Grunge Outfits: 12 Ideas From 90s Flannel to Soft Grunge

Grunge was never designed. It came out of the Seattle music scene of the late 80s, put together from thrift-store flannel, secondhand cardigans and boots built for rain, and that origin is still the test for every grunge outfit below: worn in, layered, a little too big, never costume-new. The 90s originals come first, then the softer fall versions people wear now, then three for men.

Five 90s Grunge Outfits to Copy Exactly

1. Open flannel, plain tee, ripped straight jeans, combat boots

A flannel a size or two too big worn open over a plain grey or white tee, straight jeans with one blown-out knee, and black lace-up combat boots that have seen some rain. The flannel's color decides everything: faded red, forest green, mustard or grey looks like 1992, while a crisp new black-and-red check looks like it came off a costume rack. This is the one grunge outfit that works for class, a gig and a lazy Saturday without changing a thing.

2. Band tee over a waffle thermal

A short-sleeve tee pulled over a long-sleeve waffle-knit thermal, loose jeans, beat-up canvas high-tops. Short over long is one of the clearest 90s signals you can wear, and it's practical too: warm enough for an October afternoon without a jacket. Keep the thermal in cream, grey or washed black so the layering actually shows.

3. Slip dress over a tee

A satin slip dress in black, burgundy or a small faded floral, pulled over a plain white or grey tee, with sheer black tights and combat boots laced loosely at the top. The heavy boot against the thin dress is where the grunge comes from, so don't swap in a pretty shoe. Marc Jacobs put printed dresses and Doc Martens on the runway in his spring 1993 collection for Perry Ellis, and the pairing still works almost unchanged.

4. The oversized cardigan

A long, slightly pilled cardigan in olive, brown or oatmeal, buttoned wrong or not at all, over a faded tee with loose jeans or cords and old sneakers. It's the grunge piece Kurt Cobain made famous with the olive mohair-blend cardigan he wore on MTV Unplugged in 1993, burn hole included. Buy it fuzzy and a size up; a neat, fitted cardigan just looks like office wear.

5. Babydoll dress, torn tights, heavy boots

A short babydoll or tea dress, black tights with a run or two, chunky boots and a thin choker. It's the most openly feminine corner of 90s grunge, and it only works when something in it is a bit wrecked: the tights, the hem or the boots. Pristine, it's just a cute dress.

Soft Grunge and Fall Grunge Outfits for Right Now

Same layers as the 90s, warmer colors, fewer holes.

6. Brown sweater, plaid mini, black tights

A chunky oversized sweater in chocolate brown, a plaid pleated mini in brown, burgundy or grey, opaque black tights, and lug-sole boots or chunky loafers with socks. Brown in place of black keeps it on the fall side rather than goth, and the sweater takes over the flannel's job of looking borrowed. Of all twelve, this is the one that slips most easily into a school day or a coffee date.

7. Soft grunge: one pretty piece, then boots

Soft grunge started on Tumblr in the early 2010s by mixing grunge with sweeter things: pleated tennis skirts, chokers, lace, pastel pink and baby blue. The version that works now keeps one soft piece (a cream lace cami, a pale pink cardigan, a white pleated skirt) and grounds it with a faded tee, black tights and combat boots. Stop at one, because three pretty pieces tip it straight back into 2014.

8. Leather jacket, hoodie, black jeans

A worn black leather jacket over a grey hoodie, straight black jeans faded to charcoal, boots. The hoodie stops the leather from going biker or punk, and it makes the outfit warm enough for a November gig. There are more ways to wear the jacket itself in our leather jacket outfits, and more for the jeans in black jeans outfit ideas.

9. Flannel as a jacket, beanie, baggy jeans

A heavy lined flannel overshirt worn as a jacket over a crewneck sweater, baggy or wide straight jeans, a knit beanie and chunky boots. When it's too cold for a flannel over a tee, this is how grunge handles late fall. It sits comfortably next to our other fall outfit ideas as the most casual of the lot.

Three Grunge Outfits for Men

10. Flannel over a thermal, work boots

The men's original: an open flannel over a thermal or a plain tee, straight jeans worn soft and a touch long so they stack over the boots, and brown work boots or black combat boots. Keep the jeans straight or relaxed. Skinny jeans with a flannel look like 2010s indie, not 90s grunge.

11. Corduroy jacket and a plain tee

A brown or tan corduroy jacket, a faded black or white tee, loose mid-wash jeans, a grey beanie, and old boots or canvas sneakers. The cord's texture does the work plaid does elsewhere, so this is the grunge look for men who don't want flannel. It also gets through a casual Friday at the office.

12. Army field jacket over a hoodie

An olive military field jacket from a surplus store, a grey hoodie underneath, black jeans, black boots. Surplus was a thrift staple for the same reasons flannel was (cheap, warm, hard to ruin), and it stays grunge instead of tactical as long as it's faded and a size loose.

Grunge vs Punk vs Just Messy: How to Tell the Difference

The same flannel can end up in three very different outfits.

	Grunge	Punk	Just messy
Fit	Loose, a size up, layered	Tight or sharp, altered on purpose	Wrong size by accident
Color	Faded plaid, olive, brown, washed black	Hard black, red tartan, bleach	Random
Wear	Worn in: soft knees, pilled knits	Customized: studs, safety pins, patches, slogans	Stains, wrinkles, lint
Shoes	Scuffed combat boots, old canvas sneakers	Polished boots, creepers, spikes	Whatever was by the door

Punk wanted a reaction, so everything was cut down, spiked or written on. Grunge borrowed punk's attitude and went the other way with the clothes, toward things that were cheap, warm and already lived in. Put a studded belt and tartan trousers with a flannel and you've made a punk outfit; put the same flannel with worn jeans and a thermal and it's grunge.

Messy is the closer call. Grunge clothes are worn in but clean, the layers are chosen, and there's always something heavy at the bottom, almost always boots (our black boots guide covers the pairs that hold up).

The test: two visible layers, one worn-in texture (flannel, knit or faded denim), and boots heavy enough to hold it all down. Drop one and it looks messy; add studs and it turns punk.

Age matters less than people think. In your 40s and beyond, keep one grunge layer, a good flannel or the fuzzy cardigan, over dark straight jeans and leather boots, and leave out the rips and the choker. Most of these pieces are already in a closet somewhere, and Klodsy can build grunge looks from the clothes you already own before you go thrifting for more. When you do, the vintage clothing style guide helps you pick pieces that won't look like a costume, and the rest of the decade (minimal, hip-hop, preppy) is in our 90s outfit ideas. Baby tees, low-rise jeans and butterfly clips belong to a different era altogether, the one in Y2K outfit ideas.

Pick the most worn-in thing you own and build the outfit around it. Try Klodsy to see the flannel, the slip dress or the cardigan on your own photo first.