# In the public eye **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 27, 2000, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-public-eye/11369 "2000-04-27T23:54:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![oasis325](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/74df32/32.png) [@oasis325](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/oasis325)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2000, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-public-eye/11369/1 "2000-04-27T23:54:00Z")
Why do rock stars, movie stars, and anyone who falls under the catch-all descriptor ‘star’ wear outlandish clothes and/or partake in crazy practices? Moreover, why does the general populace accept this as ‘normal’? I’m generalizing, but getting back to the clothes thing… I’m thinking specifically of 80’s hair bands…the long hair, the nuthugger leather pants, the ripped t-shirt, etc. Why did we accept this sort of deviation as natural for those in the public eye? For example, you might think how come KISS wears all that make-up and acts so strange? And the ‘logical’ answer is only “Well, because they are rock stars.” …But there has to be a better explanation than this. There just has to be. And before you answer, consider that these things happen today as well. The performers of today take the same ‘poetic license’ for “normal” attire (think of Sisquo: the guy who sings the Thong Song)…WHY DO WE ALLOW THIS, AND EVEN REQUIRE IT??? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2000, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-public-eye/11369/2 "2000-04-28T02:03:00Z")
## Kiss wore the make-up and costumes as a marketing gimmick. Same with their behavior. It brought people into the concerts and sold their records. “What we have here is failure to communicate.” – Strother Martin, anticipating the Internet. [www.sff.net/people/rothman](http://www.sff.net/people/rothman) ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2000, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-public-eye/11369/3 "2000-04-28T03:59:00Z")
Hair, make-up, costumes - it’s called theatre (or theater, if you prefer). It becomes normal when a group or person becomes popular enough to be imitated. It’s also normal for adolescents to rebel against authority, which usually takes the form of finding and doing things that will really piss off the 'rents. Dressing outrageously is one of those things. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2000, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-public-eye/11369/4 "2000-04-28T08:53:00Z")
When you gots lots of money, all the toadies tell you your awful fashion sense looks great. And so, they never learn. Peace. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2000, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-public-eye/11369/5 "2000-04-28T21:47:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by oasis325: > **WHY DO WE ALLOW THIS, AND EVEN REQUIRE IT???** This is the most interting (to me at least) part of the OP. We do seem to require it. I can’t imagine people being fans of a rock band that wore khakis and denim shirts. Regardless of the quality or type of music they made. And what the hell is up with the way country music fans require their icons to dress. Why does a guy have to wear rhinestones and a big ass hat to sing songs about his pathetic lovelife and chronic alcoholism? * * * Am I supposed to believe that all this rain was suspended in mid-air until moments ago? ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-public-eye/11369/6 "2000-04-30T21:01:49Z")
> [@](#): > > And what the hell is up with the way country music fans require their icons to dress. Why does a guy have to wear rhinestones and a big ass hat to sing songs about his pathetic lovelife and chronic alcoholism? Do we require that? Quite a few wear cowboy hats (Garth Brooks, George Strait, Alan Jackson, for example) but none of those wear rhinestones. Plus quite a few **don’t** wear hats. Perhaps you could educate me as to the country music icons that fit your description? ---
**Author:** ![mattmanz\_da\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/db5fbb/32.png) [@mattmanz\_da\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mattmanz_da_man)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2000, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-public-eye/11369/7 "2000-04-30T21:20:46Z")
There are all good reasons for bands and famous people to dress up like idiots. Firstly, it gives them an image: they are recognizable to the general public. You show us a picture of Kiss, we know **exacly** who we’re looking at. And they’re not even a recent band. However, show us side by side pictures of the Backstreet Boys and Nsync, and maybe a tenth of the population could tell them apart. Well, I’m sure it’s more than a tenth, but you know what I’m saying. Second, grabs attention. Strange looking people draw attention, and anyone famous wants to draw attention to themselves. Don’t tell me you’ve never stared at a strange looking person out of the corner of your eyes; it’s just human nature to do it. Lastly, people emulate famous figures. And if they do something weird that they could market, it just rolls in more cash. There are more points, too, but these are some of the bigger ones. To put it most simply, though, famous people act different becase it’s just another nifty marketing trick. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-public-eye/11369/8 "2000-05-01T14:07:44Z")
> [@](#): > > This is the most interting (to me at least) part of the OP. We do seem to require it. I can’t imagine people being fans of a rock band that wore khakis and denim shirts. Regardless of the quality or type of music they made. You mean like Weezer or Nirvana (sure, they wore khakis or cargo pants from time to time) or Pearl Jam or Foo Fighters or . . . ? ---
**Author:** ![GLWasteful](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f05b48/32.png) [@GLWasteful](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GLWasteful)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2000, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-the-public-eye/11369/9 "2000-05-01T14:15:40Z")
. . .or Hootie & The Blowfish? Or G Love and Special Sauce, fer chrissakes? Off topic: Good to see you back, Phil. Waste Flick Lives!