Style Archives - Jeff Buckley

Very sexy, very sexy

My internally moderated list of style heroes is actually quite short. Bob Dylan, Bob Marley, Bob Weir… So many Bobs. And Jeff Buckley. Jeff’s been on the list for a long, long time. He had it going on. And then he tragically died, but you already know that. We’re not going to dwell on the end, just the beginning and middle. The good stuff. The fits. Join me for another trip to the N.E.H. Style Archive.

Wild blue, deeper than I ever knew

A story has to start somewhere, and today we’re starting with Jeff’s early band The Wild Blue Yonder. Late ‘80s, probably not good (didn’t listen). I found some stills from a live performance, and the above still captures Jeff’s fit pretty well. And I’ve got to say… it’s a good fit! Let’s ignore the hat for moment and focus on the shirt. Jeff rocks a deep red button-down with some Putumayo-ass print and sleeves that either end way too soon or go on for way too long. Jeff’s already got, like, four buttons undone to give the audience a good look at his chest. He kept doing that throughout the ‘90s. It’s one of his signature style moves. Lothario shit. Gotta love it.

The hat is certainly a choice. It’s a leather biker hat, the kind worn by motorcyclists in the mid-20th century and then adopted by gay men in the leather community. I’ve got no problem with the hat in that context, of course, but Jeff’s on another tip here. It won’t be his last swing-and-miss when it comes to hat selection.

One last thing: Long time N.E.H. readers know that I love when rockers wear watches. Jeff’s watch appears to be a basic black-and-white Swatch or Timex, etc.. Not a fine watch, in other words. Utilitarian. Very good.

Leave all your fears behind

In 1991, Jeff performed publicly as a solo artist for the first time. The occasion? A tribute concert to Tim Buckley, the cult folk musician and Jeff’s dad. Jeff never knew him. Jeff turned in a rangy take on “I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain.” Heavy stuff! Jeff looked fabulous in a drapey, oversized black t-shirt, long thin chain. and his legendary locks. Jeff’s hair is as much a part of his style story as any garment. His fit would look current today.

In 1991, Jeff linked up with Gary Lucas, a guitarist who played on late Captain Beefheart records. Their group, Gods and Monsters, attracted some attention and helped get Jeff’s foot in the door at Imago Records. He moved to New York City and began gigging around, most notably at Sin-é, a small East Village coffee shop and music venue. But that’s old news. Let’s talk clothes.

Pictured above: Jeff and Gary circa 1992. Jeff must’ve been fond of that t-shirt. He also wears it in this grainy YouTube footage taken at a Gods and Monsters show in March ‘92. Jeff had some troll in him, I’m sure of it. Rocking a Jesus-on-the-Cross shirt with torn, ragged jeans (and braces!) while playing noisy psychedelic blues was very on-brand for him. A few years later, he would harness this trollish tendency to land on a signature look.

So real

It’s time to talk about Grace. Released in the summer of 1994, Grace is Jeff’s first and only official LP. In 2005, I downloaded it via the dorm network at U of I and fell in love with “Hallelujah.” It took years, but I grew to love the whole album. If you stop at “Hallelujah,” you may miss slammers like “So Real,” “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over,” and my personal favorite, the mesmerizing 10/10 stone classic “Last Goodbye.”

When shooting the cover, Jeff had to fight with his label Columbia for nearly every artistic choice. He copped the gold sequined women’s jacket at a thrift store, and it’s just perfect. Sequins are great when you want to look like a disco ball. He layers the fab jacket over a deep-v with a stretched-out neck. He did that a lot back then. A couple long necklaces complete the look.

When I talk about Jeff trolling audiences, this is what I’m talking about. In 1994, rock music was in the process of splitting off in about a million directions under the vast umbrella of alternative. Style splintered, too. Grunge via Pearl Jam (flannel), power pop via Weezer (geek chic), indie via Pavement (adjunct professor), punk via Green Day (tees and tartan), Britpop via Oasis (parkas and Stone Island), jammy roots garbage via DMB (hacky sack core), and so on.

Though many of the aforementioned acts and their peers sought to play with and even undermine macho rock tropes, there was still a whole lot of dude energy in 1994, and it was reflected in the clothing. Male rockers were expected to dress the part, and I’m sure Columbia records thought Jeff looked too feminine or soft or (gasp) gay on the cover of Grace. So be it, said Jeff. One outtake shows him eating a banana. The old-fashioned microphone gives off lounge lizard vibes, and there was nothing less cool in 1994 than that. So be it.

Dream Brother

The man also loved a white tank. Back then, people called them D___ Tees or W___ B______. Come on!

At this juncture, it feels appropriate to address one last component of Jeff’s timeless style: the fact that he was a total hunk. Truly a beautiful man. In this life, you’re dealt one face, and Jeff got dealt a stunner. When you’re that hot, you can try to hide, or you can just own it and be sexy.

Very sexy

Jeff spent much of 1995 on the road touring behind Grace. During down time on random tour stops, he’d wear plaid flannels and even workwear. But when it came time for the show, the man unbuttoned the ol’ shirt and embraced his hotness. The above picture, taken in 1995 at my beloved Metro, answers the question: how low can he go?

The fits did not stop, my friends. This mustard-meets-spinach colorway was all the rage a couple years ago because it makes for a great camp shirt. Jeff understood that way back in, like, 1996. I’m going to need a Shoes Guy to ID the kicks. I assume Dr. Martens, but I could be wrong. Not my specialty. Anyway, I like them. I don’t like the hat.

And here’s that shirt in a different context. When you’re partying with Iggy Pop, you’ve got to wear your leather jacket. Jeff understood the assignment. His had a massive ‘70s collar and button placket which leads me to believe that it’s vintage.

This is our last goodbye

In the last full year of his life, Jeff worked on the follow-up to Grace with the working title My Sweetheart the Drunk. It wasn’t a smooth process. He traveled back and forth from NYC to Memphis cutting tracks with his band and discarding the results. On May 29, 1997 he jumped into Wolf River Harbor and never came out. The above photo is reported to be his last. In true J.B. fashion, he was zigging while everybody zagged. Vintage shirt with long collar buttoned all the way up. Hard to tell, but there appears to be some embroidery down the front, perhaps floral. Whatever the case, it’s one hell of a final fit pic.

Jeff Buckley had a career that began and ended before the proliferation of the internet and digital photography. He never got big enough to hit a million red carpets or compel photographers to follow him everywhere or need to promote himself on social media. There aren’t a ton of fit pics of Jeff. Being a fan of Jeff’s means being content with seeing the same photos over and over. Fortunately, they’re very good photos, and Jeff wore very good clothing in them.