Styles That Defy

By Kerri Conrad

Punk. Goth. Metalhead. Skater. Rebel. Freak. These words bring to mind mental images of spiked hair, chains, collars, tattoos, piercings, styles that scream out against the stifling gray background of mainstream corporate society. With them comes an inevitable negative connotation that carries over onto the people who wear them. The youth counterculture exists behind and inside, in your face and underground. It’s everywhere, if you take the occasion to look. It is a whole mass of people living, breathing, and surviving exactly as they want no matter what anyone tells them. It defies labels, and sets a new precedent for blatant individualism.

When you look at a person undoubtedly the first thing you notice is their outward appearance. According to today’s society, what you wear can say a lot about who you are. So what exactly are these rebellious youth masses trying to say? Taking a closer look into the lives they lead will give you better idea of what motive lies behind going against the constrictive norms and breaking out on their own.

Although it would be impossible to categorize and effectively define every unique style out there today, there are a few whose perimeters seem concrete enough to catalog. Punk style started back in the 1970’s in small underground clubs with the birth of the musical genre and is still popular today. It is characterized by things such as mohawks, safety pins, plaid minis, bondage pants, union jack emblems, band T-shirts, and combat boots. Those who claim to be punk advocate making and modifying their own clothes, as well as hitting the thrift shops to supplement their wardrobe.

Another style that has become popular is often referred to as gothic. This style as well is a spin-off of it’s musical counterpart. Goths tend to wear black as their staple hue, and can be seen in a whole variety of clothing ranging from tattered ghoulish dresses to fishnets to corsets. Some goths wear extravagant attire that is reminiscent of the Victorian age. Another predominant feature of this sort is pale skin, often accentuated by white foundation and set off by dark eye makeup that helps to further their eerie presence.

Following the pattern of musically inspired fashion, when grunge rock hit the scene people followed suit in a big way. People could be seen sporting baggy jeans with holes and tears, big T-shirts, long greasy hair, and various other aspects that seemed to fit in well with the setting. While some people did so to follow the crowd, the grunge look also had it’s message. Kids weren’t going to sit back and let everyone else run their lives. They weren’t going to take socially accepted mores and allow their own consent to keep them tied to someone else’s beliefs.

Aside from these brief and somewhat narrow descriptions, there are a whole plethora of styles and tastes that lie outside and in between. They all base themselves, consciously or not, loosely on the same basic principle. This is to be your own person; to dress how you want and to do the things that make you happy, despite societal influence to fall in line. Just because something works for someone else, doesn’t mean it will work for you. No one can live their life for someone else’s choices.

This is the thought that gives the counterculture it’s fuel. To progress forward with open eyes and live each day to it’s fullest. It’s a revolution, a coming of age when we realize our parents and people of the past are no longer our measurements for justifying fulfillment. Our happiness and our lifestyles come from inside of us, screaming inside of our skulls to break out and be made real before us.

Through us the world will be changed. It lies before us like an open canvas, in expectant anxiousness for a time when everyone will embrace the unbiased liberalism that lies in being free. Free to act and dress and speak in whatever way we choose. While a person’s clothes may be making a statement, they don’t make them who they are. People are all inherently human, no matter what they look like, and it’s important for us to realize that. So next time you’re standing in line next to a freak, eyeing his spiked collar and his chipping black nail polish while your mind spins irrational stories about all the sordid things that might apply to him, take a moment to stop and remember what you’ve read. Step outside yourself for once, and remember he’s just like you, only more so.

Article courtesy of www.suite101.com.