How to Dress Like a Rivethead

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: September 6, 2022

A rivethead is a general term for fans of industrial music who value transgressive beliefs towards music and being anti-authoritarian. As such, fans have created a fashion style mocking militaristic and fascist regimes, borrowing elements of it for clothing inspiration, with tinges of late-80s industrial sci-fi. Wearing clothing in line with this aesthetic, coordinating your colors correctly, using accessories, and getting piercings, tattoos, or a new haircut, can help you to be more on point for your rivet fashion outings.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Choosing Clothing

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Pick out lightweight T-shirts or tank tops or go shirtless. These types of basics come in a variety of cuts and colors, and will allow you to move around easily for activities such as dancing or moshing at shows, keeping you cool as you do.^{[1]
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- Try something like a white or black tank top with cargo pants or fatigues.
- Alternatively, a lot of rivethead fashion doesn’t involve wearing a shirt at all, so skip wearing one if you feel comfortable enough.
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Wear loose-fitting pants for an industrial look. Distressed clothing will provide comfort at shows and events, and is a popular go-to choice in rivet fashion. There are multiple styles you can choose: bondage and cargo pants, battle dress uniform (BDU) pants, ripped jeans, or Japanese hakama style pants.^{[2]
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- Wearing hakama pants without a shirt in addition to a facial piece, like a mask, face cover, or goggles, can create a cool cross-culture look with potential for sci-fi vibes.
- BDU pants and a ripped T-shirt is a simple and stylish choice.
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Experiment with skirts, short shorts, dresses, or corsets. For a more feminine or androgynous look, body contouring and other tight dresses will look cool alongside big boots. Short skater, leather, and other fitted skirts will provide sex appeal if you’re looking to show skin, and can be mixed and matched with various tops to fit your taste. Shorts are also nice if you want to let your legs out, but don’t want to risk exposure.^{[3]
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- Corsets can also be worn along with any type of skirt or pants to help achieve a very femininely charged look with gothic tones. Pair this outfit with industrial accessories like piercings or jewelry to give the corset the rivet edge it needs.
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Try out leather jackets, flight jackets, or long coats. For cooler weather, trendy jackets can really help you to stay in style while keeping warm. To make up for your light top or being shirtless, compliment with something like a duster, trench coat, or knee-length jacket. Jackets also go great with dresses and skirts and they can add extra coverage to make up for their short length. Wear bulletproof vests, and military vests with lots of pockets.^{[4]
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- Leather and flight jackets are great when paired with tank tops, ripped jeans, and chunky boots, especially with a buzz cut or closely-cropped hairstyle.
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Select clothes in dark colors. While black and other dark colors are definitely the staples for a rivethead look, using white and darker tones of reds, blues, greens, purples, pinks, and other colors can also work.
- For instance, a ruby red tank top and black bondage pants would look great with a studded collar and black combat boots.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Accessorizing Properly

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Choose big shoes that command authority. Something large and chunky, like a combat, tanker, jungle, or military style knee-high boot, can help bring out a hard, combative/survivalist edge to your outfit. In conjunction with shorts, skirts, or dresses, you’ll make an instant rivet-inspired look.^{[5]
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- Stiletto style heels can also be worn to achieve a rivet inspired femme fatale look with a black dress and fishnet gloves.
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Add tights or leggings if you want more coverage. Tights, leggings, stockings, fishnets, and any other hosiery or socks you’d like to wear with your skirts, dresses, and shorts will always be great choices. Pair louder and brighter tights with more minimalist pieces, and vice versa.
- For instance, skull-patterned tights would look great with a tight black mini skirt and military boots.
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Use jewelry, chokers, and gloves to add detail to your outfits. Try out spiked bracelets and collars, (fake) bullet belts and necklaces, leather or fishnet gloves, or other military-themed pieces. Wear multiple statement rings on your fingers, and put a piece of jewelry in any other piercing you may have. Goggles worn on either your forehead or around your neck will add sci-fi vibes. Wear a respirator for a cool dystopian vibe. If you don't want the sun in your eyes but still want to look cool, aviators and military goggles are good too.
- Military gear is essential for this aesthetic. Wear leg rigs, tactical belts with ammo pockets and gun holsters (don't put a real gun or ammo in them, obviously. You know, legal stuff), and for gloves, combat gloves are key.
- A lot of rivethead fashion is dystopian themed. Movies like Mad Max is a good example. or you can go on Pinterest, there's tons of inspiration there. Distressed clothes that look beat up, specifically very dirty looking clothes are key here. Gas masks are essential for dystopian clothing.

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Image titled Dress Like a Rivethead Step 8

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- Rivethead fashion is often very sexually charged and may have elements of fetishism, kink, or bondage involved. Use whatever you feel comfortable with to accentuate your outfit, and remember to have fun and feel empowered by how you dress.
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Wear minimal amounts of makeup to achieve rivethead style. Makeup shouldn’t be a focus of your look, but you could wear eye makeup and lipstick if desired. Stick with darker colors or use eyeliner or shadow to create a pop of color on your eyes.^{[7]
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- Use a bright lipstick, gloss, or stain to achieve the right effect on your lips.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Making Long-Term Body Changes

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Change your hairstyle to something edgier. Rivethead hairstyles tend to lean more toward a masculine style, and although you can have long hair, getting it cut short in a crew, a pixie, or completely buzzed off is popular. You can integrate both long and short elements into a hairstyle with something like a mohawk, an undercut, or a partially shaved head.^{[8]
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Dye your hair a different color to stand out. Integrate a color like crimson or a deep green into your hair for a nice nuance that can add to your outfit’s color coordination. Cyberlox are also a good way to stand out with a single lock in a bright color.^{[9]
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- Short hairstyles that are then dyed blonde or black are most common, but choose any color you’d like to make the style your own.
3
Get multiple piercings for a busy industrial look. For an added punk-survival vibe, piercings can really help to bring out the harshness of rivethead fashion. Start with ear piercings if you’ve never gotten them before, but nose, lip, and other facial piercings are popular choices among rivets.^{[10]
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- Industrial ear piercings are commonplace among rivets but should be reserved for those more experienced with piercings as they are very painful.
- Septum pieces for the nose are always popular, while for lips, jestrum, snake bites, medusas, and labrets are in line with a rivethead look.
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Choose dark, moody, or minimalist tattoos if you get them. Lighthearted or overly colorful tattoos may not jive with rivethead aesthetics, so if you really want to dedicate yourself to being a rivet, make sure the tattoos you get are appropriately as dark as you are on the inside.^{[11]
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- Blackout tattoos that cover a portion of the body to make a certain pattern, or appear that you’re wearing jewelry, are a popular choice.

Warnings

Try not to dress in an offensive manner.

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Watch out for more commonly known industrial shirts such as Nine Inch Nails and as well as bands that are less well-known, such as StaticX.

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