Last Tuesday, in the bathroom of his dressing room (the only place he was permitted to smoke), before playing a set at the Williamsburg music venue Baby’s All Right, the rising musician Mac DeMarco imparted insight into his no-fuss style. The key to his look, he confessed, is to avoid overthinking — in other words, to stock up on white Hanes T-shirts and floppy brimmed hats. Effortlessness is central to the 23-year-old Canadian’s approach to pretty much everything. “Take my advice,” he sings on the song “Brother,” from his album “Salad Days,” “to take it slowly, brother.” If that’s your plan this summer, read on to dress the part.
Be yourself.
“When they want me to wear a bunch of clothes for a photograph, it’s one of those things I hate doing. If people want to have a picture of me, maybe it should be a picture of
me wearing the clothes I woke up and put on. I also tell them to bring extra-large, and they never do. ‘Oh, Mac’s got a beer gut!’ See, I told you! But for this shoot, I liked the white T-shirt because
it’s the same as a shirt I was actually wearing.”
Keep it fresh.
“I’ve been wearing the same clothes for two weeks now, but I’m changing the socks, the T-shirts and the underwear. The pants have been on for a long time, and this jacket
all winter. The important thing to staying fresh is: pants you can get away with for a long time, but shirts get disgusting, especially after playing every night. And socks — these shoes stink.”
Wear many hats …
“I used to never wear hats, and then I started wearing them a lot when I started cutting grass. You had to wear a hat because of the sun. But now I’m used to it. Plus,
it’s made my hair sketchy. It’s easy — you don’t have to think about anything, you can just pop it on and you’re good to go.”
… and hold onto them.
“A lot of people assume I have a great hat collection, but kids steal my hats at every show. I’ve had all these hats that I’ve loved, but now they’re
in some little kids’ possession. It’s difficult to replenish. I don’t think the kids realize this. But a kid traded me a really crappy one I had on for the one I’m wearing now. It’s a
lot about the shape, and what’s on it. I don’t like new hats. You could go into some fancy urban-wear store and get like a five-panel, but screw that, I don’t care. It’s got to have some character.
Every hat has to have a little story. If I’m going to be wearing it every day, it might as well have some significance.”
Experiment with makeup.
“I don’t necessarily like wearing lipstick, I just think it’s funny to do. I think the darker the better, but it’s whatever my girlfriend Kiera has in
her purse. Sometimes I’m really drunk when I put it on, but I like to do it when I’m at a house party and meeting a bunch of people. Then people are like, everything’s normal, but they can’t
quite tell what’s off. It freaks people out a little bit. And sometimes it’s fun to wear women’s clothing, but it’s hard to find anything that fits properly. They never flatter me — for
a video I did, I think they cut the sides a little bit so my fat ass could fit in them.”
Buy in bulk.
“I like to go to Goodwill and stuff, but right now, I’m into buying those 10 white shirt bags from Walmart. Just wear the same shirt every day. I just want ease. These pants I’m
into right now are just really comfortable — they’re so breezy. A lot of room to breathe. I like wearing jeans, too, but sometimes you’ll be in a long car ride, and it’ll hurt.”
Embrace the denim-on-denim look.
“For me, it’s all about the Canadian tuxedo, and maybe a bolero. The province I grew up in in Alberta is pretty much the denim capital of Canada. The first
premier of Alberta started Grand Western Garment, which Levi’s bought later on. So you can just go to Value Village and find insane jean jackets and really nice pairs of pants, because people have been working in
them for years, the kind of stuff people look for on eBay. I’ve always just been blessed.”
Respect your elders.
“I don’t ever see a person my age and say, ‘That guy’s got really nice style.’ It’s always the old guy with the really nice jacket, or the
truck driver.”
Don’t worry about labels.
“I don’t care about what people might call my style. It’s just like when people call my music jangly, dream, oceanside whatever — I don’t
care. I’m just wearing whatever I can scrap together.”
This interview has been edited and condensed.
