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Music

Style Rider: The Prettiots’ Uniform Is Plaid Skirts and Wifebeaters

White sneakers, white socks, and black hoodies round out these NYC troublemakers' tour essentials.

Photo by Nick Sethi

Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but the same can’t be said about judging a band by its name. Such is the case for New York City trio The Prettiots, anyway. In fact, the girls—Kay Kasparhauser, Rachel Trachtenburg, and Lulu Prat—are pretty much exactly what you’d expect from the clever, cutesy-but-cunning moniker.

With their simple melodies and offbeat, yet exceedingly singalong-able lyrics, they’ve amassed what feels like a million comparisons to The Moldy Peaches—and look, here’s another one! But one thing’s for sure: They dress a whole lot cooler than Adam Green. (Sorry, Adam Green.)

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“There’s definitely an overlap between our style and our sound. We dress like The Prettiots because we are The Prettiots!” lead singer Kasparhauser explains (well, kinda?) of their on-stage outfits.

So what do The Prettiots dress like, exactly? If you caught them during their Pianos residency last fall, snagged a spot at their Glasslands gig opening for Computer Magic, or saw their rad Richard Kern-directed music video,, you’ll recall cutoff Levis, snug wifebeaters, and a whole lot of leopard print. It’s the kind of clothing you’d expect to find on the coolest girl in high school who’s always stuck in detention for making out with a boy in the bathroom—or, in other words, a style perfectly suited to The Prettiots’ playful, nostalgic tunes largely inspired by teenage naivety. We stole a moment with Kasparhauser to find out what she’ll be stuffing into her suitcase the next time they hit the road.

(All photos via The Prettiots Instagram unless otherwise noted)

WIFEBEATER

“Or whatever the politically correct name of that is, because it is perfect and comfortable and essentially disposable.”

PLAID SKIRTS

Photo by Silja Magg

“Because, hi, we are The Prettiots, that’s basically our uniform.”

WHITE SNEAKERS

“Preferably completely beaten up, but crispy clean is good too, because we are our own biggest cheerleaders.”

WHITE SOCKS

“Varying lengths, from ankle to thigh, because with the right socks you never need to wear pants.”

BLACK HOODIE

“Even grown-ups need security blankets.”

Casey Lewis does this every other week. She's on Twitter - @caseymlewis.