The Fashionable Women of Music – Today and Yesterday

The Busy Neighbour here, dropping in for 20YS while she’s off for a weekend of birthdays and family entertainment in Montreal. I was inspired for this post at an outdoor music fest this year and thought I’d write on some of my favourite fashionable women of the music world.

Emily Haines – Metric

Emily Haines rocks and exudes sexiness like no other. The insanely talented frontwoman of Canada’s Metric always owns her shows and leaves the crowd’s mind blown. Her style it outstanding, and her voice and talent leave me in awe.

Janelle Monáe

Janelle Monáe first caught my eye (and ear) when I saw her video for Tightrope. Her signature style is gorgeous, feminine tuxedos and her voice and album The ArchAndroid (Suites II and III) was one of my favorites of last year.

Karen O – Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Karen O is known for her voice, stage presence, rock star style and outrageous/awesome fashion that has given her tons of notoriety and has made her a fashion inspiration.


Debbie Harry

Considered one of the greatest front women of all time, she’s also one of the music industry’s most fashionable women of all time. With a list of albums as long as my arm, and a former face of MAC, Debbie Harry is an icon.

Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu (TIE)

Picking between these two would be like picking my favourite child. Both insanely talented women of R&B/soul/jazz, their voices, beauty and style have made them eminent women of their fields.

Gwen Stefani

Since the days of No Doubt, Gwen Stefani has been a music and style phenomena who is often compared to Debbie Harry. Launching her fashion line L.A.M.B. solidified her role as a multi-talented and diverse fashion leader.

Madonna

When thinking of Madonna’s fashion, my brain goes right to my favorite videos – Like a Prayer, Papa Don’t Preach and Vogue to name a few. She defined late 80s-early 90s style and has left a legacy for female musicians for decades to come.

Jenny Lewis

Jenny Lewis’ solo work has made a regular appearance on my play list over the last few years. She’s talented, gorgeous and her music suits all my moods.

This gorgeous and talented Swede has music that gets me dancing. She’s also a face of Levi’s and no stranger to hard work at a super young age!

Florence Welch – Florence and the Machine

Florence Welch, of Florence and the Machine has a haunting voice that hooked me the first time I heard “You’ve Got the Love”. Their album Lungs was one of my best discoveries in recent years and still hasn’t gotten old. Florence was also selected to be this year’s face of Gucci.

That’s it 20YS readers! Who do you love that I missed?


Signed,



The Busy Neighbour