A lot of people on the infamous interwebs have been asking “how do I look like a punk so I don’t stand out at the punk show I’m going to?” People who are not familiar with the culture often get anxious before attending their first punk show because they don’t know what to expect. They also don’t want to get singled out and isolated.

There are lots of things to know before going to a show, even if you’re a long time punk rocker. The things you choose to wear can have a big effect on whether you have a good time, or have a bad time. Here’s a little guide to help you avoid looking like a poser.

Do some research on the scene.

Being at a punk show is more about attitude than dress. This guy looks like a hippie, but he's crowd surfing!

Punk is different everywhere you go. Just because you’ve been to a million punk shows in New York doesn’t mean you’ll be prepared for a show in Los Angeles. And those who have grown up on the more friendly and hospitable Seattle punk scene may find themselves totally in over their heads just south to Portland. Do a little research and ask around to get a general idea of what punk shows in the area are like. If they tend to get super rowdy, you might want to come dressed in durable clothing like leather and denim. If the venue is poorly ventilated and there’s no coat check, you might reconsider the heavy clothing in favor of just a tee shirt and shorts.

Just as an example, there are punk shows in Seattle in underground venues where people are generally friendly, inviting, and open. But once, at a basement party, a kid came in wearing an Insane Clown Posse tee-shirt. In some of my other circles of friends fans of ICP – known as Juggalos – have been well accepted, and I didn’t think anything of it. In this circle of people, it turned out, Juggalos were received poorly. The poor kid didn’t know what hit him, but he was quickly roughed up and ejected. If he had known a bit more about the people he was coming to see, he might have just left the shirt at home.

Make sure your hair has the proper product.

While very cool looking, a hairdo this big is probably a bad idea for going to a show

If you’re going all out with liberty spikes, a mohawk, or other high-labor hairstyle, you’ve got to remember that going to a show has very different strains on your hair than every day activities. Shows are generally warmer because of the body heat, and people throw their limbs around at high speed. Your regular hair spray or Jell-O mix may not be enough. Home made products especially tend to break down once hot, salty sweat seeps in. Then it just takes a well placed elbow from someone else in the mosh pit to completely undo your do.

There is a family of products called hair glue, which is generally a pretty good binding agent for shows. Fiber putty is another good solution. They generally are not as good at getting hair to stand on end by themselves, but they also tend not to break down as quickly or easily. Wood glue is also a good solution because it hardens like a rock and is fairly transparent. But be careful with wood glue. It really does not like coming out once it has been put in, and it takes a lot more than a hot shower to rinse it out.

For more on mohawks and punk hair maintenance, including various hair products such as home made gel, check out How To Look Like A Punk Vol. 3 – Styling a Mohawk

Layer.

We here in the Pacific Northwest do it just to get by. In places where the weather is fairly consistent all day people get in the habit of wearing only one layer of clothing – warm clothing or cool clothing. But just like the Northwest at large punk shows tend to fluctuate in temperature. Before the show begins it can be frigid, and the minute the mosh pit starts up the heat becomes incredible as you lose a pound of water just from sweating.

A simple list of layers:

• Underwear. This includes boxers, panties, and sleeveless undershirts like tank tops or “wifebeaters”.
• Tee shirt.
• Light over shirt, like a short-sleeved button-down or vest.
• Jacket – leather or otherwise
• Pants. Make sure you can breathe or adjust them somehow if you need to. Tight jeans are good looking, but if you end up peeing your pants because you couldn’t peel away the sweat-soaked denim in time to whip your wiener out, you can toss all chances of getting laid at the show. And don’t tell me that it’s not a possibility – I’ve seen it happen.

A short list of accessories to complete an outfit.

If you're going to a show with these guys you might want to armor up with something similar to these jackets. They can hurt in the moshpit.

Some specific things have gotten associated with punk rock, and you can use them as simple ornamentation. You don’t have to rip off someone else’s style, you can just integrate a couple of these items into the outfit you compose as needed.

• Fishnets. Since the early years of punk fishnets have been both functional and stylish. As stocking, sleeve, glove, or (if you’re gutsy) a shirt it provides breathing room and is unrestrictive.
• Leather bands. They serve no function, really. But they’re available with a wide range of patterns, colors, sizes, and studs.
• Piercings. In a mosh pit every piercing is a liability, but I understand many of you simply must. For punk shows it’s best to stay away from long, wide, or dangling piercings as they can easily get caught on someone’s shirt, finger, or hair. And that’s a bad time. Stick with studs, small rings, beaded numbers, etc.
• Plastic bracelets. They’re cheap, colorful, and if you get one that say “Livestrong” on it you might get laid by someone who thinks you actually give a crap.

Stop trying to blend in.

I made it all the way through this article without saying it, but here it goes. If you’re trying to blend in at a punk show, you’re going to stand out. Each and every punk rocker has a different idea of fashion. Or none at all. At the average punk show you’ll see people in nothing but a white tee shirt and jeans, moshing right alongside someone with a two-foot mohawk and ten-pound studded jacket. Some of the most vicious moshers I have had the privilege of dancing beside have been blonde girls with straightforward hair and clothing you can find at the GAP. There’s no dress code, and you’re more likely to be accepted if you’re not fronting.

If you came to this page to figure out how to dress before going to your first punk show, here is my advice. You want to look like a punk? Look at yourself right now. You look like a punk. Being punk is not giving a shit. So stop caring and dance, fuckers, dance!