her name is ali: the fashion of bikini kill

I could write a very long winded post about how important Bikini Kill is to me and all women in music and how they shaped the person I came to be and the path I walk on, but today I just wanna talk about how amazing their style was and how I continue to draw inspiration from the fashion of Bikini Kill.

Clothing aside, Bikini Kill's "don't fuck with me" attitude is my number one style inspiration. Before discovering Bikini Kill, I dressed to fit in. I would wear clothes to hopefully bring me closer to the norm. My hair was long and blonde and I seldom wore more than chapstick on my face.

When I got into the music and message of Bikini Kill through teen movie 10 Things I Hate About You, there was a shift. I was exposed to a type of femininity I knew little about. As a kid I always pushed the boundaries of what was expected of little girls; I played drums and shot bee bee guns, but as a tween I briefly lost that spirit. I quit the school band and traded in my jncos for skirts and platforms.

Bikini Kill taught me you could have it both ways, and that conforming with what is expected of girls is boring and sad. I started to wear what I liked, not what I thought other people would like. I got into lipstick. My boyfriend at the time hated it and said it made me look weird. I didn't care. It made me feel powerful. I wore high ponytails like Kathleen Hanna, scarves in my hair like Kathi Wilcox, and big old band shirts like Tobi Vail. I started shopping at thrift stores and wearing Chuck Taylors and making homemade shirts with iron on letters. I finally started to express myself and find out who I really was. My girl friends and I would cut and dye each others hair. Sometimes we looked ridiculous, but finding ourselves through fashion was one of the funnest times of my life.