Wednesday 17 January 2007

Music and Fashion



Fashion and music have been intrinsically linked since the birth of the teenager in the 1950’s. Advances in technology, a wealthier post war climate and more focus on leisure pursuits such as television, film, magazines and the music scene had created a whole new marketing group.

American Rock and Roll idols including Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Bill Haley burst onto the scene not only creating a whole new sound but changing the way we dressed forever. Austere, conservative and drab was out image conscious, relaxed or highly groomed was in.

Rock and Roll had brought with it the desire to create personal identity through clothing and music. Music had begun to represent love and sex, cars and status, dancing and fun clothes and image... it defined who you were

And so it has continued. In 60’s Britain the Beatles arrived with their skinny ties, pointed boots and Pierre Cardin designed collarless suits. As they went through their psychedelic phase the fashion for clothing became brighter and bolder. Men began to dress more flamboyantly and the ‘hippy’ was born. Over in the States Tamla Motown’s influence introduced a sleeker, polished but no less flamboyant way of dressing.

The 70’s brought along more glamour and glitz with wide legged flares and sky-high platform shoes copied from androgynous Glam rockers like David Bowie, Marc Bolan and Sweet being found on the high street. Hot on Glam rock’s tails was disco. Who can forget the iconic white flared trouser suit made famous by John Travolta in the film Saturday Night Fever which featured the Bee Gees soundtrack of the same name?

And then there was punk with Malcolm McLaren’s Sex Pistols buying their bondage trousers, ripped t-shirts and fetish clothes from Vivienne Westwood’s shop in London’s Kings Road. As the 80’s began Westwood’s new shop World’s End, featuring the pirate look epitomized by frilly shirts for men, helped define the New Romantic look of bands such as Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet.

It was perhaps inevitable after so much excess and flamboyance in the early part of the 1980’s that an era of dressing down would follow and this came through the birth of the dance music culture represented by the rise in popularity of hip hop music and also the late 80’s house and acid movements. Trainers and tracksuits were no longer simply sportswear but practical fashion for all night dancing.

Dressing down continued into the 90’s with the Seattle based music influenced grunge movement and continues to this day with what has come to be known as Emo.

Up to present a lot of mainstream fashion is influenced by celebrity and the UK phenomena known as WAGS (wives and girlfriends of footballers) but music still continues to influence what we wear. In fact music and fashion have never been more intimately linked with recording artists such as Gwen Stefani launching her own range of clothing and bags and Sean Comb’s Sean John range with the tagline ‘It’s not just a label, it’s a lifestyle.’

Two of the best websites around for music related clothing are Everything but the Music (EBTM) who have been featured in magazines Heat, Kerrang, New Woman, NME to name a few and DrJays. EBTM only sells band products sourced from official licensees so you can be sure of their quality. Stocking a wide range of band related clothing under the subheadings Metal, Indie Emo Rock and Cult for men, women and kids, we at The Big Fashion Bible are loving EBTM's band t-shirts. From the ubiquitous ‘lips’ Rolling Stones t-shirts through to My Chemical Romance and everywhere in between these are T-shirts with iconic images that will never date.

DrJays has to be the leading website for urban fashion. Its first store opened in the Bronx, New York 25 years ago and provided an outlet for the newly emerging hip hop influenced fashions. DrJays jeans range is extensive stocking 366 listings of jeans with over twenty five different brands available including Akademiks, Phat Farm, Sean John and Rocawear – it’s literally a goldmine for quality jeans. Phat Farm's Beta Denim jeans are on sale at the moment on the DrJays website and have recently been featured in, founder of the modern day hip hop movement, Russell Simmon's picks page on the Phat Farm website.


Until next time...

Tuesday 16 January 2007

Welcome To The Big Fashion Bible Blog

Do you love fashion? Aimed at men and women, teens through to style conscious thirtysomethings The Big Fashion Bible Blog is about all things fashion. Featuring fashion news from all 4 corners of the globe focusing on clothes, style, shoes, bags, jewelery, sales, online shopping, where to get the best deals and other must-have news - you'll find it all here!