In terms of
fashion, ‘indie’, which is short for independent,
originates from a bunch of music-crazed kids who dress outside the commercial
mainstream and take style advice from their favourite bands. Think vintage,
think grandmas-closet; think ‘cool’. These kids pay as much attention to what
they wear as to what they are listening to.
‘Grunge’, on the
other hand, is a tad more rebellious. Also centering around music, ‘grunge’
became seriously popular in the 1990s after punk rock/heavy metal bands started
immerging. The infamous band, Nirvana, was significantly responsible for the
influx of ripped jeans, black tee’s and converse shoes. You can blame Kurt
Cobain for the ‘messy’ look that was now the ‘it’ look.
So for the
latest trendsetters, where preppy is too plain and gothic far too grotesque,
they are finding a perfect balance in indie grunge (or ‘soft grunge’ for the
faint hearted). They are able to capture the quintessential combination between
clean and unclean, light and dark, sweet yet shocking. And they are achieving this feat by blending
the more desirable elements of each fashion look.
Now that you
think about it, I bet you have seen many indie grunge innovators walking the
streets in your city, or perhaps, like myself, you are one?
We are the ones
dressed almost head-to-toe in charity-shop clothes, a ring on every finger and
wearing Dr. Martens as if they are going out of fashion (which, by the way,
they never will). We rock the seriously-disheveled-yet-chic look; no one is
entirely certain if we spent hours getting dressed or merely threw on an outfit
and hoped for the best. Indeed, we are the girls that you wonder, “how on earth
is she pulling that off?”
Welcome to the
world of indie grunge, where mainstream is monotonous and less is never more.
Pile on those bangles, apply that crazy-shade lipstick and take a walk down the
dark side if you dare!
Even the fashion-elite, such as Kate Moss,
Alexa Chung and Mary Kate and Ashlee Olsen have been known to jump on the indie
grunge bandwagon from time to time, showing us the effortless glamour that
comes with this look. Let’s be honest though, these girls could wear a hessian
sack and cause a sell out in hardware stores all over the world (they make
anything look like it has come off the runway, sigh). Just recently, the now
media-frenzied star, Miley Cirus, has also shown us glimpses of indie grunge,
with even a new haircut to match. Go all out, or go home. That’s the new saying
isn’t it?
Taking a leaf
out of Miley’s book (or rather she read their book first and stole the leaf),
indie grunge trendsetters are all about the hair. Natural, boho hair is a thing
of the past; these girls are chopping their locks into a blunt bob and
bleaching to an intense white. And those who are wanting to keep their long hues;
semi-permanent colours are ever so popular to electrify and dip-dye ends.
Rapunzel with a hint of rebellion. Pink hair, green hair, or blue hair, as long
as it’s any thing other than ‘al naturale’: it’s all part of the look.
Creating the indie grunge style requires a
desire to be different and a knack of combining the beautiful and the ugly, the
expensive and the cheap, as well as the quirky-but-cool. The sure-fire options include:
- Dr. Martens
- Cross Neclaces
- Charity-Shop finds: festival leather bags, oversized jackets, buttoned up shirts, faux fur, gypsy hat
- Black opaque tights
- Creepers
- Fur
- Printed leggings
- Grandma Cardigans
- Multitude of rings
- Converse high tops
- Quirky shades
- Studded jackets
- Leather brogues
- Black Boots, baby
- Anything cat related. Meeeoow!
