Grunge DTI Outfit Ideas

What Grunge is asking for

Grunge comes out of the early-1990s Pacific Northwest music scene, and it was built from second-hand clothes and indifference. The uniform: an oversized flannel shirt worn open over a band tee, jeans with genuine wear at the knee, a slip dress layered over a long-sleeve top, chunky boots, unstyled hair and eyeliner that has been slept in.

The defining rule is that it must not look considered. Grunge that looks expensive and coordinated stops being grunge — it becomes a fashion editorial about grunge, which the runway reads as the wrong answer.

Building it without VIP

• Ripped Cropped Overshirt or Baggy Shirt in a faded plaid, worn open.
• Ribbed Tank Top, T-Shirt or Men’s Ringer Tee underneath.
• Baggy Jeans or Bootcut Jeans with visible wear; Ripped Knit Top if you want more texture.
• The slip-over-shirt combination is the other classic silhouette: Slip Dress over a Long Sleeve Shirt.
• Ankle Boots, Lace-Up Platform Boots or beat-up sneakers.
• Upset Makeup or smudged dark liner; Masc Gothic Makeup works for a heavier version.

Hair: unbrushed, centre-parted, slightly greasy-looking. Nothing styled.

Colour and silhouette

Washed denim, faded flannel red, army green, black and dirty cream — all muted, all slightly dirty. Silhouette is oversized and layered on top with heavy footwear; proportions should look borrowed rather than fitted.

What loses votes

• Looking polished. The central contradiction of the theme.
• Bright, clean colour. Everything should look washed a hundred times.
• Neat hair. It undoes the whole read.