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Fashion is constantly changing and some of the styles from previous decades have also made their way back.
Retro styles are all over the place. Think of the Y2K revival and you’ll see bell bottoms, baggy trousers, colorful highlights, and chokers all over the internet. Gen Z loves to recreate old styles with a new twist. And of course, add a classic that never goes out of style: a band Tee.
Fashion is always repeating itself, but it’s also evolving. Some of the horrific styles may be back, but, you can add a modern twist to each of them. However, there are also stylish classics such as plaid, leather, animal print, Dr. Martens, Converse, Vans, etc. That's also the case with retro styles from the 60s, 70s, and 80s.
However, if you want to channel a certain retro look, and not look like you’re going to a costume party, you need to tone it down and keep it classic. For example, you can take jeans and a band Tee and add some accessories that are appropriate for the period.
Let’s have a quick look at the most notable alternative rock trends of the previous decades listed chronologically, and then we’ll return to the more recent ones.
The 60s
The 60s were a period of some major changes. The first half of the decade was surely influenced by the conservative styles of the 50s. In America, The Vietnam War was coming to an end, and the Feminist movements and Civil Rights were at the beginning. Young people wanted rebellion, creativity, and self-expression. This was also the time when rock festivals started. Some of the most Rock’n’roll 60s trends include boho and hippie styles, animal prints, afro hair, tye-dye, and batik.
Probably some of the most important fashion styles in history were born in the ‘60s: hippie and boho, but they also continued in the 70s. So what’s the difference between boho and hippie, you ask?
Boho is a little bit more bougie and extravagant, with long flowing skirts, accessories such as hats or fringe bags, and lots and lots of jewelry, cowboy boots and lace-up sandals, and peasant-inspired clothing.
The hippie look is more toned-down, with bell bottoms, peace signs, patchwork, wests, bare feet, and vintage-inspired band Tees.
Source: Needpix
The 70s
Most people agree that the 70s were the most influential and eclectic out of all fashion eras, even though it is basically characterized by no rules. After the bright fashions from the 60s, the 70s brought a more calm, earthy color palette.
Since the 70s were a period of transition, in both fashion and society as a whole, people were able to express themselves more freely. Trends became more versatile than ever.
Some of the trends from the 60s were still around, and even more popular, such as afros, platforms, bell bottoms, and tassels. But the 70s era also brought new trends such as punk, glam rock, and disco, so we will now focus on them.
The glam rock movement included fashion such as androgynous velvet or metallic suits, turbans, thin glitter scars, platforms, flared pants, biker jackets, leather mini skirts, etc.
Today, for example, one can wear a band tee with animal print pants, a blazer, and platforms and add bold makeup and a scarf for a typical glam rock outfit.
Source: Wikipedia
A typical punk look includes a band Tee, a plaid skirt, a mohawk, black skinny jeans, fishnet or ripped tights (or both), dr. Martens and lots of studs and jewelry, chains, spikes, and bold makeup.
Source: Pikist
The 80s
Although it was considered one of the worst decades in fashion, but also some of the most experimental ones, some of the trends managed to stick around. Some of them included bold makeup, teased hair, and ripped jeans.
From punk emerged goth fashion (now referred to as old-school goth), with long black skirts and dresses, piercings, fishnet sleeves and stockings, occult jewelry, spikes, chains, leather, lace, and bondage.
The 90s
After all the glamour of previous decades, the recession took over and also took its toll on fashion. The 90s are all about minimalism and the most important fashion and music style, of course, is grunge. Imagine the kids from the Craft movie and you will get the idea - understated, dark, and grungy with a hint of school girl. Some of the most notable trends from the 90s are dark makeup, velvet or tattoo chokers, over-the-knee socks, Dr. Martens, and plaid.
So what does grunge fashion look like? The 90s bands were more like anti-fashion, letting the music speak for itself. Think of Kurt Cobain in the dark smokey scene of MTV unplugged, in a graphic Tee, layered with a shirt and a beige cardigan. Totally opposite of what you would call a rock star, right? Yeah.
Source: Flickr
A typical grunge outfit consists of a flannel shirt, jeans, Dr. Martens or Converse, a choker for girls, and - you guessed it - a band Tee.
The 2000s
Perhaps the most notable trend of the decade was nu metal, followed by goth, emo, and scene fashion (in the late 2000s).
A typical nu metal outfit would consist of a tight band tee (for girls), baggy trousers, dreadlocks, and skater sneakers, such as old-school Vans or Osiris.
Source: Wikipedia
Cybergoth was the combination of goth, and another trend popular in the 200s - rave. Cybergoth was characterized by baggy pants with neon accents everywhere, goggles, gas masks, tall platforms, cyber locks - something like neon dreadlocks - fishnet t-shirts, tight leather or PVC pants or even skirts on men as well as corsets for males or females.
Source: Pickpik
The 50s Psychobilly and rockabilly was another trend in the mid-2000s, characterized by hairstyles such as psychobilly mohican and pompadour for men.
In the late 2000s, it was also popular for women to dress in two different 50s-inspired styles, rockabilly, and pinup, perhaps thanks to the late singer Amy Winehouse.
Pinup girls wore tight wiggle dresses, animal prints, sky-high platform heels, curly hair, red lips, halters and stockings, and old-school tattoos.
Source: Vimeo
The rockabilly look is more sweet than sexy, with a-line skirts and dresses, tiny heels or ballet flats, cardigans, capri pants, bandanas, gingham, and polka dot prints and of course, the red lips, curly hair, and tattoos are also there. This trend was also an inspiration for the hugely popular ED Hardy label, which was at its peak between 2007 and 2012.
Source: AFDW
In 2005, the indie pop fashions started to get popular in Europe and North America, as a revival of the 1960s mod fashions, or thrift and vintage store fashion. The related hipster crowd, which wore vintage clothes ironically more than as a statement, started in North America in the late 2000s.
The counterculture that emerged in the late to mid-2000s was also emo, characterized by band Tees such as My Chemical Romance, Panic at the Disco, and Fall Out Boy, studded belts, side-fringe, hair that was either too bright or too dark or dyed an unnatural color, such as purple or red, skinny jeans, chains, snakebites, and Converse or Vans.
Source: Wallpaperflare
In the late 2000s scene kids emerged, which was basically emo, but more colorful. Scene girls had long hair, with lots of extensions, unnatural colors, highlights or “coon tails”, lots of piercings, cartoon, kawaii or band Tees, tutu skirts with lots of bows, and of course, Converse and Vans.
An interesting fact is that the term ‘scene queen” was actually a derogatory term back in the 70s in the glam rock era for a heterosexual person pretending to be homosexual. Later it used to mean “poseur” within the UK punk, goth, and heavy metal subcultures.
“Scene queen” was later adopted by the subculture’s leading MySpace celebrities, who probably didn’t know its original meaning, including the “queen” Audrey Kitching.
The 2010s
As with the 90s, the anti-trend became a trend and subcultures went mainstream in the 2010s. These subcultures were named normcore, and Gen-Z Internet culture fashion.
The 2010s fashion included more understated pieces than the previous decade, with hipster fashion, athleisure, 90s styles influenced by grunge, and skater fashions, with the emerging scene of influencers on Instagram, Pinterest, and later on TikTok.
The early 2010s saw a revival of grunge and hippie fashions, with skater skirts, thigh-high stockings, band tees, ripped jeans and jackets, biker boots, animal print coats, and biker jackets.
Hipster fashion also emerged in the late 2000s - early 2010s, and it included tweed jackets, layered tees and shirts, cardigans, nerdy glasses, sweaters, leggings, and beanies that had replaced velvet jackets, winklepickers, aviators, and ties that were usually worn by indie bands in 2000. However, military uniforms, homemade jewelry, leather jackets, and flannel shirts stayed somewhat popular.
Source: Wallpaperflare
Also in the early 2010s many skaters started wearing designer streetwear such as hoodies, baseball caps, joggers, and tracksuits as opposed to the typical ripped jeans, flannels, and trucker hats.
From 2011 to 2015 steampunk got popular among young adults ages 19-25. The style includes Neo-Victorian aristocratic styles such as pocket watches, top hats, brocade dresses, corsets, cameo brooches, beards, bowties, brass gear jewelry, lace-up boots, and goggles. Some Steampunks also add petticoats, pirate shirts, and Victorian elements such as Gothic Lolita-inspired parasols, short skirts, and stockings.
Source: Pxfuel
Another notable trend in 2012 was scene kids, who were wearing Blood on the Dance Floor, Bring Me the Horizon, and Asking Alexandria shirts. After that, many of them stopped wearing cartoon print tees, studded belts, and skinny jeans, and started wearing a more skate-punk look with short hair, plain hoodies, combat boots, skinny jeans, Vans, and stretched earlobes.
Source: Wikipedia
From 2018 to 2020s, internet memes started influencing fashion (also known as memecore and E-Girls) and subcultures started to get popularized on media platforms such as TikTok. The E-Girl fashion can be described as relaxed, and can include oversized T-shirts over other long sleeve t-shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts, bike shorts, leggings, short dresses, mom jeans, often with a cute belt, and sweater or shirt tucked in, jean shorts, skirts, overalls, or romper shorts, romper dresses, scrunchies, sneakers from the 1990s like low-top Converse, Vans, ballet flats, Nike socks, fishnet tops, chains, hoodies, and striped sweaters
E-girls fashion is mainly inspired by the 1990s fashion, anime characters, skater culture, k-pop fashion, hip-hop, emo rap, and trap metal. Also, an e-girl makeup style emerged, as the softer version of gothic makeup. It includes small black symbols drawn right under the eye, such as a cross or a heart, freckles, red cheeks, heavy sharp eyeliner, huge amounts of blush on the cheek and nose, finished with white highlighter on the nose.
Source: Wikipedia
Body modifications remained popular since the 90s and 2000s, with old-school tattoos, stretched ears, face and neck tattoos, and septum piercings.
The Future
So, what’s next for the Rock’n’roll subculture? Probably nothing much new and creative. We can only guess which era will return next (I’m not going to even try). If you look at MTV, alternative music is long gone. Fashion is no longer an expression of the music someone is listening to, but of other factors, such as “nerdy’ stuff like TV shows, games, and memes.
Hip-hop is everywhere, and even metal is influenced by it. The lines between pop and rock music are blurred, as well as between mainstream and alternative fashion, and I don’t think it's going to change anytime soon. Nevertheless, whichever musical era they are channeling, one fashion element stays the same, and that is its majesty, the band Tee.
Content credit - Nevena Bjelic