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The rave
scene grew to dominate the 1990s and continues to evolve even today as ravers
from around the world continue to party. Just like clubbers and the
club scene, when older ravers move on, younger generations quickly
move in to fill the void. Rave DJs such as DJ
Shortee and Miss Behavin'
continue do teach and create new sounds and rhythms while ravers dance
to the beats. Aside from rave music, there
is one distinct and noticeable aspect to ravers: rave clothes. Strangely enough, there
is a general shortage of rave clothing stores online as ravers hunt
for rave gear, rave pants, and general rave fashion.
Rave
Fashion
To really be a
part of rave culture, you've gotta be hip with rave clothes.  Ravers wear
clothing that is flexible, worn in, and comfortable. Since raves
involve hours of dancing, rave wear such as rave pants is lightweight
and loose-fitting.
Rave gear
includes clothing that makes it easy to dress in layers which allows
ravers to peel off their outer wear as they heat up from all the
dancing. It's not uncommon to see ravers wear baggy and wide-legged
pants and then strip down to loose shorts.
Ravers wear
airy clothing such as t-shirts, tank tops, tube tops, bikini tops, and open-back halter tops.
These types of upper body clothes help partiers stay cool during long,
intensive, after hours dance marathons.
Ravers tend
to take ecstasy pills which provide the energy to dance all night (and
sometimes all day) long. The truth is that the drug itself
raises body temperature and so between the dancing and the drugs, ravers
are frequently virtually clothing free by the end of the night.
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Rave
Clothes and Themes
Rave
culture has grown beyond simple raves. There are now raves with themes
to them and the girls at these gigs tend to take advantage of
the occasion by dressing up. It's like Halloween for a night in a
month other than October. On a related note, goths who hang out at
raves are called gravers. In any case, during themed rave events,
ravers wear costumes such as dressing up cartoon characters, princesses,
and other fantasy
figures that go with the rave's theme. Rave themes often include some
sort of futuristic, space, or mystical theme.
Brand
Name and Underground Rave Clothing
It's kind of an oxymoron to say that raver clothing stores carry rave
clothes that are popular brand names and underground at the same time.
The truth is that stores are selling large quantities of rave clothes
such as Triple Five Soul, Akademiks, Zoo York, Quiksilver, Rusty, Spiewak, Kitchen Orange, Billabong, HIC and
Redsand.
It's true that purists in the rave gear scene prefer to
wear rave clothing that is from more underground type companies and
stores but in fact, major labels and brand names in popular culture can be quite convenient when partying at a rave. Rave wear can be Adidas track pants, Nike running shoes, or a Reebok shirt.
If you're preparing for your first visit to a rave, don't worry about
shopping at rave clothing stores. Just wear what you have, as long as
it's comfortable.
Not everyone
thinks raves are for them and after one visit, they have had enough of
the rave scene. On the other hand, if you do plan on partying at a lot
of raves, you might want to consider "popular" rave clothes.
Rave
Clothing Store Accessories and Ecstasy
Aside from general rave clothing, there are always the accessories to
consider! Alcohol is rarely served at raves. Instead, rave promoters
sell smart drinks which are essentially energy drinks or fruit juice
with extra caffeine. If you were every wondering how to make an energy
drink, that's all there is to it!
In any case,
raves and illegal drugs go hand-in-hand and rave clothing stores sell
accessories that can enhance the raver's drug-induced sensations.
Raver accessories include bright paraphernalia such as bracelets, necklaces, and
earrings which typically have flashing lights built into them. Ravers
trying to sneak their personal stash of ecstasy into a rave frequently
place their pills into plastic beads, bring pill-shaped candies
which look like store-bought sugar candies, or mix their drugs into a
box of candies.
One of the
most ubiquitous rave clothes accessories is the ever-present baby
pacifiers which are typically worn around ravers' necks and lollipops.
While these are seemingly harmless, they are actually there to
counterbalance the effects of ecstasy which can force involuntary teeth
grinding. This is actually quite popular in regular clubs as well, not
just rave culture.
Perhaps the
most creative integration of rave accessories is the invention of baby
pacifiers that actually have flashing lights built into them and have
candy-beaded necklaces for ravers to wear around their necks.
The hallucinogenic properties of
ecstasy has certainly had a large influence on rave culture including
the clothes and accessories that ravers include in their party gear. Ecstasy
can cause visual distortions which is why ravers walk around with glow sticks,
flashing bracelets and necklaces which are waved around. Similarly,
raver girls frequently wear pins with blinking lights as belly-button
rings, earrings, and regualr clothing pins, frequently in the shape of
stars and hearts.
Finally,
ravers chew strong mint gum and rub strong smelling menthol lotion
onto their bodies to try and max out the effects of the drugs. Sadly,
many ravers don't realize that rubbing items such as Vicks VapoRub all
over their body and continually inhaling
the menthol fumes, they are enhancing they
may be adding to their risk of hyperthermia (getting dangerously
overheated) because the
fumes cause the raver's eyes and nasal passages to dry out. Gross
but true and you don't need to buy this type of "party item"
at rave clothing stores because the local pharmacy probably carries
these products.
The
Future of Rave Clothing and Accessories
As long as there are raves, rave culture will include rave clothing
and accessories to get the "full effect" of the music and
drugs. If you plan on attending a rave and you're a newbie, this
article should be enough to get your groove started. Party smart.
(By the way,
ecstasy is also known as ex, x, extasy, exstasy, and ecstacy)
BrianX
Nightlife Guide
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