Need Style Help! - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

allaboutmusic · 10-15-2007, 02:01 PM

Hello everyone,

I'm a musician, primarily a guitarist and singer in the soul / r&b / pop / jazz / rock vein(s). The music I play tends to project quite a cool, catchy vibe that people really dig, and I have been told that my skills as a musician frequently get people's attention too.

The one thing I'm not too good at is fashion and style onstage. I'm really not that good at dressing in a cool, distinctive style of my own. I tend to wear a black T-shirt or poloneck under a pinstripe blazer, dark jeans or trousers, and black leather shoes. I usually wear a funky glass pendant in a distinctive colour on a leather thong around my neck, but I'm very aware that although I look sharp, I might still look a little generic.

Could you suggest some good dress ideas? Thanks!

ngdawg · 10-15-2007, 03:51 PM

Whatever your favorite bright color is, wear it somewhere, socks, a cheap rubber bracelet....

Willravel · 10-15-2007, 03:56 PM

Normally, I'd be happy to help, but when you're on stage, you're an artist and everything you present is supposed to be totally original and totally a representation of yourself. It's so personal, that me telling you what to wear would just be me telling you what I'd wear, and as a concert pianist I'm not going to wear just a sock on my dong like the Red Hot Chili Peppers or a giant suit with gold chains like MC Hammer.

Go to thrift stores and buy anything that reminds you of yourself or your style of music.

Plan9 · 10-15-2007, 04:27 PM

Originality is nearly impossible, but you do want your look to reflect you or your ideas.

Think: Dave Matthews Band. Gwar. Iggy Pop. Aerosmith.

Baraka_Guru · 10-15-2007, 04:38 PM

Are ironic T-shirts still in?

Martian · 10-15-2007, 04:43 PM

willravel speaks the truth, but I'll take it a step further to say that what you wear is your style. I wear a fedora nearly everywhere I go (including when I'm onstage, in the rare occasions that this occurs), and that is my style; it's a distinctive aspect of my wardrobe that makes a statement about the way I see myself. Your style, apparently, is a funky pendant and a blazer and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you decide that you want to alter your style, you can change it as you see fit. Feather boa, furry top hat, cod piece... the great thing about being a musician is that anything goes. So long as you wear like you own it, you can go out in a tailored suit or a set of rags; whatever you do wear will make a statement and that's really the ultimate goal.

I'd also like to point out that a very large number of successful musicians have little in the way of individual style and wear jeans and t-shirts to every concert. There's even a school of thought that excessive visual cues detract from the music itself, although whether or not that's true is really an individual decision. Anyway, you wear what you want and wear it confidently and everything will work out fine.

MSD · 10-15-2007, 05:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Baraka_Guru

Are ironic T-shirts still in?

Absolutely not.

Hyacinthe · 10-16-2007, 07:41 PM

I tend to wear something like this on stage - totally not for everyone though.

nonplussed · 10-17-2007, 06:25 PM

Focus on your music and everything else will take care of itself.

allaboutmusic · 01-12-2008, 06:12 AM

I think I've settled on my general stage garb now. Thanks for all your input.

Looking for a pair of shoes now. Will start new thread.

Willravel · 01-12-2008, 11:25 AM

No need, there's already a thread for this (remember to do search before starting a thread).

allaboutmusic · 01-12-2008, 11:56 AM

I did do a search, and always do (it saves me time as well as having to wait for people to respond). If there is a shoe thread and I missed it, I wouldn't mind a link.

Willravel · 01-12-2008, 12:06 PM

Tilted Men's Style.

allaboutmusic · 01-12-2008, 04:59 PM

Ah yes, I remember that thread - it had a LOT of information in it though. I will have another look through when I haven't had a couple beers. The new shoe thread seems to be turning out some interesting ideas!

I think I might resurrect your old thread though with a more general question I've been thinking about for a while.

10-15-2007, 02:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
allaboutmusic Aurally Fixated	Need Style Help! Hello everyone, I'm a musician, primarily a guitarist and singer in the soul / r&b / pop / jazz / rock vein(s). The music I play tends to project quite a cool, catchy vibe that people really dig, and I have been told that my skills as a musician frequently get people's attention too. The one thing I'm not too good at is fashion and style onstage. I'm really not that good at dressing in a cool, distinctive style of my own. I tend to wear a black T-shirt or poloneck under a pinstripe blazer, dark jeans or trousers, and black leather shoes. I usually wear a funky glass pendant in a distinctive colour on a leather thong around my neck, but I'm very aware that although I look sharp, I might still look a little generic. Could you suggest some good dress ideas? Thanks!

10-15-2007, 04:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
Plan9 I Confess a Shiver	Originality is nearly impossible, but you do want your look to reflect you or your ideas. Think: Dave Matthews Band. Gwar. Iggy Pop. Aerosmith. __________________ *Whatever you can carry.* "You should not drink... and bake."

10-15-2007, 04:38 PM	#5 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru warrior bodhisattva Super Moderator Location: East-central Canada	Are ironic T-shirts still in? __________________ Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing? —Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön Humankind cannot bear very much reality. —From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

10-15-2007, 04:43 PM	#6 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	willravel speaks the truth, but I'll take it a step further to say that what you wear is your style. I wear a fedora nearly everywhere I go (including when I'm onstage, in the rare occasions that this occurs), and that is my style; it's a distinctive aspect of my wardrobe that makes a statement about the way I see myself. Your style, apparently, is a funky pendant and a blazer and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. If you decide that you want to alter your style, you can change it as you see fit. Feather boa, furry top hat, cod piece... the great thing about being a musician is that anything goes. So long as you wear like you own it, you can go out in a tailored suit or a set of rags; whatever you do wear will make a statement and that's really the ultimate goal. I'd also like to point out that a very large number of successful musicians have little in the way of individual style and wear jeans and t-shirts to every concert. There's even a school of thought that excessive visual cues detract from the music itself, although whether or not that's true is really an individual decision. Anyway, you wear what you want and wear it confidently and everything will work out fine. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame

01-12-2008, 11:56 AM	#12 (permalink)
allaboutmusic Aurally Fixated	I did do a search, and always do (it saves me time as well as having to wait for people to respond). If there is a shoe thread and I missed it, I wouldn't mind a link. Last edited by allaboutmusic; 01-12-2008 at 11:59 AM..

10-15-2007, 03:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
ngdawg peekaboo Location: on the back, bitch	Whatever your favorite bright color is, wear it somewhere, socks, a cheap rubber bracelet....

10-15-2007, 03:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	Normally, I'd be happy to help, but when you're on stage, you're an artist and everything you present is supposed to be totally original and totally a representation of yourself. It's so personal, that me telling you what to wear would just be me telling you what I'd wear, and as a concert pianist I'm not going to wear just a sock on my dong like the Red Hot Chili Peppers or a giant suit with gold chains like MC Hammer. Go to thrift stores and buy anything that reminds you of yourself or your style of music.

10-17-2007, 06:25 PM	#9 (permalink)
nonplussed Tilted	Focus on your music and everything else will take care of itself.

01-12-2008, 06:12 AM	#10 (permalink)
allaboutmusic Aurally Fixated	I think I've settled on my general stage garb now. Thanks for all your input. Looking for a pair of shoes now. Will start new thread.

01-12-2008, 11:25 AM	#11 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	No need, there's already a thread for this (remember to do search before starting a thread).

01-12-2008, 12:06 PM	#13 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	Tilted Men's Style.

01-12-2008, 04:59 PM	#14 (permalink)
allaboutmusic Aurally Fixated	Ah yes, I remember that thread - it had a LOT of information in it though. I will have another look through when I haven't had a couple beers. The new shoe thread seems to be turning out some interesting ideas! I think I might resurrect your old thread though with a more general question I've been thinking about for a while.