A Kurt Cobain kinda outfit

Smells like inbetween spirit.

The transitional weather caused my inadvertent Kurt Cobain moment. I didn’t set out to imitate the Nirvana frontman when I got dressed this morning, but once I had assembled the outfit, I realised I wouldn’t look out of place in Seattle circa 1993. Which actually goes someway to explaining how the look came to be.

Kurt Cobain by Jesse Frohman
Photograph ©Jesse Frohman

Kurt Cobain by Jesse Frohman

1. My style hasn’t evolved all that much since I was a teenager in the 90s; if anything it seems to have gone full circle now. I’m all charity shop finds and blue jean everythang; pretty particular about my trainers, plus anything with a nod to the 70s.

2. The grunge uniform of layers – a granddad cardi over a checked shirt over a band tee with a denim jacket tied around your waist, was partly practical in origin. Winters in Washington, the state where Kurt was born, can be fucking freezing. Shivering in Seattle, anyone? By buying cheap threads from thrift stores, you could afford to buy 500 different layers in an attempt to stay warm.

3. Unlike, say punk, which was anti-fashion, grunge was more un-fashion. And in these transitional times, that’s how I feel I’m dressing at the moment; neither here nor there. Fairly indifferently, really. But, fuck it: I’m comfortable. And cosy.

Natalie Wall Kurt Cobain inspired outfit

| Fluffy rainbow stripe oversized jumper, ASOS | High-waist mid-wash jeans, ASOS | Converse, via ASOS | Cat-eye sunglasses, charity shop |

As it goes, I’d picked up the fluffy striped jumper from ASOS as a spring update for my wardrobe; thought the pretty pastel stripes would get me out of the primary block-coloured rut I seemed to be stuck in. It’s actually a long-line style, which when worn untucked grants further Kurt Cobain points but I felt like loosely tucking it in today, and I’m into it.

The jeans are also an ASOS buy, as part of my eternal quest to find the perfect high-waist jean in the ‘just right’ mid-blue hue. This Farleigh ‘mom jeans’ style, from their own-buy range, is nigh-on 90s perfect, especially for £32.

The Converse (also ASOS! But this isn’t a sponny post, promise) still look annoyingly box-fresh, despite me wearing them religiously for a few months. If I was channelling true Kurt, I’d scrawl meditative musings all over them in permanent ink, but I could never bring myself to do that, even as an emo teen. However, the eagle-eyed among you will spot my v. bad chipped nail varnish, applied around three weeks ago, which I hope is a suitable anarchic addition, along with my partly greasy hair. COOL.

Finally, the sunglasses are a recent purchase, picked up in a charity shop on my last jaunt to the Kent coast, when the sun made an unexpected appearance. They’re slightly more ‘winged’ than Kurt’s infamous pair, but more in keeping with this season’s trend for micro shades. I’ve got a pair that I bought from Monki last year, which would be better suited – remember these fellas? I must dig them out again.

And funnily enough, I took off my leopard print faux fur coat for these photos, to show-off the jumper, but even that would have had a touch of Mr Cobain about it.

“Teenage angst paid off well, now I’m bored aND old”

It’ll be 24 years next month since Kurt sadly committed suicide aged 27. I remember it well, and all us emo sorts at my all-girls high school huddled together and cried. While I’ve always appreciated the music, as well as the man, I now have a new-found respect for his style:

Wearing what you want, how you want and generally not giving too much of a fuck.

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