When thinking fashion, flannel seldom comes to mind. Flannel stands for practicality and warmth-cozy, soft sheets, comfy pajamas, rugged red-and-black work shirts worn by fabled lumberjacks.
But, flannel as a fashion statement?
Like the rap-inspired look of baseball caps or the heavy golden chains that designer Karl Lagerfeld showed in Chanel`s 1991 fall collection, flannel has come to the mainstream via the musical underground.
Flannel shirts have long been a staple of the heavy-metal thrash scene, where teens jam or skateboard to the fast-and-hard sounds of bands like Megadeth and Metallica. Because thrash music initially was non-commercial, the musicians couldn`t afford to show up for gigs in $2,000 leather outfits like the ones Jon Bon Jovi sports in his music videos. And, because thrashers sing about anger and anarchy, most probably would refuse to wear a designer outfit even if it were given to them.
Ripping off Dad
Instead, they wear the fashion of ”the trenches”-flannel shirts
(usually torn), grubby concert T-shirts emblazoned with band logos, naturally ripped jeans, thermal underwear (under cutoffs or extremely ripped jeans), high-tops and tattoos. A skateboard is also a common accessory, especially among thrashers too young to drive.
”The reason flannel caught on so big among the skaters is because when you`re out skateboarding, you get dirty, your clothes get ripped and you don`t want to worry about it,” explains Kevin Thatcher, 34, editor of Thrasher, a national magazine based in San Francisco, which offers skateboarding advice and music features.
”Instead of spending a lot of money on clothes, the kids would borrow a shirt from their dad or brother, something big and ugly and comfortable and torn and tattered,” Thatcher says.
It`s a celebrity thing
Flannel is hardly a new look in rock. John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival, singer Jackson Browne, members of the Eagles and Bruce Springsteen donned flannel shirts in the `70s. After the decadence of the
`80s-and fashion bands like Poison and Duran Duran-the simplicity of wearing a soft, cotton rag has become more appealing to youths.
And, as flannel-wearin` bands like Metallica, Nirvana and Guns N` Roses began racking up multimillion-selling albums, the public started to get wise to the fashions that went with the music.
Suddenly, there was Guns N` Roses frontman Axl Rose sporting a red flannel shirt tied around his naked waist on the pages of Time and Newsweek. Now, every mosh pit (wherever thrashers are ”dancing”-whether it`s in a club or in someone`s living room) and even baseball bleachers are filled with half- naked men with flannels tied around their waists.
Punk-thrash band fIREHOSE even titled an album-”Flyin` the Flannel”-
after the cloth since it has become a symbol of sorts for thrash music fans. fIREHOUSE fans have been known to swap flannels at concerts-more likely trading down than up, since well-worn is best.
Even mainstream pop stars are hawking them.
Madonna-look-alike Sophie B. Hawkins sports a sleeveless flannel shirt and jeans for the video of her hit single ”Damn, I Wish I Was Your Lover.”
Catching on to a trend
Flannels-once reserved for fall and winter-are everywhere this summer. Bloomingdale`s is carrying flannel shirts in its junior section.
The Contempo Casuals chain offers flannel shirts including one with two mismatched sides sewn together as well as jeans and denim shirts with flannel accents on the cuffs or shoulders.
Trendy mall stores, like California fave The Wet Seal, stock flannel shorts, overalls, baseball jerseys and sleeveless shirts. Even stores like Honey Girl, which typically sells business wear and dressier casuals, are selling flannel shorts for $35. Avon Fashions catalog features a patchwork blazer with red flannel for $80.
And, while those stores are selling cotton flannel to the masses, loggers` standbys such as L.L. Bean and American Eagle Outfitters sell wool flannel shirts year-round. These so-called ”old-man” flannels aren`t exactly trendy. They are heavy, hot, sometimes scratchy and don`t offer the kind of patterns that cotton flannel does. Keep these for camping trips, not mosh pits.
On the cheap
But even though flannel is available nearly everywhere now, the most fashionable kind is the article not found at the mall.
”There are a lot of phony flannels out now,” notes fIREHOSE bassist Mike Watt in the July issue of Details. ”A real flannel doesn`t have a button-down collar; it should have a big collar that rides up on your neck. A true flannel must have two pockets . . . the best have flaps.”
Adds editor Thatcher: ”If the Melrose Avenue art set (in Los Angeles)
wants to buy flannel shirts at 80 bucks a pop in a boutique, that`s fine. But the kids started wearing them because they were $1.50 at the thrift shops or maybe 6 bucks at Sears, and those are the ones they will keep on wearing. To the thrashers, it`s not a style or a look. It`s a utility.”
Thatcher bought his favorite flannel shirt, a red and black one, at a used-clothing store. ”It had a big wad of gum in the pocket and it`s still there now,” he notes.
He also likes the ”ugliest” of patterns including the yellow-green-orange-and-black models. ”Flannel is so ugly, it`s cool,” he says.
”Always remember, buy `em large and loud.”
