How the Coolest Indie Bands Decide What to Wear Onstage
Walk onto any college campus and the only thing you'll see more of than varsity sweatshirts is Sperry Top-Siders. Seriously, is there some sort of requirement that you must have a spiffy new pair of boat shoes before you enter your freshman year? It sure seems that way.
To show their appreciation, Sperry embarked on a concert tour, hitting up a handful of super lucky universities down South with a few cool young bands and a bunch of dancing shoes in tow. Kind of like Coachella, but with fewer flower crowns and more preppy kicks.
It was a diverse lineup of some of the most exciting up-and-coming artists, including country crooner Sam Hunt, alt-rockers Manchester Orchestra, and California folksters The Mowgli's, plus a bunch of indie newbies like MisterWives, The Colourist, and Vacationer.
With music festival season fully in swing and a slew of the coolest bands at our disposal, we had to ask the burning question: How do you figure out what to wear onstage?! What's the thought process? Any special considerations? If there were thousands of people rocking out to our music, you can bet we'd have all kinds of wardrobe musts.
Click through to tag along and see their answers!
1/10Rock chicks spill about all things personal style, from shoes to sundresses.
2/10"Any printed romper! Whether it's floral, polka dot, stripes, leopard, cat-patterned...I'll be in any of the above," said Misterwives's Mandy Lee on her summer festival must-haves. "Rompers are comfy, functional, stylish AKA a girl's best friend."
Misterwives at Wake Forest University.
3/10"Something both easy to wear and flashy. Lately I've been really into Rachel Antonoff's clothes because they're colorful and sexy yet somehow really easy to move in and modest," said The Mowgli's frontlady Katie Jayne Earl of her performance style. "Offstage I go for practicality—I have the most fun watching and dancing to bands in something casual, like jean shorts and a classic T."
The Mowgli's at University of South Carolina.
4/10"I love dancing barefoot, but if I'm gonna wear shoes, I go flats," said Katie Jayne. "Heels are cute but I find that I hold back on performing when I'm scared of breaking an ankle on stage."
The Mowgli's at Wake Forest University.
5/10Dudes in shades.
Misterwives at Clemson.
6/10"Two words: Charlie's Angels," says The Colourist's Maya Tuttle of her personal style.
The Colourist at Clemson University.
7/10Fringe galore.
Misterwives at University of Tennessee.
8/10A Manchester Orchestra band T-shirt spotted on the Vacationer stage...
Vacationer at University of South Carolina.
9/10...and another band tee—Vacationer, perhaps?—on the Manchester Orchestra stage.
Manchester Orchestra at University of South Carolina.
10/10Cool shoes, cooler instruments.
Misterwives at Wake Forest University.
Worry less about mean girls and more about math class. What’s your favorite Teen Vogue moment?
When there were five (!) different One Direction covers in 2012. Share a funny anecdote from a first job or internship.
As a Teen Vogue intern, I interviewed Jonas ... Read More
