Indie clothing, indie lifestyle and indie fashion

Getting into an indie lifestyle can somewhat be a natural one. This is probably more prominent among the artistic and creative group. Nevertheless, there is nothing to stop anyone from choosing independent ideas in their attire, tastes and style.

Whenever I travel, I like to meet with all kinds of travelers and one of the best places to meet indie travelers would be a backpackers’ inn. These days, backpackers’ inn come in all kinds of classes and they are no longer dodgy and low standard as before. Few years ago, I met a few independent travelers in a backpackers in Christchurch New Zealand and it was a wonderful experience to get to know them. It is relaxing for them to take their guitars and strummed a few tunes in the guests lounge and we had a great time learning about each other’s cultures. They talked about their love for indie music and the lifestyles that they lived. Interestingly, one of them was a copper sinks entrepreneur and was also an artist at heart.

So the next time you travel, open up and go to places where you can mingle with some travelers who are enthusiastic about an indie lifestyle. They are usually approachable and a friendly lot and it won’t take too long to get to know them.

Everyone has different tastes in fashion. No one carries the same tastes. Yes, of course there are trends however that is not what defines you. Some worry about how they can continue promoting an indie lifestyle while staying fashionable and here you will find some information on the questions you may have.

Anyone who knows Indie, knows what the style involve. T-shirts and jeans comprise most of the style. Some would assume there is no fashion involved when it comes to a T-shirt and pair of jean, but I’m here to tell you otherwise. Even the guy at the call center outsourcing knows that he can get stylish with just picking the right pair of jeans and tee.

The Indie lifestyle is a fashion itself. There are so many unique aspects of the style to consider. This is the one style which allows you to wear old clothes as a fashion. Not to say that looking like a bum will get you noticed or having others ranting and raving about how cool you look. This can be a misunderstood attire, then again, there’s no need to dress to impress!

No, this is the style of fashion, which allows the individual to create. It is the kind of style that always has options and never does it lack any of those at anytime. As long as the individual has some kind of creativity, they are sure to be fine when it comes to promoting an indie lifestyle while staying fashionable. There’s no need to compromise at all when you decide to go indie.

When you live the indie lifestyle, not only does in incorporate fashion, but it is a way of life. As mentioned before, the style you wear defines the person you are and the way you think of yourself as well. This is the reason why you don’t want to go overboard with the ragged look, since if done to the extreme you could leaving yourself looking as you care less about the way you look.

At one time, hip hop fashion seems to be ‘in’. But the reality is, all fashion has a cycle and things that you put away 15 years ago may still come into fashion 15 years later! This time period of Hip Hop as a movement is a very distinctive culture and modern Hip Hop clothing and culture owes its popularity to these 1980s roots.

Talking about hip hop styles, classic Hip Hop includes large glasses, multi-finger rings, gold necklaces, and Adidas shell toes with oversized laces. Hair styles took on a very strong African American influence, many people choosing jheri curls, chains and dreadlocks.  Red-black-and-green became common color pallets, made famous by several prominent actors and actresses.

The more modern style taken in by Hip Hop has much been effected by rap artists who made popular the wearing of brighter colors, often in neon, and wearing usual clothing items in unusual ways.  Baseball hats at various angles and clothing worn backwards are good examples of this.  As styles closed in on the year 2000 Hip Hop clothing took on an influence from thugs and inmates, larger clothing, belt less pants and military accents became a prime point of recognition of Hip Hop style.  Other marks of this change of trend were flannel over shirts and gold teeth, or at least gold fixtures placed over one’s real dental pallet. I don’t think they would worry much about acne products at that time.

Currently there are online stores which carry hip hop clothing styles (see urbanhotlist.com)  Some of the simplest pieces may come from the corner thrift shop or flea market, but as the Hip Hop style has progressed in complexity and popularity it has been picked up by many big markets, charging a big dollar for what they provide.  Many other trendy website have sprung up, offering discounted brand names and a place to fill many needs of those who adore the style.

Whenever I travel to Australia or New Zealand, I’ll make it a point to visit the local Sunday or flea markets in the suburbs or city area. The flea markets in the Pacific tend to be very fun, creative and local. I used to purchase indie clothing, food and lots of other handmade accessories from those flea markets.

Indie artists are in aplenty in Australia and New Zealand and I was privileged to meet many of them. I have lots of respect for these creative and independent individuals as they have strong passion in what they do. I recalled meeting this lovely old lady who sold water color paintings at St Kilda’s beach in Melbourne… she was a real talent at her late seventies! Some of the most beautiful indie clothing were sold by home makers and you can also find other cool indie finds by the disabled community. Some of them made their living by selling their creations at these flea markets to support themselves and covering their own disability insurance costs.

Sometimes indie products may cost a little more and that’s because you don’t get another piece in the same design and style. In other words, they are unique and exclusive. Support indie.

The Indie genre is more than just a scene it is a whole way of life for many people who wear Indie clothes and practice the lifestyle. This genre came out of the 80′s punk scene as did many other lifestyle genre’s or scenes. It has evolved an entire culture around it and that marks the beginning of the indie lifestyle.

The Indie culture incorporates facets which dictate that followers (or leaders) are apart from the mainstream. They are unique in the way they dress, their beliefs, the music they listen to, the movies they see and appreciate. And much like other alternative followings including emo, rock and punk Indie practitioners are totally separate from most commercial institutions.

Dressing with cool in terms of Indie, is not that difficult. Get rid of brand names and drag out the old stuff from your closet, your mothers’ closet, your fathers’ closet and pay a visit to your nearest thrift shop. Anything hand-made works as does “old and battered” the older and more battered the better, but don’t be purposefully bleaching or battering as this is cheating. In fact any item of indie clothing you have kept from years ago, thinking it might be useful one day will be cool.

I first heard about the monkey jacket when talking to a friend who is a Rochester personal injury lawyer. The monkey jacket is a must-have Indie fashion item (although true Indie is not really supposed to be indicative of fashion). This type of jacket is much like the Beatles wore in the 60′sit is a mimic of a military frock coat, which fastens across the front with frogs. This item of clothing was worn by the mods in the 60′s when the two big fashion and lifestyle scenes were the mods and the rockers.

Whether they are Indie or not, I have seen many artists wearing monkey jackets, not least of which the late Michel Jackson and more recently Britney Spiers, I don’t believe any real Indie person would be caught dead imitating their style, let alone listening to their music. Nevertheless this item of clothing is indispensable to both the Indie and mod dresser.