The grunge movement of the 90s, and early 00s indie sleaze, captured a moment that rejected polished, curated fashion in favor of something more raw, primal and organic. Today, as mainstream trends embrace that nostalgia and teens discover their parents’ old Nirvana records, grunge and indie sleaze are most certainly making a comeback. This revival, if done correctly, isn’t about thousand-dollar designer recreations – it’s about that authentic, unpolished style that taps into something personal.
Back in the day it wasn’t uncommon for brands to commercialize grunge with absurd products like overpriced “grunge shampoo” – an easy punchline for those of us who knew that the real icons of the movement achieved that look simply by rarely washing their hair. Knowing the difference between the performative, curated look and the natural spirit of sleaze is like knowing the difference between “Johnny Cash’s cover of ‘Hurt’ might be better than the NIN original” and “Actually, the Foo Fighters were the band Nirvana could have been”. While there may be room for disagreement on the one hand, the other is just wrong.
The Essentials: Fashion, Accessories and Attitude
The core of this aesthetic is in an effortless mix of textures, layers and thrift shopping. Ripped jeans, vintage band tees, oversized plaid shirts for the 90s or battered leather jackets for the 00s. The key is pieces that look lived-in. For that Courtney Love look, pairing a Babydoll dress with DM boots can’t be beaten. From an accessories standpoint, stacked rings, layered chains and body piercings are key. Standard ear-piercings are acceptable, but you’ll certainly gain extra points for septum, labret or tragus piercings. But, sidebar, distressed jeans and messy hair are part of the vibe. Sepsis isn’t, so learn how to take care of a tragus piercing.
Does This Look Infected? Is a Sum 41 album, it shouldn’t be how you greet your friends.
Music and Icons Offering Inspiration
Grunge and indie sleaze may have launched a thousand looks, but the music behind them is essential to the feel of the time. Nineties bands like Nirvana, Veruca Salt, Hole and Pixies walked so that The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sky Ferreira could run. Reading about and listening to these icons won’t just give you ideas for a look, they’ll also fuel a sense of individuality and informed skepticism that makes you more than an aesthete.
The key to this music, and to the whole vibe, is a rebellious and chaotic attitude that resonates with those people who want to break free from an airbrushed, overly-staged social media age. But we are in the 2020s, so it is only smart to offer the caveat here that while breaking convention is to be admired, the nihilistic self-destruction that surrounded so many of the icons we’ve looked up to should be avoided. Depression is not an aesthetic and therapy is a preferable alternative to oblivion.
The Bottom Line
Although the grungey, sleazy aesthetic is cool, it’s not a trend that should cost too much money to achieve. As noted at the beginning of this piece, that careless look shouldn’t be too curated. You could buy distressed jeans that cost hundreds of dollars, or you could distress a pair of jeans yourself. A sleeveless band tee should never cost more than a t-shirt that you can cut the sleeves off with a pair of scissors. Thrift stores, pre-loved fashion sites and vintage markets are the best places to find clothes, and the bottom, bottom line? Don’t overthink it. If you spend too much time and money perfecting the look, you may have missed the point.
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