Punk fashion is a fashion style largely associated with the punk movement during the late 1970s and early 1980s. It varies very widely from Vivienne Westwood styles to styles modelled on the bands like The Exploited. Punk fashion was heavily influenced by the distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including glam rock, skinheads, rudeboys, art school students, greasers, and mods.

Classic

A classic punk fashion look might consist of: a pair of combat boots, Doc Martens boots, old tattered converse shoes, tapered jeans or tight leather pants worn with a ripped T-shirt and silver bracelets. Hair was cropped and deliberately made to look messy, in reaction to the typical long smooth hair of the 60s and early 70s. It was also often dyed brilliant unnatural colors. Other accoutrements worn by punks often included: bondage trousers, ripped fishnets, spike bands and other studded or spiked jewelry, safety pins in clothing and as body piercings, and pants with leopard patterns. Also often worn would be leather motorcycle jackets with words, band names and symbols written on them with paint markers. It is also a common punk style to wear a kutte, a leather jacket or jean jacket or vest adorned with band patches, studs, spikes, safety pins, writing, or any combination of the above. Many punk women rebelled against the image of a stereotypical woman by wearing clothes that were delicate or pretty and clothes that were very 'masculine' at the same time, such as ballerina skirts combined with big, clunky boots.

British punk fashion deliberately outraged propriety with the highly theatrical use of cosmetics and hairstyles: hair made to stand in spikes, cut into a "Mohawk" or another dramatic shape, and colored with vibrant unnatural hues. Punk clothing (thanks to Malcolm McLaren's shop SEX, which largely developed punk style) typically adapted existing objects for aesthetic effect: previously ripped clothes were held together by safety pins or wrapped with tape, written on with marker or defaced with paint; safety pins and razor blades were used as jewelry (including using safety pins for piercings); a black bin liner bag (garbage bag) might become a dress, shirt or skirt. Leather, rubber and vinyl clothing was also common, possibly due to its implied connection with transgressive sexual practices, such as bondage and S&M. Taboo symbols such as the Nazi swastika or Iron Cross were also occasionally flaunted by punks. Other types of punk clothing were tight "drain pipe" jeans (as opposed to "bell bottom" or "flared" jeans popular in the 1970s), "brothel creepers" shoes, t-shirts with risque images, and possibly a leather motorcycle jacket (á la The Ramones). They may also wear eyeliner (boys and girls). ^{[citation needed]}

However, punk style and fashion has its roots more prominently in the UK, specifically the incorporation of the mohawk in punk style. The influence of the mohawk originally came from the movie Taxi Driver, starring Robert DeNiro sporting one later in the movie. Hair dye was a UK innovation on the hair-style. Another influence on punk hair was Richard Hell, who cut his own hair and created the typical "punk" look.

1980s - "hardcore" and "anti-fashion"

With the advent of the more politically-inclined hard-core punk style in the early and mid-80s, social and political slogans became common adornments. While this was not without precedent (NO-FUTURE, a vaguely political slogan from the song "God Save The Queen" by The Sex Pistols, was commonly seen on punk clothing in the mid and late-70s) the depth and detail of these slogans were not developed until the hardcore punk movement began to gain momentum.

A parallel "anti-fashion" style developed emphasizing minimal adornment, eschewing branding or fashion trends and often even color, favoring muted colors. A typical late-'80s look might include a plain black t-shirt, black hooded sweatshirt, jeans or thrift-store work pants, cheap flat soled shoes, and hair cut by a friend. Worn by both men and women, the clothing was asexual. In a Western society where surfaces were emblazoned with logos, advertising, and tagged with company names, and where people strove to express their personalities, ideas, gender, and sexuality through dress, the stark absence and obscuring of these symbols was distinctive. Altering this appearance with a single logo for a band, zine, or art project would heighten the effect.

Modern

What could be called "modern" punk fashion has been primarily influenced by Hardcore, Grunge, and to a lesser extent Goth/Death rock, which may be seen as interesting as those cultures' fashion styles were influenced by classic punk fashion. Today, different facets of the punk scene have different clothing habits. Most, however, incorporate elements from other groups as well as their own fashion. (For example, a crust punk might wear a denim kutte, tight torn jeans, military boots and a mohawk, but also sport a flannel shirt which would be common in Grungie punks.)

"Straight" punk

In general, modern punks wear leather, denim, spikes, chains, and combat boots. Elements of early punk and hardcore fashion, such as kutten, bondage pants, torn clothing and political slogans on jackets are still commonly seen. There is a large influence by DIY home-created and modified clothing. Their hair is typically dyed and arranged into a mohawk or one of its variations; big hair is also common. "Bullet belts", belts made to look like chains of bullets, have recently become popular. This style of dress is seen on followers of anarcho-punk, crust punk, straight edge, hardcore (especially "old school" hardcore) and various other genres. Most punks would also combine this fashion with elements from the following types.

Skate punk

Skatepunks wear clothing related to and influenced by skateboarding culture. They commonly have short hair and wear baggy jeans or shorts, unnecessarily long wallet chains, loose t-shirts and hooded sweatshirts, branded skate shoes (such as DC or Vans), studded belts and wrist bands.

Grungie

Fans of grunge, known as Grungies or Grungers, wear simple, outdoorsy fashion and "dress down" compared to more expressive clothing of other punks. They generally wear denim jackets, flannel shirts (usually plaid and often over plain, normally grey t-shirts), ripped jeans and Doc Martens or other work boots or street shoes. Hair is normally long and undyed in this style of dress, but is sometimes shorter or dyed in earthy tones.

Pop punk

Today's pop punk fans are often seen wearing skate shoes, plaid pants, Dickies pants, tight black stretch jeans or pre-worn jeans, studded belts, blazers, and trilbies and similar hats. Excessive eye make-up in both males and females is common. Hair is usually long for women and short for men. This fashion is a result of the third wave of pop punk, influenced by artists such as Good Charlotte, Simple Plan, and others. This fashion also has considerable crossover with the related emo fashion.

Commercialisation of punk fashion

It should be said that contemporary punk fashion is extremely commercialized, as many well-established fashion designers, particularly Jean-Paul Gautier use punk elements in their production. Punk clothing, which was initially handmade, became mass produced and sold in record stores and some smaller specialty clothing stores by the 1980s. By the late 1990s, the publicly traded corporation Hot Topic established the business of selling punk style clothing at American shopping malls. Many fashion magazines and other glamored media are now advertising the classic punk hair-style or suits with as a punk-style touch as the "respectable image." This indicates that punk has become an established mainstream style. Many people from the original punk scene of the 70s have since heavily criticized the subsequent scenes of "conforming to fashion", and lacking the originality and individuality which motivated the original punk fashions.

Punks Against Punk Fashion

Many members of punk bands have said that they are against the punk look. Bob Mould of the band Hüsker Dü (which was a hardcore punk band when they started out) said, "Punks today are so concerned about what spikes or boots they're going to wear next weekend that they don't think there can be political implications in music. On the other hand, you see someone wearing a swastika on one shoulder and an anarchy symbol on the other and they don't realize that the two contradict one another". Various punk and hardcore acts (Such as Hüsker Dü, Minor Threat, Black Flag, and others) played hardcore punk music but would wear plain t-shirts and jeans everywhere. Many punks believed that punk itself is not what you're wearing or what you look like but a concept which lies within the music itself which itself should be the definition of what punk really is. For many people the phrase 'punk fashion' is an oxymoron, as they see punk as the antithesis of fashion.

Punk fashion

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