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Comment by YeGoblynQueenne | Hacker News Reader

OK, can I deviate from the main subject a bit? What is it with women's fashion today that everyone's dressing like '90s metal bands?

Faux-leather jackets, or fliers; trainers; skinny jeans, torn at the knees; and even band t-s. I was in H&M's (UK) the other day and they had Metallica, AC/DC and _Iron Maiden_ tees. Maiden tees. With The Number of the Beast. What the hell!?

I used to dress like that when I was a teen (and, er, later) and I enjoyed how it marked me out as a mosher and so on. "Yep, I'm not a fashion victim like you, ha". Now everyone's at it. It's giving me a huge sense of cognitive dissonance, you know?

Also, seriously. Metal tees with gucci handbags? Come _on_!

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It's just the fashion industry digging through the trends and fashions of the past 60 years for things to recycle. It doesn't have to make aesthetic or semantic sense; it just has to sell. Leaning on existing fashion from the past lends a certain sense of legitimacy to whatever trend they are pushing, so it's a tried and true tactic to reintroduce them — conveniently stripped of any social classifiers associated with it (but they do look great on Instabook).

That said, today's teenagers wearing Nirvana T-shirts may smell like teen spirit, but I doubt any of them has even heard a single song of that band. It's a bit weird.

The Nirvana t-shirt thing is very weird! I'm glad I'm not the only one who's noticed that.

My daughter is 6 and has a couple of band tshirts she saw at Target. The rule was she had to listen to a couple of the songs before we bought them. Landed on Nirvana and Pink Floyd. Loves those bands now.

> I enjoyed how it marked me out as a mosher and so on. "Yep, I'm not a fashion victim like you, ha". Now everyone's at it.

This slap in the face of nostalgia is part of growing up I guess. Don't get me started on all the coders nowadays and dudes sitting with laptops in cafes, why & how the heck did my beloved edgy late-90s youth-hood "non-mainstream"/decidedly-perceived-as-freakish-by-society-back-then identity become hijacked and something seemingly every jock and Chad adopts! Guess it all started with Zuck..

Thank you, you just made me feel so old :)

It's a cycle that keeps happening. Emergent art becomes tokenized and commercialized. The challenge is to keep staying edgy and onto new things.

Yeah, it is weird. Coding got reappropriated as hip once it became clear th adults had ruined lots of other jobs. What I wonder is whether the people who decried it as nerdy in the past have any sense of cognitive dissonance about holding it in esteem now.

My guess is no, because pop culture is ahistorical.

True metal chicks wear the metal studded wrist bands. I remember on the school bus, a metal chick wrapped it around her fist, then punch another gal in the face. Metal chicks can be vicious; never seen a metal dude do shit like that, or even fight.

Wasn't it if they didn't fight they were "poseurs"? Ahh, cliques and otherness.

Ha ha, yes, poseurs.

Ouch. Come on.

The studs fad was a few years ago. I don't think it's completely over either. I still see people going 'round with studded leather handbags or high heels, or some other items less frequently. I've seen a few mens' sneakers with studs also.

And at least one totally not a mosher girl with a neck leather band with nickel studs that'd probably make Gaahl bat an eyelid.

I should have stated, I was talking about 30 years ago.

Are they Tees of 3/4 length sleeve "jerseys"? ala 80s-90s?

Mostly tees, but I've seen those 3/4s also. With white sleeves too.

It's cultural appropriation, I tells you!

People are very strange these days.

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