FASHION Magazine

Music’s best fashion lessons »

We all know how much music influences fashion (otherwise, the semester I wore Dickies and ties to school like Avril Lavigne was a total wash). But even before the days of “Complicated” or begging our parents to let us wear sky-high Spice Girls sneakers, music was outlining style rules in a less visual, equally memorable way.

I mean, sure. Watching “Baby One More Time” may have inspired us to re-adjust our Catholic school uniforms or trade them in for a less monochromatic public school dress code, but songs by artists like Cake or Flo Rida instilled something even more important: clear verbal instructions on how to wear clothes.

And today is no different. Thanks to rules laid out by Jay-Z, Kanye, and even Lana Del Rey, artists continue to guide us through the murky waters of looking presentable. Through music, we’re learning what works, what doesn’t, how accessible fashion can be. After all, any of us could be the girl in the short shirt and long jacket, or the woman in the leopard print skin pillbox hat. So let’s get fancy with this list of some of music’s best fashion instructions.

Sunday was certainly a big night for Carly Rae Jepsen—the Canadian pop singer won three of the four MMVA awards she was nominated for, performed on stage twice (opening the show with “Call Me Maybe” and later singing “Wild One” with Flo Rida) and did we mention she hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart this week? Needless to say, there’s no one who better deserved her multiple wardrobe and makeup changes throughout the show. To get to the bottom of the singer’s style, we spoke to Veronica Chu, who was Jepsen’s hairstylist and makeup artist at the award show.

Want to try Carly’s MMVA hair and makeup at home? Read on! »