Punk Fashion Cheat Sheet

Did you know that not all punk is created equally?  The punk lifestyle has many variations.  Here is a little cheat sheet to help you understand some of the subtle or not so subtle differences between the various classifications.  The music and the clothing has differences.

Punk Fashion Categories

• Anarcho Punk Fashion: Anarcho-punk fashion usually features all-black militaristic clothing.
• Celtic Punk Fashion: Fans of Celtic punk often mix hardcore, street punk, Oi! and skinhead fashions with traditional Irish or Scottish clothing styles, including elements of highland dress.
• Cowpunk Fashion: Fans of cowpunk base their look on Southern United States poor boys.
• Crust Punk Fashion: creating a disheveled DIY look originating in squatting and poverty.  Typical crust punk fashion includes black or camouflage trousers or shorts (heavy work pants are popular for their durability), torn band T-shirts or hoodies, skin tight black jeans, vests and jackets (commonly black denim), bullet belts, jewelry made from hemp or found objects, and sometimes bum flaps. Many items of clothing are covered in patches and/or metal studs.
• Dance-punk Fashion: Dance-punk fashions include day-glo colors, phat pants, glowsticks, leather studded jackets, chains and combat boots. Typical haircuts include spiky hair bleached blond, short mohawks and synthetic dreadlocks.
• Dark cabaret & Gypsy Punk Fashion: dark cabaret and Gypsy punk often imitate the costumes of 1920s music hall, sideshow or burlesque performers.
• Droog Punk Fashion: During the early 1980s, some street punks and Oi! skinheads adopted elements of the dress style from the film A Clockwork Orange.  See the movie and you will better understand.  Note: the movie is NOT for everyone.
• Garage Punk Fashion: often wore secondhand clothing from the mid-late 1960s, such as velvet jackets, slim-fitting grey suits, black leather jackets, winklepickers and drainpipe jeans, in reaction to the flared trousers worn by hippies and disco fans.  The trend continues.
• Glam Punk Fashion: Contemporary to the garage bands of the early 1970s, glam punk fashion, pioneered by bands like the New York Dolls , includes glitter, androgynous make-up, brightly dyed hair, drainpipe jeans, bright colors like electric blue.  Clothing may include, leopard print, spandex, or satin shirts as well.
• Hardcore Punk Fashion: Personal comfort and the ability to mosh are highly influential in this style. For this reason, jewelry, spikes, chains and spiky hair are highly uncommon and discouraged in hardcore fashion. Hardcore punk music is generally faster, heavier, and more abrasive than regular punk rock.  Think Henry Rollins of Black Flag.
• Horror Punk & Deathrock Fashion: Horror punk and deathrock fashions are similar to goth fashion. Black is the predominant shade. Deathrock and horror punk incorporate items such as fishnet stockings, corsets and elaborate make-up for men and women.
• Pop Punk Fashion: Contemporary pop punk, or "scene fashion", sometimes overlaps with skater punk fashion.  In the mid 2000's pop punk fashion, influenced by indie rock, hip hop and emo fashions, evolved to include cartoon print hoodies, Converse shoes, keffiyehs and skinny jeans. Spiky hair was gradually replaced by skater styles with long fringes or bangs.  In 2010's pop funk fans took a turn more toward the hardcore look.
• Psychobilly Fashion: Psychobilly fashion combines elements of punk with 1950s Greaser and British Teddy Boy fashions.  Brothel creeper shoes are frequently worn, as well as leather jackets, gas-station shirts, black or white retro T-shirts, dark-colored drape jackets and vintage motorcycle/work boots. Hair consists of a quiff, pompadour or psychobilly wedge, usually with the sides shaved into a mohawk. By the way, if you are not familiar with brothel creeper shoes, they are a style of shoe which has thick crepe soles, often in combination with suede uppers. This style of footwear became fashionable in the years following World War II, seeing resurgences of popularity at various times ever since.  (Brothel creeper are sometimes shortened to creeper)
• Ska Punk Fashion: Ska punk fans typically dress in a style that mixes typical ska- or 2 Tone-related fashions, with various types of punk fashions, including street punk, pop punk, skate punk or hardcore punk. Braces are popular, as are Harrington jackets with Royal Stewart tartan lining, thin ties, Doc Martens, mohair suits, pork pie hats, tonik suits (especially in the early years of the 1980s ska revival), tank tops, Ben Sherman or Fred Perry polo shirts, hoodies, and checkerboard patterns. Hair is cropped very short in imitation of hardcore punk bands and early 1960s rude boys.
• Skate Punk Fashion: Skate punk is a derivative of hardcore fashion, chosen with comfort and practicality in mind. Common skate punk clothing items include: T-shirts, flannel button-down shirts, hooded sweatshirts, webbing belts, and khaki shorts, pants or jeans.  Clothing worn by skateboarders.
• Street punk and Oi! Fashion: DIY-created and modified clothing, such as ripped or stitched-together trousers or shirts, or trousers that are tightly tapered, are common. Jackets and vests often have patches or are painted with logos that express musical tastes or political views. Bullet belts and belts with metal studs are popular. Hair is often spiked and/or dyed in bright, unnatural colors and arranged into a mohawk or liberty spikes, but it is sometimes cut very short or shaved.  Oi! skinheads, sometimes known as skunks or punk-skinheads, fuse traditional skinhead style with street punk fashions. The look is characterized by Dr. Martens boots (or similar boots made by a different brand), braces, and tight rolled-up jeans, sometimes splattered with bleach.

Well, we hope that this helps you better understand punk fashion and the lifestyle behind the clothing.

You may also want to read about post-punk fashion here on our blog.  Are you into punk fashion?  Possibly, you have a mohawk.  If you know more about this subject then we do (which is very probable), please share your comments to help us all learn.