The Punk Palette: Subversion through Color
Monica Sklar and Lauren Michel
Chapter Summary. Punks have maintained a thoughtful approach to color in their emphasis on dress, from inception of punk subculture in the 1970s through today. Research was performed through surveys and interviews with self-identified punks from three large cities in the midwestern United States to evaluate their punk dress. Findings indicated punks employ color as tools for self-expression, to ally with subculture, to identify with like-minded others, to distance themselves from social ideas they dislike, and to be individually creative. Interviewees emphasized dark attire with accents of silver and neons as fundamental to their visual interpretation of the punk ethos. However, in interviewees’ experiences, aging brought on a willingness to tone down one’s obvious punk style, reducing the use of color cues. While punk style has become increasingly acceptable in the mainstream, it generally remains inappropriate in conservative contexts. Thus, there is still potential for color in punk dress, such as green hair, to be viewed as incendiary.
THE FOUNDATION OF AESTHETICS OF PUNK DRESS
Part of establishing a punk identity means feeling in some way disenfranchised from mainstream society and being critical of the art, politics, popular culture, consumerism, and sexual and social mores of conventional culture. Scholars have theorized that dress is of great importance in communicating an identity (Goffman 1959; Roach-Higgins and Eicher 1992). The specific aesthetic components of dress, such as color, factor heavily into the identity expression of individuals who display a punk ideology. There is great variation within what is considered punk style, however many of its components, including the color palette, have become ubiquitous. In the 1970s the bold tartan and metal zippers of designers Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren, dark-colored denim and black leather jackets of music pioneers The Ramones, and a flourish of bold unnatural hair dye sold by early punk-style retailers, Tish and Snooky, helped establish the color scheme: black and a limited range of dark colors juxtaposed with shocking brights, and accessorized with silver metal. This foundational look has been reinvented repeatedly to suit the times as seen in vibrantly colored skate/surf-wear of the 1980s, the plaid flannel of 1990s grunge, and the black-clad “emo” style of the 2000s.
RESEARCH STUDY
Men and women who self-identified as punk evaluated the relationship between their punk dress and their other modes of dress. Data were gathered via 208 participants in a mixed-method online survey, from which twenty representative participants were selected for interviews to discuss their dress behaviors and to display selections from their wardrobes. Interviewees were from three large cities in the midwestern United States and between the ages of twenty-six and forty-five. Eighteen of twenty reported that they had participated in the punk subculture for eleven years or more. On a Likert scale, nineteen of twenty reported they “use dress for self expression of punk” and ten of twenty responded “regularly/quite a bit” regarding how often. These committed punks stressed the importance of colors within punk aesthetics, highlighting dressing in dark hues with accents of shock and steel.
FINDINGS: THE PUNK PALETTE
Dressing Dark
All twenty interviewees emphasized the color black as fundamental to their visual interpretation of the punk ethos. Repeatedly, black was characterized as the base color of their wardrobes and dressing dark was considered at the core of punk style in the following quotes from interviewees.
“A lot of black all the time.” (Stacey, age range 26–35)
“Dark colors, black, dark blue and stuff like that.” (Ben, age range 26–35)
“Dressing a little bit darker.” (Chrissy, age range 36–45)
Similarly, dark, low-value shades of gray, red, green, and blue were employed deliberately in interviewees’ clothing choices. Dressing dark serves cultural and functional purposes.
Cultural Associations
Interviewees described how they choose dark colors for their cultural associations, such as the presentation of a seditious or intimidating appearance. Also mentioned was the association of black with dirt and filth in contrast to white and its association with pristine purity. In keeping with the proverb “cleanliness is next to godliness,” mainstream society equates dressing dark with nonconformity, antisociality, low class, and little worth in society, a stereotype punks embrace and try to turn on its head.
Secondly, black and dark colors were stressed as important for functional purposes. Although punks often desire to stand out, interviewees reported the sometime benefits of dressing dark providing anonymity by allowing one to fade into the night or into a busy urban environment, thus avoiding unwanted attention. Also mentioned was black’s practicality, both for repeated wear for hiding stains, and for coordinating harmoniously with other colors.
In general, I always preferred black. Because it’s harder to see in the light for one thing, it’s easier to hide. It goes with everything. When in doubt, wear black. (Zhac, age range 36–45)
Punks may wear black and dark colors for their symbolic meanings or for their sensible aesthetic qualities. As Fehrman and Fehrman remind us (2004: 65), “Most of our associations with black are negative: blacklist…black looks, black sheep. Black is often the garb of the revolutionary, from beatniks to punks.” Given the historical antisocial and anticonformist attitude of punk, and Western culture’s associations with the color black, extensive wearing of the color seems a natural part of the punk aesthetic.
The Workingman’s Metals
The words silver and metal were used interchangeably to describe the popular color theme for the numerous mentions of studs, spikes, chains, safety pins, buckles, piercings, and padlocks. It was clear that these accessories were readily accessible white metals and not precious metals, yellow gold, or other metallic colors, because they were part of the interviewees’ displayed garments, as well as through the researcher’s knowledge of common punk appearances.
Silver, not gold ever. More [silver] is merrier…. I’ll wear gold to work but typically would not wear gold out anywhere [else] really. It’s not really my preference and I don’t feel like it’s expressive but I have some of it, so I utilize it for work purposes. (Audra, age range 26–35)
The choice of silver over gold may be related to gold’s higher price and long association with luxury and wealth, whereas, in contrast, the less costly white metals (aluminum, steel, and tin, for example) are typically associated with industrial cities, and the tools of manual labor. “Silver” is evocative of machinery, transportation, and weapons, images that support punk’s self-visualization as utilitarian and strong.
Identity and “Identity Not” through Color
At the same time interviewees maintained a clear distinction between colors that were punk and those that were unequivocally not punk. In addition to dark shades and silver/metal, further inclusions in the punk palette depended on the specific hue, brightness, and saturation. Study findings indicated that punk equated with the more extreme in darkness or in brightness. Thus blood-red and neon pink are punk examples on opposing ends of the spectrum. The colors most commonly designated by the interviewees as nonpunk included pale shades, neutrals, and mid-toned hues that are soft on the viewer’s eye, such as French blue, teal, and lilac. These colors were used by the punks sparingly and only in nonpunk contexts, if at all.
Punks classified many more colors available in contemporary apparel as “nonpunk” than they did colors that were “punk.” This concept of “identity not,” or disidentifications in appearance construction and identity management helps establish the parameters of what is punk (Freitas et al. 1997). Strikingly, of all the colors identified as nonpunk, khaki was the one mentioned the most. Interviewees related their disdain for the color, characterizing it as representative of the antithesis of punk’s boundary-bashing ideals, often aligning khaki to the regimentation of a workplace, and related ideas of compliance and uniformity.
It would feel untrue to myself to be wearing khaki stuff all the time outside of work because…of the cultural association…. Keep that in the workplace…khaki is a workplace thing. (Nate, age range 26–35)
As Nate expressed that khaki resides in the nonpunk sector, there were few overlaps indicated between punk and decidedly nonpunk colors. Although interviewees reported trying to inject their punk preferences into their wardrobes for mainstream contexts, such as for the workplace, they named gray and red as examples that had some fluidity. Brown was characterized as a tolerable color for punk shoes, but was rarely seen in other punk clothing with the exception of military or uniform styles, which are functional and referential in their selection. White was classified generally as a nonpunk color; however, it should be noted that the punk subgenres referred to as “hardcore,” “skatepunks,” and “skapunks” have been known to include white within their palettes.
COLOR CHOICE MOTIVATIONS
Express Yourself
Expression of punk identity through color necessitates thoughtful choices. The goal is to select colors that have expressive characteristics that instantly generate desired reactions within the wearer and for the viewer arise without thought (DeLong 1998: 14–15). Dressing dark, sometimes in clothing that appears dirty and distressed, can evoke opinions of discomfort, lack of caring, and disdain for convention. A color such as black may be associated with intimidation, depression, or seriousness, whereas neon pink may indicate excitement, liveliness, or forcing viewer attention. Therefore in contemporary Western culture, punk’s gritty clothes or bright hair can promote feelings of fear, shock, or curiosity in the mainstream viewer. The authors’ of this chapter each have personal experience with this through the use of vibrant, non-natural hair colors as a form of identity expression (see Plate 27). This gritty and/or bright approach to color is in contrast to the mainstream ideal of a well-groomed appearance using earth-toned and mid-toned colors. In expressive characteristics, such colors give the impression of health, calm, passivity, and agreeability—concepts that are in opposition to punk.
Know It When I See It
In addition to being expressive, another reason the punk palette remains constant is that much of punk dress contains referential characteristics based in knowledge about the forms’ meaning within the subculture (DeLong 1998: 15). Punks’ dress is often a coded mash-up of looks adopted from counterculture history, incorporated with touches of individualized preferences and a nod to mainstream trends and functional attire. Color is a way to employ referential characteristics by paying homage to the important hues of past subcultures, even if the color’s origin story is lost or diluted through generations. Examples would be the use of military greens by protesters wearing army fatigues in irony to fight political and social battles, and the black-and-white checkerboard pattern used by the 1970s British ska scene with its focus on racial integration. Color contextually places references within or outside mainstream stereotypes, as reflected in punks sneering at the perceived conformity of khaki and the passivity of pastels.
Turning down the Visual Volume
The aesthetic details of punk style typically maintain the established foundation, yet are also ever-changing. This is due not only to generational and societal shifts, but is also reflective of individuals’ personal development. In the interviewees’ experiences, aging brought on a willingness to blend in through toning down one’s obvious punk style. Reducing the blatancy of punk colors was one adaptation. Maturity brought comfort in knowing ideology may be represented throughout one’s life, not just in dress. Interviewees explained that their position within the subculture is now solidified, personal ideals have been tested, and there is less to “prove.”
Further, interviewees explained that in adulthood their finances and free time were limited in ways that they were not during their youth. The result was less discretionary income and time put toward punk dress that would be incompatible in a variety of contexts. Therefore they turn down the visual volume of their punk styles and opt for garments that can multitask for home, work, punk, and other contexts. The punk palette is employed in less flagrant ways than in youth, while maintaining self-expression and effectively signifying their punk identity to knowing viewers. In doing this, the foundation look is maintained, but with less bright colors and selective use of all-black attire and chunky silver metals. One interviewee expresses this point:
You couldn’t pay me to dye my hair magenta. Because I know how I would be taken and how I would be perceived. And that is no longer a benefit to me. Whereas in the past it was. (Marla, age range 26–35)
However, other interviewees did report that unnatural hair color remains an effective way to express punk rebellion without always being entirely clothed “punk.” One interviewee shared her story of her concerns about reactions in her conventional workplace when she dyed her hair an extremely bright shade of red.
I felt like a cartoon character. And I decided that since my hair was like that, I was going to dress as professionally as I could…. I did it on Good Friday, so I had a whole weekend to look at myself and go, “I wonder if I pushed it. I wonder if this is that one step too far.” (Kathy, age range 26–35)
Hair color is a cue to differentiation from the norm, as well as a reference to the subculture’s past. It is a method to be individually innovative in a temporary manner, promoting constant change, fun, and provocative flouting of convention.
Unnaturally colored dyed hair continues to have impact forty years after punk’s inception, as explained through Kathy’s internal conflict with expression of her punk self in a nonpunk context, and Marla’s thoughts about how the benefits of it change with time.
CONCLUSIONS
A current discourse in popular culture is the debate regarding whether punk dress can continue to be called extreme, countercultural, and shocking, as the style has become increasingly acceptable in some mainstream contexts. However, while this is generally true in casual affairs, punk-style dress is commonly not appropriate within a conservative or formal context. Thus, there is still potential for punk dress, such as green hair, to be viewed as incendiary. In this study we found that punk style was about that goal to stand out and from a punk’s perspective the mainstream was often about blending in. Use of color for punk dress expresses that desire to stand out. Punk has gone through many incarnations throughout its four-decade history, and individuals within the subculture have changed as well. Yet through this growth, both cultural and personal, the punk color palette has distinctive characteristics that are maintained and employed to continue to subvert the mainstream.
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