As someone interested in fashion and music, I find the correlation between the two fascinating. Music can express how you feel on the inside, clothing can express how you feel on the outside, and each can influence each other. The grunge fashion movement was first created and inspired by music, and then it became more mainstream as music artists shot to stardom.
The grunge movement emerged as a music genre, style, and culture influenced by and evolved from punk music, similar to many alternative styles or aesthetics. The grunge style originated in Seattle around the mid-1980s and was focused on the androgynous look. The base of a grunge outfit consists of thrifted and loose-fitting clothing, which hides the silhouette. Shabby second-hand clothing like band tees or ratty jeans is a staple for those who consider themselves “grunge.”
In the 1980s and 90s, Grunge was a counterculture movement that transcended the idea of aesthetics. If anything, the grunge movement was about being disorganized, ratty and borderline dirty. It went against the prim and proper high fashion movement of the time. The Grunge subculture embodied the so-called burnouts of society. The followers of the grunge culture protested against the American dream of the house with the white picket fence and conforming to the norms of society.
The Grunge sound is a mixture of heavy metal and punk music. Grunge song lyrics are rebellious and sung with powerful vocals. Guitars are played with a dirty sound that includes reverberation. Bands like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Hole and Soundgarden embody the grunge style with their songs. Grunge bands were against the normative mainstream pop stars that would sell out and play a character. But grunge was never about the clothes; it was about the emphasis on going against society’s beauty standards and the overall need for “perfection.” The grunge style usually accompanies a flannel shirt, maybe combat boots and messy makeup. The messier the look, the better, reflecting how much you do not care. Neutral or dark tones are usually the color palette of a person who dresses grunge. Not one for colors, the grunge music movement is almost a perfect representation of the style. I feel like grunge is one of the fashion subcultures that go hand in hand with their musical influence, each one perfectly reflecting what the other is.
You can find many thrift stores around the city with cheap, well-made, second-hand items to help you achieve that grunge look. There are many variations of grunge today circulating social media apps like TikTok or Instagram, once again bringing this style back into the spotlight for a new generation.
