Off the Charts: Music in Fashion Spring 2009

I don't want to diminish my integrity as a music blogger, but I would just like to say that I am madly in love with our crappy U.S. (and global) economy. Why? Because it means people bought less for Christmas, meaning stores have more merchandise to move, meaning everything in the world is 70% off.

In honor of the hardcore bargain-hunting I've been doing this weekend ($3 shorts at Pac Sun! $9 cardigans at Ann Taylor Loft!), I thought I'd give you kids a few music-related fashion tips on what to spend your Christmas money on.

[P.S. Please actually click on a few of the links since I spent some hard-earned time finding those pictures/sites!]

Plaid seems to be a hot new trend for spring, as demonstrated by everyone from the Jonas Brothers to Demi Lovato to the guys from Hey Monday.



Okay, not the world's greatest examples (not too keen on Demi's outfit in particular), but I'm not much of a fashion blogger. The mall seems to be filled with colorful gingham shirts - dELiAs has the basic gingham down, while Forever 21 adds some pizazz with ruffles. Some more traditional plaids are also around, such as at dELiAs, which are more what the guys in the pictures are wearing.

But really kids, you gotta trust that once the Jonas Brothers start wearing something, it's gonna be in style. Joe totally called the Ray Bans wayfarers and colored skinny jeans, and Kevin's scarves were big this fall. (They say they love reading Teen Vogue - call them what you will, but you can't deny they've got style.)

Next up: possibly the biggest fashion debate of 2008 was how stupid you have to be to wear a romper. They were in, people laughed, they were out, Katy Perry wore one on MTV, people laughed harder, critics said they were soooo totally the next big thing...

I'm on the team saying that, although they look absolutely adorable, you have to either be missing a brain or possessing astounding bladder control if you want to rock a one-piece. I think that an equally adorable alternative, however, is the also-Katy-Perry-endorsed shirtdress. I believe Katy rocked one recently in at least a few scenes in her "Thinking of You" video. Camilla Bell also wore one in the Jonas Brothers' video for "Lovebug," and if Joe Jonas's new girfriend wears it, you know it's in style.

Another note about both of those videos; they're both set in the 1940's. I could speculate about how Americans are more optimistic about war and foreign policy (cuz who didn't love WWII?), but I'd rather just note that retro 40's styles seem to be coming in, with Katy Perry leading the way, then move on to talk about the next trend I've noticed...

Crazy neon clothes, because who doesn't want to dress like a highlighter? Aspiring pop bands Cash Cash and Varsity Fan Club certainly do.



VFC doesn't mind rocking some gingham either. Not saying these guys are the height of cool, but Capitol seems to think VFC are the next Nsync, and I think they are dressing them in whatever will drive teenage girls crazy.

Cobra Starship, of course, pioneered the recent trend toward crazy colors, and they don't seem to be toning it down anytime soon.



And I think Gabe's checkerboard pants up there will continue to be a pretty hot seller at Hot Topic. Hot Topic and Pac Sun are some good stops to find pants and tees brighter than your Sharpie highlighters.

Those are the top three trends I've noticed on musicians these days. Oh, and as I'm sure you've realized, yellow is the hot color for spring. It didn't become 100% inevitable until Michelle Obama donned that yellow jacket/dress combo for Inauguration, but one of my fave bands, Oh, Hush! totally predicted it a few months earlier in their blog. (Real article about mimosa yellow here.)

There are even price cuts at some bands' merch stores. Danger Radio is having a huge sale at their store, and I for one want to snatch up that $10 sleeveless hoodie.

That's all the fashion advice I've got for now! Now back to the tunes I'm actually supposed to be reviewing...

[edit: I accidentally referred to rompers as jumpers a couple times there; sorry about that! It's all fixed now!]