black and blue: this pair looks tough in all the right ways with deconstructed clothing and motorcycle boots, truly punk with their definition of gender boundaries and hairstyling
taylor is again looking perilously beautiful in black … a delicious combination of lush draping jersey anchored with S&M inspired leather accessories … dark, angular eye makeup keeps it a little dangerous
As I rifled through a stack of magazines earlier in the week I remembered this photo shoot from the March 2011 Vogue - I think it is interesting the way a high fashion magazine interprits punk fashion.
Only one of the 11 outfits in the shoot was all black, and two of the outfits had only black accessories, and one shot featured no black clothing. I am not trying to say that color has no place in punk fashion (it does!) but cream, white. pastel pink. and baby blue are poor choices to convey the excitement of punk. Vogue named this shoot “PUNK’D” and describes the editorial as showing how studs and safety pins add “unexpected polish” to an outfit. Most of the ensembles were looks that combined edgy accessories with skirt and pant suits or simple casual outfits comprised of printed tops and black pants. Though somewhat punk inspired, I think this shoot would have to go much further into the realm of punk clothes (talk to Vivienne Westwood!) to see if creepers and chains are enough to spruce up that tweed jacket and make it punk- why stop there?
the caption for the left side reads “THE MISFIT- The spirit of CBGB’s lives on in sharply tailored non-conformist looks that play with proportions.”
the outfit is by Balenciaga
on my last visit to SAIC’s Flaxman Library, I discovered this great book titles “GRUNGE” with photographs by Michael Lavine
I especially liked these two from the early 1980s because of how similar people dress and do their hair today…grunge/punk style has fluctuated with the times but the main identifiers are the same in these photographs as what I see on a Friday night- denim, chain, and definitely lots of black-though it doesn’t seem cliche
this photo is titled “Hanging Out”, and the one above is called “Parking Meter”
both were taken in Seattle
when asked, he has no answer for me as to why he is wearing black, but responded “why are you wearing black?”
i suspect subconsciously he decided on black because is associated with death, fear(as his vest reads), rebellion, and punk/hardcore culture
the best part of the look is his haircut and built in color his red hair gives to the outfit, in turn making his choice of all black stand out more
this outfit is successful because of the proportions acessories and mixture of textures and fabrics, contrasted with pastel purple lipstick
her Zana Bayne harness and leather/suede skirt add just the right amount of S&M edge to the look
Andrew wears black because…
black is mysterious
black is macabre, morbid and references death, a “dead drag queen”
black is a canvas for him to wear ironic/humorous items and play with his gender identity through clothing like leather leggings
I am creator of apermanentmarkr, designer,artist, and flaneur
…a blog inspired by punk zines focusing on avant-garde, rock & roll, punk, and androgynous fashion, specifically black clothes.
why do we wear black?
what does it mean?
