Grunge Ad Inspiration + Return of the Magnificent 8

Grunge Clothing Ad Inspiration

For our quarterly blogger collaboration, we decided to style outfits inspired by ads. They could be in newspapers, magazines, online…the sky’s the limit! I was a little overwhelmed by this idea since we are constantly bombarded by ads. Where should I draw inspiration!? There are so many iconic ads from history, but what made an impact on my personally? So I thought long and hard and couldn’t stop thinking about the grunge clothing advertisements in my teen magazines from the late 90’s, early 2000s.

I used to get Teen Vogue, Seventeen Magazine, and Cosmo Girl! And they were my favorite ever. I used to read the magazines from front to back and study every page. I started googling, and found some ads that took me down memory lane! Do you remember, Candies clogs, Steve Madden’s huge head ads, l.e.i jeans, Picway shoes, and ads for gel pens? I was inspired by this Picway shoes ad that says “it’s all from dad’s closet, but you need new shoes for every outfit.” (I found the add on google, credit unknown.)

It makes me happy that the easy grunge look is back 20 years later. Hilariously, the only things I had to borrow from Dan’s closet were the socks and belt. My combat boots are a kickass pair from M.Gemi. I wish they were Picway, but they were bought by Payless, and we all know Payless has been going through some stuff since they went bankrupt in 2019. Are they still around?

The Magnificent 8

The Magnificent 8 is back and this time we all decided to style an outfit inspired by a magazine ad. I can’t believe this is our third year styling outfits together! We did statement pants for spring, an “outside the box” styling theme in January, pearls in October, a yellow theme last July, a garden theme last April, styled vintage and heirloom pieces last January, animal print last October, and now we’re back with another fun styling theme.

The Magnificent 8 is a collaboration among 8 stylish women, each in a different age bracket, ranging from early 20’s to early 80’s. The mission of this collaboration is to show you just how ageless style is, how we can each dress however we’d like and in ways that make us feel fabulous. There are no age restrictions on style. So wear what you want, when you want, add a smile, and strut your style with confidence. Be sure to check out all 7 of these amazing gals! And make sure you check back in October for our next collaboration!

Let me re-introduce the ladies of The Magnificent 8. Head to the blogs below to see the ads + outfits each of us picked as our inspiration!

• Grace of Graceful Rags
• Mica of Away from the Blue 
• Roxanne of Glass of Glam
• Shelbee of Shelbee on the Edge
• Rena of Fine Whatever
• Eugenia of Age of Grace
• Lesley of Jodie’s Touch of Style
• Charlotte of Jodie’s Touch of Style

We are showing that you can’t put a number on style!

What grunge clothing inspiration are you currently loving?  Let me know in a comment below!

–Roxanne