Thursday night at SXSW, 6th St., Austin TX. Could this many people all be dressed well? Sadly, no. [photo: Scott Sterling for metromixLA]I just got back from South By Southwest last night, and I'm still trying to work out all the kinks in my spine from being curled up in the band's van for 24 hours. But it was a great time, and, naturally, I couldn't help keeping a sharp and catty eye out for style trends while I was there. Turns out that while music people do tend to be more style-conscious and creative than your average Joe, if you get enough of them piled into one small city, you'll start to see the same basic outfits so many times you'll want to puke. I mean, I wouldn't puke if all of them were fabulous, but...they weren't.
Unfortunately, "hipster," especially "music-associated hipster," has become a title so associated with a certain look that people are now throwing it on as a uniform so that the original newness and creativity via playing with volume, material and period references are gone. I saw thousands upon thousands of skinny jeans, arty tee shirts and big, colorful plastic-framed sunglasses. I'm not saying it's bad to follow the crowd if you aren't gifted in the dressing-yourself arena; hey, not everyone can be, and if you can write songs, that's good enough for me. It's just BORING.
It can also be eye-burning, since those uncreative hipster-apers may not be stopping t0 consider whether the uniform actually, um, flatters their bodies. My biggest pet peeve was the scores of ladies who did their research, found that high-waisted shorts and ankle boots are in, and dutifully sported them all week in Austin. One problem: THOSE SHORTS LOOK HORRIBLE ON EVERYONE. OK, maybe an occasional airbrushed gazelle-legged model can pull them off, but they truly should come with a "Do Not Try This At Home" tag. They're tight and emphasize every hip curve and tummy lump; they develop horrifyingly unflattering crotchal creases as the day goes on; they make thighs look thunderous; and, worst of all, they display truly terrifying wedgies in back. Oy vey. See below (this chick's version isn't even that bad):
Unfortunately, "hipster," especially "music-associated hipster," has become a title so associated with a certain look that people are now throwing it on as a uniform so that the original newness and creativity via playing with volume, material and period references are gone. I saw thousands upon thousands of skinny jeans, arty tee shirts and big, colorful plastic-framed sunglasses. I'm not saying it's bad to follow the crowd if you aren't gifted in the dressing-yourself arena; hey, not everyone can be, and if you can write songs, that's good enough for me. It's just BORING.
It can also be eye-burning, since those uncreative hipster-apers may not be stopping t0 consider whether the uniform actually, um, flatters their bodies. My biggest pet peeve was the scores of ladies who did their research, found that high-waisted shorts and ankle boots are in, and dutifully sported them all week in Austin. One problem: THOSE SHORTS LOOK HORRIBLE ON EVERYONE. OK, maybe an occasional airbrushed gazelle-legged model can pull them off, but they truly should come with a "Do Not Try This At Home" tag. They're tight and emphasize every hip curve and tummy lump; they develop horrifyingly unflattering crotchal creases as the day goes on; they make thighs look thunderous; and, worst of all, they display truly terrifying wedgies in back. Oy vey. See below (this chick's version isn't even that bad):
However, SXSW style wasn't a total loss. There were some girls in unusual dresses, and I even spotted a few gorgeous feather hairclips--very flapperesque and cool. There was definitely more variation among the ladies than among the menfolk, but that's only to be expected (we do have lots more options. When is the men's movement going to promote skirts for poor restricted guys?). To sum up:
- Skinny jeans will never die
- I hope high-waisted short-shorts will die. Like, yesterday.
- Boots are out in full force. It did get boring to see girl after girl in vintage or faux-vintage flat boots, but some pairs are fabulous. The SXSW report from All About Appearances noted lots of girls making the very smart choice to pair boots with trench coats. I approve!
- Witty tee shirts are far less evident than in the past. Thank god.
- The more stylish someone is at SXSW, the less likely they are to have money. The people with SXSW passes ($500 each; more likely to be on an industry exec than a band member) slung prominently 'round their necks are usually fat aging guys wearing pleated khakis and sneakers. The truly sartorially inventive probably arrived with no cash and is sleeping on a friend-of-a-friend's floor.
- Western wear looks a lot less pretentious when worn in Texas. Check my amiga Jody's blog, When You Awake, out for some fine country style.
2 comments:
I generally agree about the shorts, but Lykke Li can do absolutely no wrong in my book. She's the most adorable thing I've ever seen!
It was definitely a mixed bag. I had trench envy quite a bit.
But I was happy to see that I wasn't the only one wearing some color. I loved wearing my yellow jacket, until it got covered in hot wing sauce : ( I also wore a cranberry hat one day, and a pink orchid hair clip another.
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