Vintage Rock Fashion for Weddings: Guide on How to Style Your Wedding Party in Classic Rock Fashion From Different Decades
Maybe you met the love of your life at a classic rock concert. Perhaps you bonded over your love of golden oldies and popular rock music throughout the decades. Whether rock ‘n roll helped you connect or is a shared passion you want to feature in your wedding, choosing rock wedding fashions is perfect for a rock ‘n roll-themed wedding at the Rock ‘n Roll Wedding Chapel.
Intro To Vintage Rock Fashion
Rock and roll is in its eighth decade, with its roots stretching back to the 1950s. Vintage rock and roll fashion represents styles from any prior decade since the genre’s inception. Since rock fashion has evolved over the decades, one way to feature your vintage rock theme is to choose a decade and pick style elements that were popular at that time.
Decade-by-Decade Style Evolution
Each decade has distinct style elements that famous rock artists embraced. Studying the popular styles and the fashions rock artists wore during each decade can give you inspiration for vintage wedding attire for your classic rock wedding.
1950s
Famous 1950s rockers included Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry, and Elvis Presley. Buddy Holly was known for wearing suits and chic glasses. In contrast, Elvis Presley often wore trousers when he started out and included pink, sequins, and rhinestones in his fashion choices.
Elvis even inspired hairstyles, making the ducktail haircut one of the most popular that decade.
As the decade progressed, so did rock and roll fashions. Remember the movie Grease? This iconic movie incorporated popular music, leather jackets, and denim, some of the decade’s most famous rock fashion trends.
1960s
Although denim and leather remained popular among rockers in the 1960s, the 1960s was when international rock artists emerged, and it was also an era of political turbulence. These factors influenced the style trends over the decade. Tie-dye shirts and bright colors became popular, and headbands and clothing featuring peace signs were commonplace. While The Beatles often wore suits, The Monkees wore bright shirts and pants.
1970s
Bands such as Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, and The Rolling Stones emerged in the 1960s and remained popular in the 1970s. Famous bands that emerged in the 1970s included The Cars, AC/DC, Queen, and Dire Straits.
The number of famous artists and international influences impacted 70s rock fashions because the unique style of individual artists and bands became more prominent. Rock fashion trends included embracing earth tones when making color choices. Still, tie dye remained popular, and many artists wore leather or denim. Bell bottoms were also trendy during this decade, and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page wore bell bottoms on stage.
1980s
The 80s were the decade of big hair and bold styles. While it’s possible to find a famous artist featuring almost any fashion style, there are some common elements associated with 80s rock and roll fashions, including the following:
- Chokers
- Hoop earrings
- Metal rings
- Multiple mismatched bracelets
- Studded belts
Bright colors were common, and many fashion choices, such as paisley, incorporated eye-catching patterns.
1990s
Grunge became a popular rock subgenre in the 90s, influencing 90s rock fashions. Many Grunge artists wore large boots and oversized clothes. Graphic tees and flannel shirts were also popular options.
Iconic Wedding Attire
There are many excellent options to consider if you’re looking for iconic rock and roll wedding attire. You could opt for clothing that pays homage to one of your favorite artists. For example, a fashion designer could use Elvis’s eagle jumpsuit to inspire white outfits featuring high collars, flared bottoms, rhinestones, and oversized belts.
Another way to feature iconic attire is to choose movie-related attire. For example, those who love Grease could have men dress up like the T-Birds while the women dress up like Pink Ladies.
Accessorizing With Vintage Flair
Accessories such as scarves, belts, sunglasses, watches, ties, rings, gloves, boots, necklaces, headbands, and earrings can complement your vintage fashion choices and perfect your look. You can turn to video footage, magazine coverage, and album covers from your chosen rock era for inspiration.
Rockstar Hair and Makeup
The perfect rockstar hairstyles for your wedding depend on the decade you want to emphasize. Women often had long, flowing hair in the 1960s, while big hair with bangs and lots of hairspray was common in the rock scene of the 1980s. Men may opt for a ducktail haircut for a 50s vintage rock wedding or style their hair with Brylcreem.
Your makeup choices also depend on the decade or artist you’re centering on for your vintage wedding theme. Love the 70s rock band KISS? They were known for their white face paint with black designs, and the happy couple and their wedding party can use similar designs for their makeup. 80s makeup choices for women often featured colorful eyeshadow and bright lipstick. Plenty of male rock artists also wore makeup. Men can draw inspiration from artists such as Boy George, David Bowie, and Prince.
Creating a Cohesive Vintage Rock Theme
Creating a cohesive vintage rock fashion theme involves considering the following:
- Accessories
- Color
- Fabric
- Hairstyles
- Makeup
- Patterns
For example, you could choose ties with music notes or guitars if you want to emphasize music. You could also have instruments stitched into your veil or wear hair clips shaped like instruments.
You should also consider all the details when planning your wedding. Perhaps you’ll choose paper that matches your wedding theme colors if you’re drawing inspiration from Grease. You could add foil to your invitations to represent the silver metal tones popular in the 80s. A border with bright neon colors, peace signs, and flowers is ideal for the late 60s and early 70s.
You can also incorporate music notes and instruments into your design aesthetic. For example, have your invitations shaped like drums or add a keyboard border to your thank-you cards.
Rock Your Wedding With Us
Incorporate rock fashion into your wedding dress attire and walk down the aisle in style. A rock and roll-themed wedding is a fantastic way to celebrate your love of classic rock and each other. We’ll deliver a rock wedding to remember at the Rock ‘n Roll Wedding Chapel.
Sources:
Kot, G. (2024). Rock and Roll.
Moffatt, T. (2024). Elvis Presley’s most iconic outfits.
1960s Time of Discontent: Folk and Rock ‘N’ Roll.
Yvette. (2024). Rock and Roll’s Impact on 1950s Rockabilly Fashion.
