Winning ‘Best Dressed’ at the Laufey Show: A Step-by-Step Guide

Step 1: Think about your favorite part of Laufey’s music.

This could be a specific song, the jazziness, the classical techniques, etc. Why does that stand out to you, and how does it make you feel? Past winners of the contest have emulated their personal relationship to Laufey’s music, resulting in outfits of varying styles and aesthetics. Some winners don flowy ballgowns fit for a princess, whereas others have worn light-up tutus with corsets. Regardless, the winners’ outfits do not just represent Laufey’s music; they represent what it means to them. 

Step 2: Make it weird.

You do not have to force the outfit to take a strange turn, but think about it this way: your relationship to her music is unique because it is specific to you—if you exaggerate that Laufey’s music has always epitomized the ‘soft’ aesthetic—pink bows, ballet flats, deer and subtle brown eyeliner. But one minute and 18 seconds into her new song, “Sabotage,” images of bloody dolls and pitch-black pupils took turns terrorizing my mind. Give it a listen and you will understand.

In her latest album, A Matter of Time, Laufey flips the ‘soft’ narrative to expose its unnerving underbelly of rage, fear and longing. Her musical experimentality invites us into a new, mystical world of classical, jazz and pop. While on tour for the album, her fans have brought the same experimentality into the audience. 

Laufey instituted a ‘best dressed’ competition for every show, encouraging fans to come out in their boldest embodiments of her music. The competition is fierce, with winner outfits ranging from colorful suits to hand-sewn gowns made from sheet music. A high-level range, I know. 

Lucky for you, I have created a three-step guide to enhance—but not guarantee—your chances of winning ‘best dressed’ at the Laufey show. Because, honestly, if you are up against a toddler-aged Laufey look-alike or Alyssa Liu, you have no shot. 

Viduality, you are likely to end up with a pretty strange outfit. For example, a fan at the Toronto show won with a skirt made entirely out of forget-me-nots, an ode to the song on Laufey’s new album entitled “Forget-Me-Not.” At another show in Minneapolis, the winner loved Laufey’s song “Valentine” and converted its imagery into a unique statement of red, white and pink flowers growing out of a red trench coat. Although we cannot know their exact thought processes, they appear to have chosen one aspect of Laufey’s music and amplified it to extreme levels for their winning outfits.

Step 3: Make it feasible for you.

Not all of us are seamstresses, and many of us might not be crafty at all. But as long as you approach the contest with an open, creative mind, you can make a successful outfit. For example, let us imagine someone who really loves the album’s clockwork theme. A simple yet striking way to embody this is through accessories: wear every watch you can find and arrange them like a sleeve, pin watches together to create a belt, wear a pocket watch as a necklace, or wear a vintage hat and drape pocket watches from it, etc. There are a ton of simple ways to incorporate your creative expression into an outfit without intensive sewing. And a lot of the time, all you need is the ability to work with a hot glue gun and a dream. 

Step 4: Own it.

The experimental nature of Laufey’s newest album is all about embracing both the beautiful and the ugliest sides of life. Whatever you choose to wear will come from how you embrace and experience those sides. So, whether you win or not, walk into the arena with the confidence of a person expressing the boldest and rawest parts of who you are. As a contender for Laufey’s ‘best-dressed’ competition, you will look utterly unordinary. Own it.