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I apologize to my readers for having to wait awhile for this take to come along. I used to make metal myTakes nearly every day, but lately I have been more busy with some stuff in life. So for a while this is how things may be when it comes to writing these. This myTake here was requested by one of my followers. Listening5, thanks for the request!! \m/
Sooo.. metal fashion.
For sure there are different variations of metal fashion, as there is with metal subgenres. It has also evolved a little, and has influences from other forms of music.
The 70s
Many people agree that Black Sabbath was the band that created metal. Their music went in a different direction than most others from the 60s and early 70s. But at the time there was no such thing as a certain type of fashion that went along with it. When the band was created in the 60s, the hippie style was the thing. The Black Sabbath band wore bright and neutral colors, long hair, bellbottom jeans, etc.
Though their music wasn't always about peace and love, their looks still fit in to the time of the nonconformist era.
In the 70s, glam rock and punk was getting more well known, such as bands like The Glitter band and Black Flag. Glam rock bands and their fans had a very bright look, and some even had a more androgynous look, like David Bowie (A.K.A Ziggy Stardust) for example.
And super- early AC/DC had their share of brighter colors and flare pants and cut off shirts.
While the punks sometimes included influences of glam, they mainly had a more rebellious style, with spikes, wild hair, ripped sleeves and torn jeans.
Big fans of bands like these shared the style as well. As metal grew more, their looks evolved as their music evolved more. Bands such as Motorhead for example, started taking style influences from punk and biker looks.
The 80s
Hardcore metal bands also started wearing military type stuff in the late 70s to early 80s, such as bullet belts and bracelets,combat boots and camo. The 80s was a time when bands ranging from Anthrax to Motley Crue came about. In early years of hardcore bands from the early 80s, the glam rock thing still floated around and influenced. Metallica is known to be one of the first few thrash bands of the 80s (though they moved to other musical ways later on) and one of their main influences was Diamond Head.
For a short time, James Hetfield of Metallica dressed in a more glam rock type way when Metallica was a new thing.
He eventually moved to the thrashy look however. Cliff Burton of Metallica stayed in a more Black Sabbath era looking style..
Thrash metal had its style consisting mainly of denim battle vests, denim jeans, hi-top sneakers and leather. Men and women alike dressed this way, though the women added extra jewelry and makeup.
With glam metal bands such as Ratt, Cinderella, Winger, Whitesnake, etc.. these were hated by some hardcore metalheads. The glam bands wore tighter fitting clothes, bright outfits, huge teased hair, and tons of makeup.
Some band members even had women do the guys' makeup!
As the 80s continued on, more subgenres were created. Once the 80s came to a close, things began to change.
The 90s
At this point in time, metal was almost dead due to the explosion of grunge. Bands like Pearl Jam and Nirvana were the new thing. There was also Nu Metal, which to most didn't seem that metal really. Linkin Park and Deftones were part of this new subgenre.
Nu-metalers wore more baggy type clothes, some wore mainly darker colors, though other bands didn't care so much about color. However there were a few members of nu-metal bands that took on a more aggressive look, such as Wayne Static of Static-X.
The trend continued on into the early 2000s.
The 2000s to now
To be honest, I haven't seen that much of a difference in metal looks for the 00s and 10s we have been living in. From there being many subgenres that have come about over the years (sorry i didn't go into detail with all of them), such as thrash, Viking, folk, glam, stoner, and other types of metal, diehard fans take on the style similar to the band. Others also take on style derived from different subgenres into one. However one thing that seems to plague the music scene these days is metal posers.
There are plenty of teenagers I've seen around me wearing that Metallica "Kill 'em All" shirt, or Motorhead's "Overkill" shirt, without knowing who the hell that band is. They just wear it for looks. Either due to the way the shirt looks, or because they like the metal style but don't like the music (or don't even know the music). I own a lot of band shirts and other merch, and I know that because of other teen posers around me, people can sometimes think of me as one of those posers.
Though I do say I get a lot of satisfaction when I tell those doubters my favorite songs from the band I'm pretty much worshipping on my shirt, haha XD
There are plenty of metal bands that have guys in them, obviously. So a lot of times its the easiest for the guys to get some inspiration on style. With women, 80s glam was too easy on them since the guys sometimes also had a feminine look. Getting to know some fellow female metalheads over the years, I've noticed that there are also the tomboy type, where they don't even wear any makeup and dress total metal. Others take on a more Kat Von D style..
However some can go too far and make themselves look a bit slutty. Really there are various ways of style.
I was only new to metal when I was a baby, but I was new to the style when I was 10. I mean when I was way younger I was already sporting an AC/DC shirt, but at age 10 I wore a lot of black. Somehow it grew to where I was more of a goth chick till I turned 15. Then it changed to where it was a mix of black and some denim. As I started wearing makeup, all it ended up being was plenty of black eyeliner. And its still like that now. Also the black nail polish. As for clothes, almost all my band shirts are men's. I wear a lot of band shirts and raggedy jeans and converse sneakers. If not any sneakers, than combat boots. I got a few pairs of metal-style capris as well. I'm not really one of those girls that wants to show off a bunch of skin or wear a ton of tight clothing. Not that i have super baggy clothes though. Really all my jeans are skinny jeans. But most times I'm not really showing anything off, I've already dealt with enough creepy guys in my life anyway with what I wear. I have a tendency to wear my battle vest of patches a lot too, and always keep that hair down. Also love leather and spikes, and chains.
You can pretty much say that my style derives very heavily from guys like these, and plenty more.
Don't assume I would be crazy enough to try and grow a beard like a guy though XD And don't think that I get inspiration from people like the ones above because I want to look like them. I am myself, and naturally I always loved the thrasher look anyway.
But I have been told by many that the way I dress and the music I love makes it seem like I traveled here from another point in time. Really there aren't that many teens out there that are like that, but I've surely found fellow metalheads that are a little older that look like they were from the 80s or 90s. And of course there are the ones who would rather stick to newer ways. As long as metal continues to evolve, so will the fashion.
Thank you for reading this take! And look out for my next take, Metallica's "Ride The Lightning" Record. And remember...
Stay metal my brothers and sisters!
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