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Writer's pictureMatt Reed

Side effects of alternate style

totally not a picture of Kurt Cobain slightly AI modded to avoid copyright.
This lady is wearing grunge. I'm guessing that she just realized that her fashion is over 30 years old.


When I was somewhere between 12 and 15 I saw a music video from the band BUSH. I felt like I had been heard, I felt like I could relate. I tried to communicate the impact that this music video had on me to my peers and they responded with: "Isn't it kinda gross though?"


What was happening was I was connecting to grunge. Not everyone connects to grunge, style is a pretty subjective thing. Grunge is kind of dirty looking - I would say that it's more real - or maybe that's what I would say as a teenager.


Here's my connection to grunge. I personally am less concerned with shallow things, how someone looks or presents themselves. I am more concerned with intent, motivation, heart, those things that aren't easily presented. What better way to cut through the noise than to start off making less noise. Just saying: "Here I am. Here's the clothes I'm wearing. I'll put in some effort to avoid people staring but anymore than that is just being presumptuous."

Why put so much effort into a presentation of yourself to people that don't really see you for who you are? Why try to fool anyone into thinking you are someone else? Why not just present yourself?

What does this have to do with grunge? To me grunge wasn't a style. I didn't go out of my way to look like I was wearing distressed clothes, I just wore the clothes I had and they happened to look distressed. I do enjoy wearing tired t-shirts, pants with mineral spirit stains on them, maybe there's a hole in them. I have a red t-shirt that no longer looks red -

I asked a co-worker: "What color is this shirt that I'm wearing"

"It looks pink"

"Nah. It's tired red."

To me it looks industrious, unassuming, real, I'm calling it "Homeless Chic". If I get mistaken for a homeless person by the way I dress - well... great. If you want to know more about me you will have to put in effort to get to know me. I'm not going to do your work for you in getting to know me.


This comes up because I was talking to a friend about how I kind of like the way that mineral spirits on my cargo pants have given them a rippled effect. I used the phrase "Homeless Chic" for the first time with him.


One more side effect to "Homeless Chic" is that no one thinks that you are worth stealing from, or being conned, or that you are full of yourself. This kind of "advertising" of myself I am totally ok with. Also this style has nothing to do with derelicte - there are no garbage bags incorporated into my every day wear.

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