“The only rule is don’t be boring.”
Attributed to Diana Vreeland
Before there was MTV or social media influencers, there were three very unconventional performers who rocked into America’s homes on small black and white television screens: Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Buddy Holly. Together they formed the roots of a musical family tree, debuted a new American sound and demonstrated that style was the branches and leaves of the tree. Fashions greatest hits began in the 1950’s with each of these three contributing their DNA to their descendants. They were definitely not boring!
Elvis broke the mold of conservative suits and ties worn by earlier performers. He stepped onto the stage wearing Cuban heeled shoes and sport coats in bright pink, emerald or turquoise, his thick, black hair slicked back into a defiant pompadour. Slim peg-leg trousers emphasized his impossible-to-ignore swiveling hips. Elvis was a completely new kind of performer and different is perceived as a threat: Parents panicked, female fans swooned and young males raced to mirrors with hair gel and combs to practice his trademark twisting hip moves. Adults wondered where all this would lead. They soon found out as the Beatles stormed onto American shores wearing Cuban heels, slim suits, the pompadour relaxed into “mop top” hair styles (apparently more threatening than the pompadour and ensuring hair was a statement). The Beatles were followed by the Rolling Stones who performed in tight trousers and exuded a raw masculine sexuality and the youth driven culture was firmly established. Mick Jagger quipped that everyone borrowed something from Elvis. When Elvis later added black leather for his 1968 TV comeback performance, it became “de rigueur” for any modern music performers—or any wardrobe for that matter. George Michael and Billy Idol were just two who leaned heavily into leather. Today Bruno Mars and Harry Styles have revived colorful suits, cuban heels and 1950’s silhouettes. Thanks to Elvis, looking cool had never been hotter but Little Richard managed to turn up the heat to a spectacular sizzle.
Decades before the terms “gender bending” and “gender fluid” had been coined, Little Richard was blurring the proscribed boundaries between the male and female aesthetic. He wore jackets with enough sequins, rhinestones and glitter to light up Las Vegas, his pompadour was its own Empire State and he wore makeup—lots of it. Once seen, he was an unforgettable spectacle.
As a first descendant of Little Richard, James Brown swirled onto the stage in razzle, dazzle ‘em capes with footwork just as mesmerizing as Elvis’ swiveling hips. David Bowie was Little Richard riding a rocket ship. Bowie colored and spiked his hair and took his out-of-this-world costumed character, Ziggy Stardust, on a space odyssey to a galaxy far, far away. Elton John smothered himself in sequins, added feather boas and leveraged Cuban heels up to specially designed platform shoes that kept him hovering just within earth’s atmosphere. Prince, his stage name fitting for a musician with the talent and confidence of a royal personage, was a fusion of Elvis’ fascinating presence and Little Richard’s blended gender roles. Prince blurred liberated sexuality in his lyrics and dress.
Cher, Donna Summer and Diana Ross all dressed in sparkling sequins first debuted by Little Richard. Three decades after Little Richard, Boy George, of Culture Club, used makeup and androgynous dress for his own attention grabbing stage style. And, for glittering platform shoes and makeup it’s difficult to beat the band, Kiss! So far, the family tree has yielded recognizable progeny but every family tree has a relative that just doesn’t seem to fit and this one is no exception.
At first glance, Buddy Holly, with his thick framed glasses and conservative suits, looked to be more at home in a school science lab than on a rock stage. In contrast to the iconoclastic and sexually suggestive Elvis and the flamboyant Little Richard, Buddy Holly exuded a reassuring boy-next-door wholesomeness. But, behind those glasses was a truly inventive mind. One of the first to write, produce and perform his own music, he experimented with new musical structures within his catchy pop/rock songs (32 hits by the time he died at age 22 in a plane crash). A true pioneer who fused a conservative fashion style with creativity (he was an early inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), he influenced generations of musicians.
John Lennon adopted frameless round “granny glasses,” Elton John took glasses into the realm of wearable art and George Michael added Aviator sunglasses to his biker leather outfits to transform his look from boyish Wham! to a strong expression of his authentic self. Rivers Cuomo gleefully channeled Buddy Holly as Weezer. Jack Antonoff is another multi-talented and intellectual musician who unapologetically embraced oversized glasses as a signature look. In an era of rebellion and glam, Buddy Holly’s glasses were the intentional “accidental note” injected to the musical composition of Rock’s development and became a unique signature style; one that is an important element of Rock’s roots to this day.
Nearly every major modern music performer today is the inheritor of all this cross pollination. Each can trace elements of their their image and style to one— or more—of these three original founders. Every leather jacket traces back to the trunk of Rock and Roll’s musical tree, sequins adorn the limbs and each pair of glasses refer back to an unlikely offshoot. Rock and Roll contributed the “genetic code” that changed the soundtrack of America and, in the process, changed our wardrobes.
Regardless of the year you were born, it’s likely your closet contains garments that trace back to the first decades of Rock ‘n Roll: A bright statement color, perhaps some leather, sparkling sequins and a uniquely personal accessory.
Thanks to the musical family tree passed down for over seven decades, it’s easy to put some Rock and Pop into your Purely Personal style — and, you won’t be boring!
