Music has been around for quite some time, and it appears to will be around forever. It has captured the minds and souls of many people, from all the different races and cultures. People nowadays, in particular teenagers, are obsessed with music and the music world. They go as far as idolizing their favorite artist or artists. They walk like them, they talk like them, and they even dress like them. Obsessions such as these, in particular the dressing like these artists, aren’t bad, but they do have consequences, which people fail to realize. Lately, artists have been associated with a wide range of different dressing styles.
From Marilyn Manson, in his eccentric leather outfits, to Jay-Z, in his basketball jerseys and baggy-pants. These styles appeal to many people, who in turn try to dress like these artists. We then have people walking around with baggy pants, the waists of the pants all the way to their knees, and basketball jerseys. You may also see many teens, as well as adults, wearing baseball caps backward or to one side; yet another style of dressing related to some artists. If you’re lucky you might see a “Brittany Spears” walk by the corner! That’s right, the styles don’t just apply to men.
Women and teenage girls have also taken up this artist fashion frenzy. Teenage girls pay homage to their favorite female artist by dressing like them exactly like them. Take for instance, the millions of young girls, and women who try to imitate Pop legend Madonna. Some even go as far as getting contact lenses to match Madonna’s eyes. They even fix their hair like her. Could you imagine seeing teens walking the streets like rock superstar Marilyn Manson? Just the thought brings chills to my back. From piercings to baggy pants, skin fit blouses, to blue hair and tattoos.
All the trends that come to be because of certain artists may seem like fun, but they may bring about a wrong impression on some people. Teens may say, “It’s my way of expressing myself,” but it is a fact, that the way a person dresses or presents him or herself tells a lot about them. People also tend to stereotype certain trends or styles to certain behaviors or characteristics. For example, when some people see a male in ‘saggy baggy’ pants, big shirts and backward baseball caps, they immediately associate them with being gangsters or muggers, and are uncomfortable being around them. I know this is a fact from first hand experience.
When I was living in Belize City, a person fitting the same description mentioned earlier mugged me at gunpoint. I had never felt uncomfortable around anyone before that incident. Now, when I walk the streets of any town or city, and come across someone fitting that description I transform from, a calm and fun loving person to, an alert, suspicious and paranoid person. It is sad to think that things like this do happen. The first thing that comes into a man’s head after he sees a girl in a ‘skimpy’ outfit pass by is that she is easy going; yet another awful stereotype that exists due to choice of wardrobe.
Who is anyone to justify that just because she dresses the way she does, that the girl is really easy going; but that’s how people are. The girl may just be trying to look like Christina Aguilera, Brittany Spears, Mandy Moore, or any other female artist. Despite the stereotyping, it is pretty interesting to see that people admire artists so much that they go as far as trying to look exactly like them; and if it makes them feel happy, I say go right ahead. But, like everything else in this world, it does have its consequences.