well.

This was also the time where hairstyles took a radical routeand began to appear in bright colors and short lengths. Thiswas only the beginning of what would become even morecontroversial in the world of fashion.


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A French punk in 1981, wearing a customizedblazer, as was popular in the early punk scene.

Punk fashion is the clothing,

hairstyles, cosmetics, jewellery, andbody modifications of the punksubculture. Punk fashion varieswidely, ranging from VivienneWestwood designs to styles modelled

on bands like The Exploited.

The distinct social dress of othersubcultures and art movements,including glam rock, skinheads, rudeboys, greasers, and mods haveinfluenced punk fashion. Punkfashion has likewise influenced thestyles of these groups, as well as thoseof popular culture. Many punks useclothing as a way of making a

statement.


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Punk rock was an intentional rebuttal of the perceivedexcess and pretension found in mainstream music (oreven mainstream culture as a whole), and early punkartists' fashion was defiantly anti-materialistic.

Generally unkempt, often short hairstyles replaced thelong-hair hippie look and the usually elaborate 1970srock/disco styles. In the United States, dirty, simpleclothes - ranging from the T-shirt/jeans/leather jacket

Ramones look to the low-class, second-hand "dress"clothes of acts like Television or Patti Smith - werepreferred over the expensive or colourful clothingpopular in the disco scene.


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In the United Kingdom, a great deal of punk fashion from the1970s was based on the designs of Vivienne Westwood andMalcolm McLaren and the Bromley Contingent. McLaren hascredited this style to his first impressions of Richard Hell, whileMcLaren was in New York City working with New York Dolls.These T-shirts, like other punk clothing items, were often torn onpurpose. The clothes suited the lifestyle of those with limitedcash due to unemployment and the general low income schoolleavers or students often experience. Punks cut up old clothes

from charity and thrift shops, destroyed the fabric andrefashioned outfits in a manner then thought a crudeconstruction technique, making garments designed to attractattention. It deconstructed garments into new forms.Trousers were deliberately torn to reveal laddered tights and

dirty legs. They were worn with heavy Doc Martens footwear, autilitarian, practical traffic meter maid type of footwear in thatera, not seen on many young women until then. Safety pins andchains held bits of fabric together.


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o After the shocking rebellion of the1970's, the punk fashion sceneunderwent a revolution of its own andbegan to focus more on functionalitythan shock factor. Dr. Martens and

combat boots (often with steel toes)became the footwear of choice amongthe majority of punk followers. Plaidskirts, torn jeans, and heavy chainswere the most common items wornduring the 1980's.


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UK punks displaying

elements of early and

1980s punk fashions.

Some punks bought T-shirts orplaid flannel shirts and wrotepolitical slogans, band names orother punk-related phrases on themwith marker pens. While this wasnot without precedent in the 1970s,

the depth and detail of theseslogans were not fully developeduntil the 1980s. Silkscreened T-shirts with band logos or otherpunk-related logos or slogans werealso popular. Studded, painted andotherwise customised leather

jackets or denim vests became morepopular during this era, as thepopularity of the earliercustomized blazers waned. Hairwas either shaved, spiked or in acrew cut or Mohawk hairstyle.


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Contemporary Punk Fashion


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Street Punk

Glam Punk

Hardcore

Anarcho-Punk

Oi! Skinheads

Crust Punk

Gothic rock, deathrock and horror punk

Psychobilly and cowpunk Skate punk

Pop punk


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In general, modern punks wear leather,

denim, spikes, chains, and combatboots. They often wear elements ofearly punk fashion, such as kuttenvests, bondage pants (often plaid) andtorn clothing.

There is a large influence by DIY-created and modified clothing, such as

ripped or stitched-together pants orshirts.

Hair is typically dyed in bright,unnatural colours such as red, blue,green, pink or orange and arrangedinto a mohawk or liberty spikes. Haircould also be cut very short or shaved.

Belts with metal studs, and bullet belts,are popular.

Leather or denim jackets and vestsoften have patches or are painted withlogos that express musical tastes orpolitical views. Pants are usuallytapered tightly. Metal spikes or studs

are often added to jackets and vests.


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Glam punk is the oldestpunk style, associated withthe early groups of the1970s like the New York

Dolls. Glitter, androgynousmake-up, brightly-dyedhair, drainpipe jeans (inreaction to the flaredtrousers worn by hippies),

bright colours like electricblue and unusual costumeslike leopard print or satinshirts are frequently worn.


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There are several styles of dress within the hardcore scene, and styles havechanged since the genre started as hardcore punk in the late 1970s. What isfashionable in one branch of the hardcore scene may be frowned upon inanother.

Clothing styles are often chosen to make moshing easier to perform. Plainworking class dress and short hair (with the exception of dreadlocks) are

usually associated with hardcore punk. Mute colors and minimal adornment are usually common. Some elements of

hardcore clothing are baggy jeans or work pants, athletic wear, cargo ormilitary shorts, khakis or cargo pants, band T-shirts, plain T-shirts, muscleshirts, and band hoodies. Many hardcore punks wear sportswear, such astracksuits, and sneakers.

Common sneakers include classic Adidas, Puma, Pony, Nike, Conversehigh-tops, and Vans shoes. Boots are also somewhat common, especially Dr.Martens


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Oi! skinheads, sometimes known as skunks orpunk-skinheads, are a fusion of traditionalskinhead fashion and street punk fashion. Thelook is characterised by 14 to 20 eyelet DocMartens boots (or similar boots made by adifferent brand), braces, and tight rolled-up

jeans, sometimes splattered with bleach. Other common items are T-shirts (featuring

band names, political beliefs, or text/imagesrelevant to skinhead culture) and denimjackets or flight jackets. These jackets are oftendecorated with buttons or patches, and in thecase of the denim jackets, sometimes

splattered with bleach. Hair was typically shaved shorter than with

traditional skinheads. Other items fromtraditional skinhead fashion (e.g. Fred Perryand Ben Sherman shirts) and, to a lesserextent, punk fashion (e.g. short mohawkhairstyles, metal studs on jackets) are also

worn.


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Crust punk fashion is an extreme evolution oftraditional punk fashion, and is heavilyinfluenced by bands such as Doom, Amebix andAntisect.

Typical crust punk fashion includes black orcamouflage trousers or shorts covered in patches(heavy work pants are popular for their

durability), torn band T-shirts or hoodies coveredin patches, studded vests and jackets (commonlyblack denim), bullet belts, jewellery made fromhemp and other natural/found objects, andsometimes bum flaps. Patches, even bandpatches, are often of a political nature.

Clothing tends to be unwashed and unsanitary

by conventional standards, and dreadlocks arepopular. Crust punks sometimes sew articles ofclothing with found or cheaply-bought materials,such as dental floss. Baseball caps with patchessewn on or studs implanted are popularheadgear. Pants are often held up with string,hemp, or vegan-friendly imitation leather(sometimes avoided due to the style's connectionwith animal cruelty).


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Psychobilly emerged in the 1980s and combines

punk with elements of 1950s Greaser and BritishTeddy Boy fashion: brothel creepers are frequentlyworn, as well as leather jackets, gas-station shirts,black or white retro T-shirts and vintagemotorcycle/work boots. Hair consists of a quiff orpompadour, usually with the sides shaved into amohawk. Clothing is usually adorned with motifs

inspired by classic American horror films or art-styles inspired by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth. This styleof punk is strongly associated with the KustomKulture movement.

Cowpunk blends punk with outlaw country,Southern rock and rock and roll. Fans of cowpunk

base their look on Southern United States poorboys: vintage western wear like checked shirts,Perfecto motorcycle jackets, wifebeaters, overalls,and cowboy boots. Hair can be a short quiff, crewcut, long, or a psychobilly-style mohawk, andfacial hair is acceptable for males.


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Skate punk is a derivative ofhardcore fashion, chosen withcomfort and practicality in mind.Common skate punk clothingitems include: T-shirts, flannelbutton-down shirts, hooded

sweatshirts, webbing belts, andkhaki shorts, pants or jeans. Somepunks, especially in SouthernCalifornia, mirror Latino gangstyles including khaki Dickieswork pants, white T shirts andcolored bandanas. While someskateboarders have long andmessy hair skate punks usuallyhave short hair, often shaved intoa buzzcut, and wear littlejewelery.


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Pop punk fashion sometimes overlaps

with skater punk fashion. Originallythis consisted of black or tartan baggypants (sometimes fited with studs andeyelets), band hoodies, wristbands,patrol caps, pyramid stud belts, dressshirts with thin ties or scarves, blazers,

and spiky hair.

Pop punk fashion, influenced byindie, hip-hop and the middle classemo subculture, evolved to includecartoon print hoodies, Converse

shoes, keffiyehs and drainpipe pants.Spiky hair was gradually replaced byskater styles with long fringes orbangs. In the 2010s, pop punk fanstook on a more hardcore look withshorter hair (including a wide

Mohawk combined with a fringe),plain hoodies, and straight-leg jeans.

punk fashion

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