Minimalistic in color schemes, grunge-y in disposition, with an unintentional bohemian-like quality, Patti Smith proves that style is not just what you wear, it’s who you are.
Recently, I had the opportunity to see Patti Smith perform live at the Crystal Ballroom. I went with my boyfriend, and before the show started he asked me what I thought she was going to wear on stage. Without hesitation, I answered, “something very basic, black and white.” When she came on stage, I was right; there she was, an idol of mine since I was a junior high schooler, wearing what I always imagined she would wear. So many times I had been shopping or flipping through magazines, stumbling across something just masculine enough, but with a certain effortlessness that made it uniquely feminine. I can’t tell you how many times I found myself staring at an outfit like that and saying to myself, “That is so Patti Smith.” I realized the night I saw Patti Smith that the greatest thing about her is her amazing ability to be her own, very weird self. It’s something we all like to say we can do with confidence, but few of us exude it in such a way that is so in-your-face, yet laid back. True style is a lot like that, in my opinion. It’s something that each of us possesses, but there are few of us in this world, Patti Smith being one of them, who have the special, wonderful, alien like ability to exude who we are through our wardrobe. I am so thankful for people like her who inspire the alien-ness in me.
Who inspires that alien in you?
Girl from the North Country 