How to dress like an artist.

from wikiHow – The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Whether you’re heading off to art school, and want to fit in, or whether you’re already there, and realize you don’t, or whether you just want to be different at whatever school you’re at…
Take these steps.

Steps

1. Understand that the world, including your clothing, is a palette to express yourself. Find what makes you feel happy or alive, not what others tell you is fashionable.
2. Look at your hair. Something has to be different about it. Choppy, bangs? Dreads? Dyed a unique color, or streaks? Shaved head? Mohawk? Teased, big, hair? Extremely short (girls)? Extremely long (guys)? You get the point.
3. Do you have any piercings? You’re not required to, as long as you employ many other methods of stand-out-isms, but it can help. Consider your eyebrow, especially. Or if you want something a little tamer, your cartilage. Be careful about nose rings. They can look trashy on girls instead of artsy.
4. Give up shopping at the generic department store, except for small staples like underwear, simple tank tops, and maybe jeans.
5. Buy the latest and most fashionable pieces you can find at the specialty or thrift stores.
6. Dress up any shirt or dress with awesome accessories, with a belt added to the natural waist (on girls) really pumps up the artsy. A well tailored trench coat is a good artsy investment. Most of the time you have to look like you don’t care about what you’re wearing, you just threw something on. It also helps a lot if it fits really well, especially on guys. Artsy guys should never wear ill fitting ruined dress pants or something. If you do wear jeans, make sure they’re stylish and they can be ripped and faded. Shoes can be bought here too.
7. Shop at ‘vintage’ stores or at tiny exclusive boutiques. This will be much more expensive, but you can find some truly original things. Perhaps a couple good, classy pieces mixed with other stuff is a good idea.
8. Try Anthropologie, an artsy specialty clothing store.
9. Look for jewelry that is interesting and unique, or ties together your look. Look for funky pieces, foreign pieces, expensive well made pieces, intricate wood pieces, and the 80′s had a bunch of fascinating stuff.
10. Stop shaving (if you’re a guy), or give the impression you have. No artsy guy is hotter than when he has a little facial hair.
11. Black is a good tool you can use to unify your look, as is white.

Tips

• Artists see the world around them as malleable and full of visual and physical textures. Clothing is a medium for art, both something that is art in itself and that can allow other art to happen. When you want to make your clothing an art statement, explore colors, fabrics, cuts. Do you find your self drawn to soft fabrics like velvet or stiff starched shirts? What colors do you think go well together? What is your reaction to big prints? Small prints? Also think about dressing so that you can allow art to happen. Have shirts that you can get paint or charcoal on. Wear leggings that you can dance in.
• Make your own clothing with or without patterns. Sew fabric into jeans, crochet a shawl, revel in remaking what is already out there.
• The whole point is to try to find beauty in your own unique style. If you ever find something and aren’t sure whether it’s the best thing you’ve ever seen or kind of cool, it’s a treasure. Buy it, use it, be proud of it.
• No matter what you do, or what style you go with, the key idea here is to look different and look your best. Whatever is not done, do it. Wear patent leather boots with knee length skirts with a stylish raincoat, wear a cute t-shirt with a feminine, flowing skirt. If you throw yourself into anything at all, with poise and self confidence you will most likely carry it off. More than anything, it’s about your attitude. Believe you look cool, wear whatever truly appeals, and you’ll be golden.
• Shopping at thrift stores is a killer way to get your different style on. You can find retro and modern styles and easily mix and match them. Thrift stores can be a great asset.

Warnings

• If you shop at a vintage store, make sure you thoroughly wash clothes before wearing, and only buy overgarments – such as coats and jackets at these stores. At the very least, get vintage store items professionally dry cleaned before wearing. You never know.
• Nobody can tell you your specific style, Again, The best way to find your style is to try things yourself. Try really bold or drastic styles, then if you want, round them off, carving out your looks.

Related wikiHows

• How to Choose a Tattoo Design
• How to Dress for a Formal Occasion (girls)
• How to Look Like a Model
• How to Dress Japanese Street Fashion Esque
• How to Set Up an Art Exhibition

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Dress Like an Artist. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.