Fake Indie

Look around you, the world is full of posers. People who wish they were someone else. Someone cooler. Sometimes they talk the talk, or even walk the walk, but somewhere in between or before, they frequently wear the uniform.

One of the most common hats people try on is the one of fake indie. I don't know that there is one true uniform, but real and fake indies are tough to differentiate on dress alone. One of the many choices they may opt for include "checkerboard" Vans shoes, ripped jeans, and more or less obscure bands' t-shirts.

I actually like this look and have chosen to rock interesting shoes of my own from time to time when I bother to wear something other than flip-flops. I personally don't understand why so many chose to wear this particular eyesore (sorry friends who own this model) when there are so many other pretty Vans variations, including some pretty cute argyle ones. Anyway, I digress.

What I'm wondering is, why does everyone chose this particular Ramones t-shirt as their way to assert their deviation from the mainstream?

It can't be that indie if I've seen it shown so much on mainstream media. I've seen this shirt worn by quasi-hipster, in the music "know" characters Peyton Sawyer (on One Tree Hill) and Brendan Dorff (from My Boys). (Yes, I admitted some pretty embarrassing TV-watching in the previous statement.) I also see people wear this shirt around quite a bit. Maybe it's because I live in Austin... who knows. It's a cool shirt, but it surprises me how many people own it. Is it comparable to the Hard Rock Cafe shirts of the '90s? Well, not quite, but it's still interesting to observe its ubiquitousness. I can't help but wonder if the people I see wearing this shirt are the people I saw milling around ACL and raving about the amazingness of The Killers.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Anyway I guess my point is wear what you want because it's you. If indie is what you are, be just that... be independent. Aren't there some unsaid tenets about being indie regarding not selling out and embracing differences? Be yourself. Of course you can and should adopt influences you see and incorporate them into your own wardrobe. But make it you. Oh wait, I'm the last person anyone should be taking fashion advice from.

So this isn't a complete loss I'll impart some actual fashion sense: dress to accentuate whatever attributes you like about yourself.

The writer of this post admits to enjoying so-called indie music but rarely remembers the names of the artists and even less often, the words to the songs. Her favorite music groups are "ones that peaked in 1994" and "once-indie bands that sold out." She even pays for her music on iTunes. How patently uncool.