Get your Grunge on!

I have mixed feelings whenever a street-born rebellious style such as grunge is picked up by mainstream fashion. On the one hand it defeats the whole purpose, by handing a style that was born out of pure emotion, freedom, refusal  to play by the rules, in essence a middle finger shown to the whole consumerist society, over to that same society - the usual yuppies and fashion victims, who wear whatever designers and magazines, and now also bloggers, deem chic and trendy. And let`s be fair, all the popular bloggers and fashion journalists I`ve read easily change from stilettos into sneakers - as long as the god of fashion commands them so, and would only praise Kurt Cobain for his fashion contributions, while counting days till the next album of Lady Gaga. There are no big ideas and no commitments behind their fashion choices.

So why should they be allowed to parade around dressed as punks and rockers? Well, there is at least one reason - it allows the rest of us, rockers and grungers at heart to wear these same clothes without looking like crazed teenagers, homeless or somehow dangerous elements. We can blend in, yet remain ourselves, true to the spirit. So let those designer kids play, in the end we`ll have much more fun than them with those same outfits.

And to sum it up, let`s recall what grunge is all about! In a sense it`s a combination of elements that cannot be combined, of wearing the unwearable. It`s a bit rock-n-roll, bit hippy, bit teenage rebel and every bit whatever you feel like wearing at a given moment in time.

 Nevertheless it has some ultimate elements: checkered shirts and ripped jeans (and any other ripped garments for that matter), band tees and sweatshirts, chunky boots and army jackets, light floral dresses and frilly skirts, hats and boyfriend beanies. And of course a pair goggle shades and wild messy hairstyle will suit perfectly to complete just about any grunge ensemble. Just take it all and mix, shake it well, and see what happens... Set your teen spirit free (if you`ve still got it in you anyway)!

Freaks and Troopers

Recently re-watching "Freaks and Geeks" (and yes I do believe it to be one of the best TV-shows ever and one to be most unjustly cancelled so early on), I realized that the main character Lindsay Weir`s look became significantly cooler than it was when I watched the show for the first time few years back. Why, she`s a clean-cut modern day fashionista! Her father`s old military jacket that hangs loose around her skinny shape and makes her look all freaky is one of the hottest must-haves of the season and apparently the next one too.

Who knew that the military trend that got hot several years ago wouldn't die as suddenly as it returned, but instead would grow far and wide until it blew out  of proportion. Khaki and camouflage-colored thick shirts and jackets dominate then stores, along with tops, pants, dresses and bags - all paying tribute to the military fashion. All that put together makes a gal look like a new recruit in an ill-fitted army suit, or, in worst case - a hobo.

As much as I`m a fan of tomboy style, I don`t believe that a hobo look is ever a good choice or has anything to do with good taste. And believe me, I tried. Seeing Lindsay Weir in the show inspired me to give the overhyped hobo jacket another chance. I went to my favorite stores and tried some of them on and result was the same - I just don't see it. But relax, I`m not really trying to kill the buzz for you - if you do enjoy the grunge army look, totally go for it. Just please, pair it with skinny jeans and converse, not baggy army pants and chunky boots with spikes - unless you`re indeed going to fight a war or joining a neighborhood gang. 

Though, I must confess, my rant about aggressive fashion trend with all those military outfits, spikes and leather has become too mainstream, and the true freaks (to which I do refer myself in some sense) can no longer wear any of that with pride. So I can`t help waiting for the day when the fashion world switches its focus to something else, and give all those cool attributes back to the wild kids.