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music tastes and your style

Mochi

Veteran

If they were always a literal influence, I would be the most bizarre hodgepodge....hippie elements from the Beatles, some Ziggy Stardust getup, and then Lou Reed-type of true rock and roll leather jacket and jeans...not to mention slick 80's style (funnily, I wasn't into Madonna, but LOVED her early downtown NY style--could NOT pull it off). And whatever the hell you wear if you like The Decemberists. Seriously, all these bands (apart from the 80's groups) came before my time, so I was never in the moment to actually coast on their current influences and wear all that gear, and I don't feel the need to do it now...and partly I like to surprise people, I suppose (who would ever guess I was enamored of the Sex Pistols back in the day?)

How closely do you align your style with musical/cinematic/or other tastes? Is it obvious to others around you, or only you and your friends even know? Does it create an even deeper connection for you with the music, or is it just for pure fun? How challenging is it to pull off, if the object of your fandom is a man? Do you do a very loose, emotional interpretation, or go to photos to stick to the look as faithfully as you can?

(In college I took scissors to my hair and chopped off the bangs to look more like David Byrne, whom friends said I closely resembled....impulsive youth!)

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30 replies

Latest reply was from Mo

Aida

Veteran

I like all Good Music, but my top top top favorites are punk/ska, metal, classical, and jazz. I would say my style matches up with that

EDIT: Have to add 80s pop in there amongst the top faves.

HelenInCanada

Veteran

Fun thread! I am all over the place, musically speaking. In my youth, there was definitely a huge influence from new wave and romantics like The Cure, Depeche Mode, New Order, The Smiths, et al (lots of black, white poet blouses, and what the young 'uns are now calling 'emo' style)...and then there were the pop icons I enjoyed like Duran Duran, Platinum Blonde (Canadian awesomeness), Cyndi Lauper, Paul Young, Michael Jackson, Crowded House, A-ha, Heart, and yes, Madonna (funnily, for a phase, I DID pull off her messily-teased-hairsprayed-up-the-yin-yang hair, and zillion black rubber bracelets, wild chain necklaces, huge hair bow, and neon ankle socks, and lots of mesh and hip belts look!), Pat Benatar, the dance/house queens, and the list goes on. I wasn't necessarily a crazy "fan girl" - but I did appreciate great 80s music and enjoyed my little 'badges' of identification at that time. Now my music-fashion tastes only intersect in the form of a souvenir t-shirt when I go to concerts.

nicoleb

(website)

Veteran

Music is one of my favorite things so if my style reflected that i would end up a different person every day.

sarah

Veteran

Maybe I love my Frye Carson shorties because they remind me of Lucinda Williams!

citygirldc

(website)

Veteran

Music is still a big influence on me today as it was it was in my youth. If I think about the 80s, and 90s fashion had a big influence on me. Not as much today as I've gotten older and don't have anything to prove. Here are my influences:

late 70s: The Doors, The Beatles, Bowie, The Ramones, Blondie

80s: Duran Duran, The Cure, Depeche Music, Madonna, INXS, New Order, The Smiths, The Specials, Madness

early 90s: Sisters of Mercy, Nine Inch Nails, KMFDM, Nirvana, REM (RIP), Beck, Cranberries, Erasure

mid/late 90: - BEGINS MY BRIT POP PHASE TO THIS DAY: Radiohead Oasis, No Doubt, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Garbage, Republica, James, Cake

2000 and beyond: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Muse, Franz Ferdinand, The Strokes, The Virgins, The Kooks, Arctic Monkeys, Spoon, Keane, Matt Costa, Black Keys, The White Stripes, The Fratellis

Luckily, hubby and I are both into music so we try to see local bands play and support the local music scene.

citygirldc

(website)

Veteran

Oh and I wore lots of black during late 80s and early 90s during my emo college years. At one point my mom got worried because my whole wardrobe was black and thought there was something wrong with me. She knew nothing about early beatnik "mod" fashion. Mothers.

Aziraphale

Veteran

I thought the Decemberists were hipster/alternative?

Not sure if my sartorial style is closely tied in with my musical preferences. Perhaps I am a hipster, haha. Some of my current faves are Broken Bells, the Black Keys, Manchester Orchestra, Polyphonic Spree, the Raconteurs, Adele, and, yes, the Decemberists.

nicoleb

(website)

Veteran

I went to a Decemberists concert last Feb and it was full of mostly older folks and very few hipsters...kinda surprising but it's nice that they appeal to lots of different types!

Not quite like the Bon Iver concert...that was 100% hipster. XD

rae

(website)

Veteran

I say they definitely match... not a coincidence, since I look to musicians for inspiration a lot. A little bit nostalgic, a little bit angry, a little bit sad/pessimistic/dark. And sometimes sweetly quirky. Quotes included to give an impression, in case the artists aren't familiar.

1- tom waits - "I know karate. Voodoo, too."

2- roger miller - "engine, engine number 9/coming down the railroad line..."

3- nine inch nails - "I've got my fist. I've got my pen. I've got survivalism."

4- louise post of Veruca Salt - "Can't fight the seether..."

5- kurt cobain of Nirvana - "I'm not like them, but I can pretend."

6- fave TheThe album cover - Matt Johnson just seems to wear black all the time... Best. Album. Ever. "Strangers touching the parts that love cannot reach."

7- Elvis Costello - though fave album is Brutal Youth. "Don't try to touch my heart; it's darker than you think."

8- Elliott Smith - "...the potential you'll be - that you'll never see - the promises you'll only make..."

9- Axl Roxe - "As your arms get shorter, your pockets get deeper."

10 - Magnetic Fields - "My heart's runnin' 'round like a chicken with it's head cut off."

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annagybe

(website)

Veteran

I used to be a goth and once owned every album by Siouxsie and the Banshees, plus off-shoot The Creatures.
Now I listen to everything from Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, to Florence and the Machine. I also am a season subscriber to the Seattle Opera.

taylor

Veteran

My music tastes are so varied and diverse but my style is pretty set.

BUT my favorite fashion eras are from the 50's and 60's and most of my favorite music is also from that era...must be some correlation...!!
Good post

cciele

Veteran

I listen to many different types of music, but my favorite genres are funk, disco, and industrial. Unsurprisingly, my style leans towards funky 70s boho and 90s goth/industrial.

Jem

Veteran

I've always like R&B, I have no idea what that would translate style wise. Interesting topic.

Aziraphale

Veteran

@Nicoleb -- re. Decemberists concert -- yep, that sounds about right. At 39, I probably qualify as 'older folk' (at least from the perspective of those people young enough to really pay attention to the current music scene!) and I'd prefer not to be described as a 'hipster' (for some reason that word bugs me)....although there are elements of my style and outlook on life that are in sync with the so-called hipster look/attitude.

I've thought about this thread a bit more, and I think there is probably at least some correlation between a person's taste in clothing and their taste in music. I was trying to define my musical taste in a word, and the best one I can come up with is 'alternative'. Hard to pinpoint what that means, I know. But after nearly three decades of choosing music to listen to, you get a fairly broad range of things you like. Like everyone, of course I sometimes feel like listening to a symphony or the score from Lord of the Rings or, for the love of Pete, even goofy Christmas classics (am I the only one who can't get enough of Frank Sinatra singing Christmas songs?)
But flipping through my mental list of my favourite musicians or bands that were *current at the time*, for each phase of my life? That's what gives me a broad generalization of what my favourite music is. So, yes, alternative it is. Right back to my teen years in the 80s.

And it's a funny thing, but 'alternative' is one of the qualities I aspire to in the way I dress, too.

I think you're onto something here, Mochi.

Amy

(website)

Veteran

I love music, but don't think it affects my style choices at all.

I love David Byrne!

Anna, if you're up for it sometime, we should make a date to see an opera together. I have a hard time convincing my friends/family to go with me. *sigh*

RandomThoughts (Andrea)

Veteran

Totally into punk back in the day and looked the part. Got into Grunge... same. I sort of "fell out" of the music scene and my style went to hell. Coincidence?

I sort of rediscovered my love of music and fashion and have been nurturing it since about 7 or 8 years ago. My musical tastes have broadened to include metal, folk/ethnic, electronica, zeff (go Die Antwoord!), swing, jazz, classic rock blah blah blah. I think my style has also broadened.

Still a punker/metal chick at heart though.

Aida

Veteran

\m/ to punk/metal chick at heart, Andrea! Me too, always

Mander

(website)

Veteran

When I was really into goth, and later "third wave" ska, I dressed the part to a degree. Lots of black, lace, and big boots for the first phase, and lots of houndstooth, argyle, and menswear in general for the latter. I still have some influences from these looks, but I never really tried to fully copy the look of any particular artist.

I can imagine a Decemberists show being full of people dressed like Dr Who, with tweed jackets and bow ties. But with jeans.

londonkiwi (now back in NZ)

Veteran

Really interesting topic. I am pretty run of the mill I think in terms of my music preferences - mostly pop and rock with a few alternative bits and pieces thrown in, also the odd bit of musical theatre, classical pieces and opera. I also seem to be influenced by advertising as some of my favourite songs are ones that have been used in adverts.

I use music to influence my mood and as a pick me up. Sometimes I use my favourite clothes in the same way.

Deborah

Veteran

In my teens and twenties my style was very closely tied to the music I listened to. I was very into the new romantic scene of the 80's and had a love of all thingS "mod" from the 60's. My translation of 60's style was very literal and I think at times it still has an influence as I love the streamlined, minimal look of that decade. As I have gotten a little older my musical tastes have become more diverse and my expression through fashion has probably become more classic.

Vildy

Veteran

What a great theme! I've enjoyed reading this so much. I like things that are simple, repetitive, emphatic: percussive! I'm the kind of person who calms down by listening to explosive frenetic music like ragas that build to release. Smooth jazz makes my nerves scream.

One of old time musician boyfriends laughed at me, saying I was so primitive and showing me that some of my favorite songs Cherry Cherry, La Bamba, Billy Jean... were the *same* song. I like doing things to a faretheewell. When I am at the symphony, all I really like is how the tympanist has a physical, erotic relationship with the drums. When I met my husband, I took him back to my apartment and said, Listen to this! It was John Phillip Sousa marches I was playing for him at 3 a.m. He gave me an incredulous look. I am the opposite of dark. Yet my closet in winter can be soooo dark.

I was inspired by a recent thread that asked what were your favorite colors to wear and your favorite colors otherwise and were they the same or different. Realized, in answering, that I am happy in my warm weather palette, which is zingier. And, though muted in appearance, I want bold contrast in my clothes: percussive. So I watched by chance a video of Imogen's where she answered this dilemma and said to just stair step it and include a medium tone. Yes! This worked. Realized I craved wearing white - not winter white. So I got out my one and only pair of white thin fabric jeans (my other white pants are summer pique) and decided I would be happy if I got more white pants and built around that. And by chance, the same morning, I read some reference to Joy of Cooking. Played Brownsville on the computer, one of my favorite songs and realized my wardrobe longings feel exactly like that. I am a boppy, rolling tumbling kind of person. I am exhilarated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pSAcsG0Hk0

Sharon

Veteran

I don't think my musical tastes really influence my style. I love blues and folk music (Nina Simone, Paul Kelly, The Whitlams) which conjures up images of boho clothing styles to me, a very long way from my preferred look.

Vildy

Veteran

I looked through my music and could see this pattern of a yearning melodic throughline
underlaid with building frenzy. One of my favorite songs is Moshe Oysher's Amar Amar.
He's singing/yelling about .... peace!

When I ran for school board, I got laryngitis and still could manage to make myself heard without a microphone. Not a quality my family appreciates much. At the time, an acquaintance said of my clothing vs personality: You look so gentle but you're BOLD!
I should've started then getting the gentle out of the clothing. It's such false advertizing.

Mochi

Veteran

Vildy, I love how your mind works! Are you a writer? And there's some value in catching people by surprise, heh.

Every picture I've seen of Lucinda Williams, she's always looked exactly how her music sounds: straightforward, spare, honest, unadorned, unpretentious.

I can see a connection between the catchy sounds of Duran Duran's meticulously crafted pop and Angie's bold, happy style.

Talking Heads was one of my favorites back in college in the early 80's. They were very minimalist, and at the same time their rhythym was expansive and hypnotic--it was just stripped down in a very idiosyncratic way. David Byrne's clothes at the time were like that--Japanese-inspired, minimalist and yet outlandish and theatrical (or else they wore jeans and t-shirts).

Ah, also in college I loved The Style Council, a two-guy duo who were all about Paris and London Cool and jazz and mod Italian suits, super-detailed loafers, scarves, sunglasses....what a killer look they had that meshed perfectly with their exuberant, sophisticated pop songs.

I tried dressing punk and in other British-influenced pop styles (it was a dismal failure...where was YLF back then?). Now, I love all kinds of music, including classical, and there's no particular musical ambience I'm trying to capture. I'm just curious about people who seem to present a very consistent style in various facets of their tastes, and it's always fascinating to consider where our style urges originate from anyway. Brenda Kinsel repeatedly uses the term "style DNA." It would be cool, and a lot less work, if we all had the answers fully formed inside us, and merely had to figure a way to let them speak!

Anonymous

What a great post! I think my musical preferences probably do influence my style. I'm a classically trained pianist, and my clothing style is classic chic. Back in the late '70s and all through the '80s, I played and sang professionally for weddings. My repertoire included classical music as well as pop music (whatever the bride and groom asked me to play). Since my husband is from Central America, I love the rhythmic and melodic music of that part of the world. I also enjoy listening to groups like Celtic Woman.

Isabel

Veteran

Sarah, I love Lucinda Williams !!

I love all kinds of music, except jazz. When I was growing up I was a total metal and hair band fan. Absolutely not a reflection at all of how I dressed. Queen has been one of my favorite, if not THE favorite for me for 25 years, and I have never worn that much white or white hot pants like my love Freddie Mercury ......thank God ! LOL ( Freddy did have the body for it , though. )

I also really like hip hop and rap, but I don't follow that route either. Though Mary J Blige and Queen Latifah, have become quite elegant. And then there is Lady Gaga, Elton John and Nikki Manj......great music, very interesting outfits....aspirational ? Not so much .

Aida wrote about this once and I found it interesting that some people like to and can somehow embody music in the way they dress.

banananutmuffin

I tend to like three types of music: country, "my generation" metal (i.e. Metallica, Ozzy), and current "rock" (i.e. Nickelback). With the occasional nod to 80s/90s stuff that's nostalgic for me (i.e. Guns N Roses).

I live in denim and black clothes, but don't think this is a reflection of my taste in music. Although I have been wanting a pair of cowboy boots...

Mochi

Veteran

I like a lot of cowboy boots recently, but I'd feel like a poser in them...

rachylou

Veteran

Well, almost all of the original punks had killed themselves off by the time I came of age. Hung with a few, tho, still alive and obviously developmentally arrested - since they were like 20 and I was 14. I was sorta punky mod - mod because that was what was in the thrift stores then, 50s/60s stuff tossed from the attic. I didn't really like punk, to be honest, but I listened to it all the time because that was my crowd. Funny enough, now I do really like punk. Disco has also grown on me.

But music and my style are totally separate now.

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