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How to Dress Like a Grownup Punk

I love a little punkiness or a little tough, but I have no desire to dress like a 12-year-old Hot Topic wannabe (I'm 27), and most of the places I shop (I'm cheap! thrift/vintage, H&M, sales) aren't very heavy on the punk influence. How do I add some punk or tough influences to what I wear, and where do I look to find pieces that will help me do this?

Lucky me, I'm a postdoc, so I can wear whatever I want style-wise--the only limits are basic modesty/politeness, comfort, and what I actually want to wear!

The latest reply was from Eve . You can follow further contributions to the conversation through the RSS 2.0 feed.


One Reply

Posted 1 year ago

Accessories! I definitely think it's possible to take the same jeans and t-shirt look and make it look as funky/edgy/punk/cutesy/whatever as you want. For instance, if you took those jeans and t-shirt and added a j. crew cardigan, loafer-ish flats, pearl earrings, and a wide fabric headband, you're going to come out looking kind of preppy. If you take the jeans and t-shirt and added a leather/pleather jacket (like this: http://store.delias.com/item.d.....ndFilter=), some long chainy necklaces ( http://www.wetseal.com/catalog.....ctId=16590 ), a bunch of mix-matched bangles ( http://www.forever21.com/produ.....38;Page=1# with http://www.forever21.com/produ.....#38;Page=2 maybe) or a big cuff (even something like http://www.urbanoutfitters.com.....CESSORIES), and some cool shoes. Throw on a bit of dramatic makeup and you're good to go.

I think the key is figuring out which elements of the punk look appeal to you, and then finding them in more sophisticated pieces. If it's wearing a lot of black, well, you can buy black clothes anywhere. If it's the metal influence of pyramid belts and zippers and things, look for belts/jewelry with chunky metal features. If that's what you do like, you're in luck because zippers and pyramid studs are everywhere these days. For myself, I know that even if I'm wearing the girliest of outfits, I always feel a little more 'tough' because of the way I usually wear makeup (rim my eyes all the way around in black eyeliner, with bright green eyeshadow and a bit of blackest black mascara, which you can sort of see here: http://img.photobucket.com/alb.....oto13.jpg).

That was long, and with a million links. Hope it's at least a little bit helpful!

Posted 1 year ago