Band T-shirts have long been an ‘edgy’ fashion statement.
Personally I find it’s more rewarding to discover music you love & support artists by buying their merch directly. You know, rather than buying the same Metallica t-shirts from high street shops. After all, there are so many other bands you don’t listen to that you could buy shirts from! 😁
Attending live shows has become impossible for the time being, so both merch & online support is a lifeline for bands.
Sometimes when the only merch options are limited (i.e. t-shirt, or style/colour of item you just don’t like), they can be difficult to style. Here are some ways that I incorporate band merch into every day looks.
Layered with long sleeve tops.
A great (maybe obvious) option for someone wanting a change from t-shirts, is to opt for longsleeves.
If the band you love doesn’t offer longsleeves on their bandcamp etc. but you love the design on their T-shirts, you can always wear a longsleeve top or a mesh bodysuit underneath.
The Dark Tranquility shirt featured here was kindly provided by Century Media EU. While they’re long standing in the death metal scene, if you’ve never heard of them; Dark Tranquility are a solid melodic death metal band who I’d definitely recommend you listen to. If you’d like an album suggestion, “Atoma” is a great place to start.
Oversized T-shirts tied back into a crop top
Sometimes this is necessary if your T-shirt is a size too large for you. There are plenty of video tutorials on Youtube showing ways to modify & wrap band T-shirts into different styles of crop tops.
The Insomnium t-shirt featured here was kindly provided by Century Media EU. We managed to see Insomnium live back in January 2020, and they put on a fantastic performance. ☠
Harness over (or under) a band t-shirt
Layering can make outfits far more interesting, so adding harnesses, underbust corsets, cropped hoodies and body jewellery are all great ways of dressing a band t-shirt up.
Keep an eye out for accessories, such as the harness I’m wearing in the centre image – this was bought on sale from I Saw It First. From time to time, high street fashion shops stock interesting belts etc.
Band merch dress (or t-shirt paired with a long skirt)
Mostly band t-shirts are styled with skinny jeans. As someone with more muscular legs, I’m not a huge fan of skinny jeans & my daily go-to outfit is a band shirt with either leggings or a skirt + trainers. Trainers and skirt? It works, trust me.
Also, I love the silhouette of a long line vest or dress over the top of leggings. This really is down to personal preference and what you think works best for you.
Hand paint (or transfer) band logos.
Over the last few years I’ve customised several garments by hand painting band logos onto them. All the garments you can see in the above collage were hand painted by me, however the band logos were not designed by me.
Shoutout to the end image on the right which has the hand-painted Scourge emblem – this not a band & the design belongs to Blizzard Entertainment. (Though if Arthas Menethil/the Lich King had his own metal album, that would be… cool 😂😁).
Another option is purchasing from designers & indie small businesses who distribute band merch or will modify your T-shirts into leotards & dresses etc. Examples of this are Blasphemy Clothing, and Paradiso Clothing.
The images in the collage above were created as part of a paid sponsorship with Paradiso Clothing. However, I did have a say in what was sent & I would thoroughly recommend them as a company.
A lot of people really loved the Death longsleeve from them, so if you’re shopping with them online, feel free to use my code “ULBANDI20” for 20% off.
Customise your clothing with band patches.
Battle vests have always been extremely popular, but you have the option sewing patches onto the back of a bodysuit, a dress, your bag/rucksack, on a hat, on a purse, etc.
One company I thoroughly recommend for band patches is Woodsmoke Productions, and the Winterfylleth + Ulver + Septicflesh patches you can see here are all from them.
Distressing/modifying a band t-shirt
If you’re feeling brave, with a little practise you can make some amazing art by distressing band t-shirts. Here’s my first attempt at distressing a band t-shirt kindly sent by The Vice. If you’re a fan of sludge metal, make sure to check out their newest album, “White Teeth Rebellion”.
Guitar pick chokers.
Modifying a band pick into a choker is a cheaper alternative f you’re unable to buy a t-shirt, or shipping is too expensive etc. Other small accessories such as badges & beanies are also an option. The guitar picks featured are from the talented No Raza & Winterfylleth.
With bell bottoms + a long coat
Plus some cool sunglasses. I think this might be my favourite combo if I’m looking to ‘dress up’ band merch. The crop top in the 1st photo was hand painted by me, however Advent Sorrow’s band logo was not designed by me.
(Be sure to check out Advent Sorrow’s music as they’re one of my favourite black metal bands.)
Bonus option: get your partner/friend to wear a matching band t-shirt 😁
Wearing matching outfits is fun!
T-shirts here are from the amazing atmospheric black metal project, Unreqvited.
The images featured above were created as part of a paid sponsorship, however I thoroughly recommend their music. The albums “Empathica”, and “Disquiet” are definitely worth a listen.
