Robert is “Homeless Chic”

September 3, 2009 by admin
Filed under News

Donna Peerce at The Examiner looks at the effect Robert and friends have had on the fashion trends.

Rob Pattinson, Bobby Long and Marcus Foster bring back “Homeless Chic” as the new “black” for fall

For the most part, fashion trends reflect what is happening in the wider world; nothing greater highlights this than the effect the economic bubbles of the 1920s and 1990s had upon fashion. In 2009, we’re faced with much the same issues: economic problems. Fortunately, some of the young British stars of today – Rob Pattinson and friends, Bobby Long and Marcus Foster – are telling the young men of the world that it’s O.K. to look poor. Everyone – whether rich or poor, famous or unknown, can look the same and it’s tres cheap.

So, young men, hang up your tuxedos and suits. Fold away those khaki pants and preppy blue and pink shirts. Dig out your old holey, ripped, worn-out jeans, t-shirts of any kind, (preferably with holes), plaid shirts – preferably missing a couple of buttons, those stacks of hoodies, and oversized ratty-tatty sweaters. Look for old beanies and baseball caps and get ready for fall with the new “Homeless Chic” look.
While on a recent U.S. tour, Marcus Foster, one of Britain’s “on the brink of stardom” musicians/singer/songwriters tweeted that he shopped at the Salvation Army on 99-cent Wednesday and bought a thousand shirts. Meanwhile, Rob Pattinson told his Twilight director, Catherine Hardwicke, that he had to borrow one of Marcus Foster’s plaid shirts (well-worn and comfy) to wear to the Teen Choice Awards because all of his were dirty. Paired with jeans and a casual jacket with his famous haystacky, lackadaisical hair, Pattinson was chic and trendy at the awards show.

Meanwhile, Bobby Long has been seen performing throughout the U.S. in his plaid shirts and cut jeans with long, swooping hair over his eyes and a day or two-old beard scruffing up his cheeks. The only way to describe these young guys’ styles is to say “Homeless Chic.” And is it ever popular. Even London’s dapper Prince William has been seen wearing a scruffy beard as if he, too, is following the “Homeless Chic” look.

The death of the dress code factors in on this new wave of British-wear throughout England and the U.S. as sported by Rob Pattinson, Marcus Foster and friends. Young American and Brit adults simply don’t care about those preppy clothes of yesteryear. They don’t really care what they’re wearing, which makes it even cooler. They want to be comfortable and they’ll wear these clothes until they literally fall apart. Case in point: If you walk into any Abercrombie & Fitch store, you’ll see racks and racks of cut jeans, torn t-shirts, hoodies, and torn jackets. You’ll see plaid, plaid, plaid. Red, yellow, blue, brown, black. Throw in some huge neck scarves, and you’ve got chic, trendy and beautiful.

The British “Homeless Chic” look has even inspired another style – the Goth Ninja look. The figure- hugging, black clad youths are perhaps the biggest consumers of the lesser celebrated designers. They’ve moved away from logos and most big name Parisian and Milanese designers and reverted back to the more “Homeless Chic” look of Rob Pattinson and his friends. And designers are taking notice. They’re bringing back grungy fashion looks with boyish flannel shirts and unkempt ripped jeans at the moment.

Actually, this “Homeless Chic” is not a “new” look at all. For a few years, there have been fitted, checked, button-down shirts and torn jeans in stores like Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle, which means there’s a grunge element to young adult fashion every season. But, it’s even more rampant this year. And the writing is on the wall when you see grunge looks in haute couture and prêt porter collections. It’s not long before trends fizzle down to fashion-forward boutiques and chain stores, and before we know it, it’s mainstream fashion. This is what’s happening now with the “Homeless Chic” look of Rob Pattinson and his buddies. They’re becoming the trendy, “must-have” look.

Trends seem to repeat themselves every 20 to 30 years which means that the 90’s inspired fashions are next on the list. Old trends are always reinterpreted and become improved modern incarnations. Like the slogan on a Volkswagen Beetle commercial, “If you’re good in a past life, you come back as something better.” Rob Pattinson and his friends are making this reincarnation of grunge and “Homeless Chic” even better.