If People Aren’t Staring, You’re Doing It Wrong!
GRUNGE:
Rebellion and Rejection
August 3, 2025
by Cayla Santa Cruz
Grunge isn’t loud. It doesn’t scream to be seen. And yet, it’s impossible to ignore. Somewhere between defiance and disinterest, this subculture carved its identity through what it refused to be. Grunge was never about fitting in; it was about choosing not to. In today’s hyper-curated world, its message still resonates, especially with queer artists and youth rewriting the rules of self-expression.
This is a style built on contradiction.
Flannel over lace. Ripped tights under vintage tees. Clothes that look like they’ve been worn for weeks, because maybe they have. There’s no gloss, no sheen. Makeup is smudged, hair is unbrushed, and silhouettes are intentionally shapeless. But beneath the mess is a sharp point of view: a rejection of perfection and performative beauty. Grunge is what happens when you dress like you don’t care, but every detail says otherwise. It’s defiance in fabric form.
It began in the Seattle underground, a music scene that grew tired of capitalist gloss and suburban conformity. Bands like Nirvana and Sonic Youth became cultural soundtracks, while their fans curated outfits from thrift bins, garage sales, and bedroom floors. But by then, grunge had done its damage to fashion’s status quo. For queer communities, it offered something deeper: freedom. Sex appeal didn’t follow a formula. You didn’t need money to participate. Grunge handed agency to those too often ignored by high fashion and too complex for the binary.
To dress grunge is to get dirty. Oversized layers, raw hems, clashing textures, and visible wear are your tools. Imagine a band tee paired with a plaid shirt tied at the waist or a slip dress layered over a thermal. Scuffed Docs tell stories of their own. Build your look from your closet, not a catalog. Let every piece hold history, even if it’s just yours. Think less about fashion rules, more about personal archives. The best grunge outfits are both armor and diary.
What grunge leaves behind isn’t just an aesthetic; it’s a strategy and a way of resisting the pressure to be curated, palatable, or profitable. Its message is one of refusal, refusal to be cleaned up, refusal to be sold out, refusal to be categorized, and for queer artists, that’s the kind of style that doesn’t fade with time. It grows louder in every threadbare shirt and every choice to show up authentically, without apology.
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Style Guide Reference: Pérez, C., & Chokrane, B. (2024, October 28). How the grunge aesthetic stands the test of time. Vogue. https://www.vogue.com/article/grunge-aesthetic
