How to dress

[Kmonk]

I don't like people wearing baseball caps on stage. Wear a clean t-shirt and a nice pair of jeans. I usually wear a button down dress shirt which I do not tuck into my jeans and roll the sleeves up to my forearms.

 

[hsech]

Three out of five of us in my band wear ball caps. We all wear jeans and T shirts. We are a top 40 country band.

 

[rmayer]

Tortoise. When in doubt it's always tortoise

 

[Old Blastard]

I usually played in old, knee-holed jeans and t-shirt or Polo. Then I decided to go a different route. Here's why.

I'm cheap. When I Saved $ for my Drake custom I Started doing the thrift store/dollar store thing. When Bowie died, I Was at a local watering hole and some hot ladies commented on how he always dressed to play and never looked like he jumped off a lawn tractor just in time for his gig.

That was kinda my look and they were hot so...

I thought about that and the next visit to the thrift I found a $4 tux coat in great shape and a loud dress shirt (rabid salmon pink). I like bright shirts anyway and I thought what the hell. The double-breasted followed along with a nice Brooks Brothers blue pin stripe seersucker that matches my Jag deluxe.

Black Nike high tops for arthritic feet.

I told the bandies how I planned to dress and said they could do what they wanted. It was just going to by my thing. They dressed up a notch and it looked pretty good.

If you dress flashy, you need to pull off a certain stage presence. Flea, Iggy and all of those guys have to have stage manners to back up their level of undress. The suit makes me more aware of everything and how I react to it.

And the ladies love it. I'm 58, so the ladies are a little bit older and your mileage may vary.

 

[BlueAliceOasis]

You are playing metal, stop caring of what others think of you. That's metal.

I thought that was punk?

 

[Billybladez66]

Shop at Kohls...they got all the cool threads these hipsters are wearing these days. And some black Chuck Taylors....yup

 

[Bassist4Eris]

Some of the responses remind me of a local punk band I used to go see back in the 90's: the guys in the band had been playing since the early 80's and were in their mid 40's by this point. The singer used to come out wearing full body fishnets, a thong, high heels, and a wig. He was rather short and fat and in hindsight, this would have been pretty brave in a redneck, homophobic small town.
I could not do it...

Ladies and gentlemen, I present some personal friends of mine, Troy NY's legendary Lawn Sausages.

 

[bikeplate]

Gotta accessorize

 

[FirewalZ]

I really do need to update my stage wardrobe and am wondering where even to go? I usually just wear my business casual work clothes, but would love to find a few "hip" shirts, etc. So where to shop?

 

[Fingerpickingood]

I really do need to update my stage wardrobe and am wondering where even to go? I usually just wear my business casual work clothes, but would love to find a few "hip" shirts, etc. So where to shop?

Kohl's. Quality and fashionable at a good price.

 

[Feral Feline]

COMFORTABLE



Best advice I can give is:


Wear something comfortable.

I mean that in the sense of what you are mentally comfortable with. Of course, wearing clothes that are physically comfortable also helps with the former concept.

 

[jasonrp]

I usually just wear a variation of my street clothes. In the attached pic (only one I could grab atm) I'd roll up my sleeves, throw on my chucks, maybe some sort of manly wrist chain, and a silk thong of the highest quality

 

[bass.slinger]

Ladies and gentlemen, I present some personal friends of mine, Troy NY's legendary Lawn Sausages.

Never a good thing when the drummer is more sedately dressed than the bass player...

 

[Zooberwerx]

Khakis, button-down oxford shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Riis

 

[bassliner50]

Easy. Wear black. Always appropriate, whether your target audience are bikers, gothic, metal, corporate, jazz afficianatos or well money'd society at the elegant yacht club or country club. (a tie is optional for the latter). Forget hats and trendy crap. Always works for me and I am older than dirt. Also, black is easily attainable. One final note, if you feel uncomfortable, you will look uncomfortable.

 

[MattZilla]

Here's some reading material to get you started...
Gig clothes?
Lack of style
How Important Is Appearance For A Bar Gig Cover Band?
Band photos: DIY or Pro
What are you guys wearing onstage these days?
Costumed Cover Bands: Yay or Nay?
Dressing alike - I feel like a Wiggles

My thoughts: look like you're in a band. That would mean taking it up a notch from your ordinary street clothes, and look like you belong together. But don't push it to the point of absurdity; no need for overweight people to squeeze themselves into spandex or older people to dress like they're teenagers or anything.

There are a gazillion bands out there that gig in jeans and tshirts. That's safe. It's also boring as hell. Find that balance where you look like you made an effort to look good, without looking like you're trying too hard. That's the trick. A lot of the time it's not a matter of going far out, so much as in the details. Fitted clothes rather than baggy shapelessness, a distinctive pair of shoes or belt, a jacket in an unusual fabric, a touch of jewelry at your neck or wrist, can make a lot of difference.

Genre matters too. If you're playing country, you want a different look than if you're playing grunge or punk, obviously.

Here's my favorite look for myself (I'll take any excuse to share this pic, I'm so vain)

okay, looks dope, but... I count at least three layers under the hot stage lights? How in the Lord's name are you not drenched in sweat by the second song? is it all made out of polythylene or some other performance athletic fabric?

 

[MJ_Sotti]

Costco always has these Kirkland black jeans there for about $16. They go with anything

 

[LT131]

I would definitely recommend against wearing a baseball cap.
They're made for keeping the sun off your noggin & out of your eyes, so there's no reason to wear it indoors.

That's really a location thing. Down here in the Deep South in some of the places I've had the privilege to perform the majority of patrons where hats, mostly of the billed variety. That includes the womenfolk too.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

This guy has a classic saying that probably fits.

 

[eekamike]

Thinking as an audience member, I think the only rule is do NOT dress like a "dad."

Jeans are a very safe bet, but they MUST fit well. Slim or slim straight are good fits, I don't care if you're chubby or built like a twig, jeans that fit well are ALWAYS fashionable. Nothing baggy, nothing that bunches up.
For shoes I prefer boots. Chukka, Chelsea, whatever you're comfortable with. But this depends on what the rest of your band wears. Maybe Chucks will work better.
The shirt is hard to pick without seeing the rest of your band and the vibe they aim for.