Like much of the internet, I’m obsessed with Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker’s PDA-filled relationship—down to the thumb-sucking video posted on Instagram. As a sign of how hot and heavy this relationship is, they’ve naturally started syncing their styles. Kourtney has been wearing way more black, dressing in punkier, sexier outfits like leather shorts with matching cuissards, an itty-bitty silk black dress with a cutout at the stomach, or a T-shirt emblazoned with “suck” and “bite.” Barker’s style is more simple—he often wears a cutoff graphic T-shirt and a pair of low-slung black jeans—but has the same rude vibe.
Even in his early days as a drummer in Blink-182, when he dressed in nothing more than pulled-up socks, Vans, and a cutoff T-shirt, Barker had an allure. The whole band was dressed in purposefully unfashionable clothing, plucked from the mall or skate shop. Barker was always silent, drowning in huge shorts that went to his ankles and a growing array of tattoos. He’s grown up along with his style: Now there are flannels over graphic T-shirts and pants with artful designs, like skull symbols. The Vans remain, though.
Barker and Kardashian aren’t the only new punkified Hollywood couple. Machine Gun Kelly, a friend of Barker’s, has snagged actor Megan Fox. The two have rowdy style: Kelly, unlike Barker, is a ’90s baby and figuring out his style, dressing in hot pink suits and dying his tongue black. Looking back into fashion history, there’s also Jane’s Addiction’s Dave Navarro, who charmed Carmen Electra and later the runway world when he walked for Anna Sui in spring 1997 wearing a lavender lace camisole top, lace panties, and low-slung leather pants.
Maybe the appeal of a tattooed, soft-spoken man lies in the fact that the style is eternally youthful. He’s everyone’s high school boyfriend in a band, or the dream of one, but more grown-up. Barker knows what works for him—namely, band tees, some of which he’s most likely had since his first days with Blink-182. His aesthetic is obviously rubbing off on Kourtney too, and it looks quite good. Spooky hot. As history has shown us, whether it’s with Victoria and David Beckham or Brad Pitt and Gwyneth Paltrow, complementary styles are just another way to show your love for each other. In this case, there’s nothing better than a guy who is grounded in, well, Vans.
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