Style

8 items that every girl can (and should) have on tour

by Mish Way

I was embarrassingly broke for many, many years. Finally, I have been able to afford things. It’s a really nice feeling. Being a typical girl in my vagina of vaginas, I decided to spend a small portion of my hard-earned rock star cash on clothing. Is that shallow? Maybe. Are people going to be annoyed with my laundry list of, well, laundry? Probably. But this list isn’t your typical “Ten Products YOU Can Never Afford, Bitch” kind of thing you find creased between the pages of Marie Claire. This is a list of my favorite items to bring on tour that every girl can (and should) have. I live my life by the Marc Jacobs rule: “A cool bag on a dumb girl is a dumb bag, and a dumb bag on a cool girl is a cool bag.” It has less to do with what you wear, but how you own yourself, inside and out.

HIGH-WAISTED BLACK JEANS by FIDELTY

I’m a woman. I have hips and a big ass. That’s just how it goes and maybe when I was 22 years old I hated it, but now I own that ass. I own those hips. Let’s say a magic genie rolled out of my kitchen sink and told me he was going to burn down everything in my house and I had two minutes to take one thing and run: it would be my high-waisted Fidelity jeans. I got them while on tour in Montreal for $100 at some dump of a warehouse where everything is hung and scattered in piles and you have to go up to a sales person and tell her exactly what you want so she can rummage it out for you. Which, in my opinion, is the best way to shop.

FAUX FUR COAT
	Sorry, Pamela Anderson, but I wear fur and I like it. I never buy new fur (because I’m not a Kardashian), but I wear vintage fur (usually handed down to me by my mother and grandmother) and wear new faux-furs. I recently got this jacket at an unspeakably embarrassing big box store for $9 on sale.

NAMELESS LEATHER JACKET
	Everyone needs a leather jacket. Preferably one that has been worn by at least two people previous to you and that you appropriated (stole) from a friend. Mine came as a hand-me-down from a friend’s past Halloween costume. I popped all the studs that spelled out “Scorpions” off the back. There were a few stragglers.

COMFORTABLE LACE BRAS

I remember once going over to this guy’s house and his girlfriend had hung her bra on the doorknob in their bathroom. As I sat on the toilet staring at this lumpy, haggard, underwire with stains and pulls, I realized that women—including myself—hang onto bras for way, way too long. Now, I buy Hanky Panky under garments. Cute, comfortable, and cheap enough to chuck when they’ve run their course. If you need a little more support, Elle McPherson makes affordable, beautiful designs that I swear by. (Also, you can get the knock-off version of Hanky Panky at Joe Fresh which is located in your favorite Canadian Superstore.)

CROTCHET ANYTHING
	Maybe it’s because I get really hot easily or when I’m driving our tour van I like to feel the breeze all over me, but I love me some crotchet. Sweaters, dresses, shorts, whatever. I love it. My favorite crotchet piece is a vintage crotchet sweater my grandmother gave me.

PAMELA LOVE CRYSTAL CROSS NECKLACE
	Big and heavy, this necklace was a gift from Pamela. (I could never actually afford her stuff, but it’s so beautiful.) She’s given me a lot of nice things over the last few years. We met at a show in Raleigh, North Carolina when we were both pissing in the bushes and I offered her a baby wipe.

OSCAR BY OSCAR DA LE RENTA & CANNABIS FLOWER BY DEMETER

I remember when I was playing this festival in Germany and I was in the crowd watching Terrible Feelings play. This crusty punk came up to me and yelled, “You stink like perfume! Ew! You stink!” As he flung his rancid head to run from my stinky body, his dread dipped into my beer and I immediately chucked it on the floor. Funny thing is, I wasn’t even wearing perfume that show. Anyway, if I had been I would have been wearing Oscar by Oscar de la Renta or Cannabis Flower or Salt Air by Demeter Fragrance Library. I bring tons of perfume on tour because I like perfume and I do not care if that makes my punk credibility dwindle into a toothpick.

A DECENT PAIR OF “CHUNKERS”

I’m a big fan of being tall. In fact, short people creep me out. I’m 5’8 and I try to always wear a shoe that puts me at 5’11. I want to tower, especially on stage. “Chunkers” are big, chunky-heeled boots or shoes. I have several pairs but my favorites are my Cheap Monday Monolit Front Zip Wedge Ankle Boot and my Chelsea ankle boots. Sometimes I Bambi on stage if I drink too much, but it’s better than being a shrimpy little prune.

This article originally appeared in the February 2013 issue of AUX Magazine. Download and subscribe for free in the App Store.