Choice of clothing for a concert depends on your plans. Do you plan to dance all night? Is this battle gear? You will be actively participating, so do not take anything that you prefer not to lose and keep your hands free. Fun and safety are the key factors. Before you decide what to wear, the first thing to know is what not to wear.
The “Best Left at Home” List
Studs and chains - anything that could injure someone else should not enter the moshpit out of respect for fellow moshers. Since mosh pits often “protect themselves” from naive and ignorant. If you are acting up, intentionally hurting people with your badass gear or even accidentally causing injuries by what you are wearing, you might find yourself tossed out by your fellow moshers.
Dangling earrings - probably better to be streamlined as you don’t want things pulled out or torn out during the action.
Sandals and flip flops - the pit is where the stomping happens.
High heels - unless you live for ankle turning, foot pain and oozing blisters, consider this, you will not have a place to sit down and rest if you are in the standing only General Admission (GA) section. The floor will be wet, slippery and coated with questionable fluids. This is not the place to sit down to give the feet a rest.
Prescription eyeglasses - instead of having to make the choice between being able to see and stumbling blindly through the pit, err on the side of wearing the cheaper spare pair or an older pair that you don’t mind breaking. Otherwise, if it is possible to see without the prescription lenses, the option to leave them home is even better. You will not worry about breaking frames, losing lenses or the irritation of having them just fall off and get stomped on.
Blending into the Crowd
There is no uniform for moshing or attending a concert. Sometimes people say there is an unspoken rule that you don’t wear a shirt featuring the band you are attending. That’s all just smoke and mirrors. You can however establish concert cred if you are wearing a shirt from a famous tour or from years and even decades ago AND it’s a concert you went to or can tell a story about.
Scott wears the concert T that feels the most comfortable. For a Hammerfall/Sabaton concert, he wore the Wacken 2020 shirt we received with our tickets. The amazing thing was someone yelled from a car after the concert, “are you going to Wacken”
“Yes!”
“We are too, we’ll see you there.”
Ok, so it is not happening, but even so we have a Wacken 2020 story to tell And it wouldn’t have happened if things had gone as he’d planned. He ordered a Grateful Dead Halloween T-shirt that he had planned to wear. That order was delayed and ultimately cancelled because of production issues prior to COVID-19.
Comfort is Essential
Most people wear jeans and concert TShirts, maybe a few layers depending on the time of year. Wear what makes you happy and confident.
Jeans, shorts, skirts - Comfort might be the most important, a close second would be having pockets with flaps and velcro closures to keep the money, ID card and cell phone safe. In warmer weather cargo shorts are a great choice for the pit. Skin tight stretch jeans with the larger back pockets are also an option for keeping your phone secure.
Concert TShirt - this light layer could be considered essential, because the pit area gets really warm as people jostle into each other. Camisoles and sleeveless Ts are acceptable alternatives. For a winter concert, I’ve worn a light turtleneck at times. I admit I have a curvy body. Concert Ts rarely fit the chest unless it is a couple sizes larger and then the rest of the shirt doest feel right, too long because I’m 5”2”. So without going into the uncomfortable details. I will on occasion purchase a concert T and then slaughter it with tailoring to me, cutting out the neckline, shortening the shirt, a little slice, braid, tuck and nip it in at the waist to make it fit me more comfortably. This probably drives my husband mad, but in doing so I will at times dress like most of the crowd.
Layers - consider these will need a place to go. Will you be with a less active partner who will not mind carrying your extras. Shouldn’t count on this. Run a tshirt through a belt loop. Tie a hoodie/jumper/light jacket around your waist.
Hoodie - to walk to a vehicle, public transportation or hotel, you will be hot when you walk out the door and it will feel amazing and then a light breeze will catch you and you begin to shiver.
Leather or Faux?
On the rebel factor this may seem like a great idea. Except the material doesn’t breathe. It gets quite warm and it’s not forgiving as far as tying it around your waist. If this is a must for you i suggest an empty bag with arm strap that you could stuff it in.
Where your Sole hits the Floor
Comfort and safety should be top priority. I usually wear hiking boots for the comfort of being on my feet for hours. I have a favorite and I wear them with skirts and dresses too. My husband typically wears boots with a non-slip sole that offers both ankle and toe protection.
Personal Preference
You always have final say, loose clothing, form-fitting clothing, black, color. We have worn kilts and plaid. I’ve worn pristine white jeans and a white lace shirt over a white camisole to proudly show I’ve been soaked in stage blood destined for the writhing mass. Wear the clothing that feels good and then forget about it and enjoy the rest of the experience.
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