The
punk style is a very
unique one. It first came about in the
1970's when it was actually
original. It has evolved over the years, and now is basically a take off on what was once
offensive and original.
Today, there are many different punk
sub-genres. Each sub-genre has a different style to it. You have
77 kids, who take on the whole "
spirit of '77"
attitude, taking their style from the original punks.
Crusty punks are your
dirtier,
hippie-like punks. They often preach of
animal liberation,
veganism,
feminism, many of them are homeless, etc... Basically, there are many different kinds of punk kids.
The
standard 'punk' dress today is a pair of
doc martins,
black stretch pants with
patches of bands, or
plaid pants, a
band shirt(most likely ripped), and a
leather jacket that is
painted and
studded to all hell. Many punks dress like this, but there are many other things they will wear. Some replace the leather jacket with a
jean vest, girls will often wear
ripped up fishnets with a
short skirt, and sometimes doc martin boots are replaced with
creepers.
One thing I have noticed is that the original punk kids were much more
offensive in the way they dressed. One thing that comes to mind, was
sid vicious' "
two gay cowboys" t-shirt. It depicted to cowboys standing facing each other, both of their pants were down and you could see their
genitals. At the bottom it said "
'ello Joe, been anywhere lately? Nah it's all been played out aht Bill gettin' too straight."
One thing that amazes me is how much
the media, and stores like
hot topic try to exploit the essence of punk, from everything to the
underground bands, to how punks dress. It really amazes me how hard kids try to look punk today. Their idols are green day, blink-182, and Avril Lavigne. That is not punk rock, never has, and never will be punk. Some kids try to take off their style and call it punk.
The original punk dress was about
originality, yet a lot of it was bought from the store "
Sex" that
Vivianne Westwood started in London. Also, a lot of it was
homemade, but bands like the
sex pistols were often found shopping there. Something I hear a lot towards punk kids is
"aren't you guys trying to be original? You all look the same!" If punk was about being original, being different, not being like ANYONE else, they wouldn't call themselves punks would they? They'd call themselves
individuals. It's not really so much about individuality. Some people say it's all about fashion, but that's definitely not true, except to so-called
fashion punks.
In conclusion, I can't really tell you what punk style and punk fashion is all about. But I can tell you that it isn't a store-bought thing. The punkest thing you can do is
DIY (Do it yourself!). I know punk kids who spend hours sewing their pants tight, studding their jackets, making their own patches, etc... Which is great because they're not buying it in a store, but at what point does "punk" become a fashion thing over being about the music? Over being a part of you, as opposed to a
uniform?