Punk rock is a music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. As the music style emerged, a clothing style emerged along with it.
Punk rock fashion often consists of denim, bullet belts/stud belts, leather jackets, denim vests, simple t-shirts, and usually wearing Doc Martens, Converse, or Military-style shoes. Other mainstays of punk rock fashion include black leather jackets, distressed jeans, T-shirts with band logos, chunky black boots, and top it off with some spicy jewelry.
UHS News spoke with Wildcat Nation members who have a similar style to punk rock about their inspiration and fashion choices.
Robby Fetzer, a Senior at UHS, explained he got into punk because he has been listening to punk since 5th grade with his father and attending concerts. Fetzer described his style of punk as the ’80s, maybe even very early ‘90s.
Fetzer explained what “punk” means to him: “a way of life as well as a music style. It’s an attitude and a way of thinking. And the way of thinking is doing what you think is right regardless of what others think and say.”
Alice Douglas, a Junior at UHS, would describe her style as more grunge than punk, but she said still highly respects punk style and culture. Douglas told us her daily clothing choices would usually be ladder lace Doc Martens, personalized upcycled shirts, pants, jackets, lots of black and denim.
Douglas said, “My inspiration is the mindset that I don’t wear clothes to appease men, and I could do or wear anything I want.” Douglas described pulling fashion inspiration from Riot Grrl culture and Kinderwhore, a feminist movement in the 90’s exemplified by bands like The Hole, L7, and Sleater-Kinney.
Douglas described buying second-hand clothing or makes her clothing because she “doesn’t want to feed into big money corporations.”
Douglas said, “punk has been and always will be a musical and political movement, and to me, punk means having leftist views and rejecting the mainstream as well as becoming familiar with bands and artists in punk culture.”
