Costume For Our Singer

Country was originally sung by the working class men of the Southern US states. Within country music there are several different movements in regard to costume, ranging from country bumpkin to rhinestone cowboys. The costume for our lead singer will be the more contemporary get-up, like Josh T. Pearson and The Felice brothers. Our act is absolutely organic and this authenticity must be reflected in the costume. Country singers were not clean-cut, they were troubled, dishevelled labourers, who remained gentlemen. Therefore, we want our lead singer to some across in a similar light. The dishevelled appearance will comply nice with Richard Dyers theory on stardom suggesting rebellion, an anti-authoritarian attitude, creativity/talent and anger/aggression. These are all desirable traits in a star as the general public may be able to relate to or vicariously adopt the attitudes they find attractive. Not only that, but an authentic country act will appeal to true country fans and this being a song aimed at fairly niche market we will need that. We have looked at a variety of past and contemporary country artists to influence how we want to portray our lead singer, such as Gene Autry, Hank Williams, The Felice Brothers, Shovels and Rope and Josh T. Pearson. All these acts, despite spanning several decades all have similar characteristics of (excluding rhinestone) looking like country folk, being practical e.g. could jump on a horse in the outfits and they are very masculine – accentuate shoulders and Cuban heel gives height. Wild facial hair was not essential, particularly during the more dapper phase country went through in the 40s-60s however, nowadays it is one of the defining aspects of a country singer. A wild beard also suggests maturity and experience which, considering the content of country music (broken relationships, troubled lives) is important. Again this reflects Dyer’s theory’s nicely in the sense it shows rebellion and a disregard for social values (being clean cut and nice). Therefore, when we cast we will have to find someone who has or can grow facial hair as it is going to be a vital element of our star image.  We have been heavily influenced by the costume of Josh T. Pearson whose song we are using in our music video and although not wanting to re-create another Pearson, it is his look which contributes hugely to the sale of his work and thus, it would be foolish to create a completely different style when we have a tried and tested formula in front of us.

 

 

The costume; Wrangler jeans, traditionally worn by cowboys as they have no seams on the inner thigh so are better suited to long days in the saddle. They will be traditional blue denim. Alternatively, depending on how smart we want him to look he could wear slacks. Either would be appropriate so we will use which ever we can find. a belt with a bull head or other cowboy-esque symbols. A traditional cowboy shirt and bolo tie, not tartan or overly decorative as we are going for the more conservative, masculine look. He may also wear some jewellery e.g cross/bull head. A matching jacket will be worn. Not a tasselled jacket, but a denim or casual suit jacket in dark shades. Cowboy boots will be worn. The colour and cut is not important, the boots alone say enough. Finally a traditional cowboy hat will be worn to complete the image.