Stevie Nicks Shared the ‘Mind-Blowing’ Romantic Moment That Inspired Her Style
Stevie Nicks’ signature style is a massive part of her onstage appeal. Since her early days in Fleetwood Mac, she has favored the same uniform: top hats, chiffon, and shawls. While various sources inspired the look, Nicks shared that one of the most iconic parts of her wardrobe came from a former romantic partner. She revealed that one romantic moment impacted her life for years to come.
Stevie Nicks worked with a designer to curate her look
Nicks’ personal style, for which descriptors range from witchy to Dickensian, emerged when she began working with designer Margi Kent.
“I have to have a uniform, and I’ve always been that way. When we started, the midi length was really in. It was the boots and midiskirts, so you looked really long and tall even if you were short. And so my skirts started out really long, like, almost to my ankles. And they went up and down through the years,” she told The New Yorker, adding, “And I have them all. So I have the Stevie skirt in any possible length. I can remember, when I was twenty-eight, twenty-nine, I had my idea of what my clothes were going to be.”
She hoped to build a wardrobe that she could wear for the rest of her life. So far, this has worked out for her.
“It’s going to stand the test of time,” she explained, “because I’m going to be able to wear this when I’m sixty.”
She said one romantic moment inspired a classic part of her wardrobe
Nicks had a range of inspirations for her look, from random strangers to other musicians. She also drew inspiration from a 1969 romance.
“I had gone horseback riding in San Francisco, and I met this guy out there,” she explained. “And he was super, super cute.”
Unfortunately, the budding romance appeared to have an expiration date.
“He was leaving the next day for Spain,” she said. “And I was, like, well, that’s really a bummer. And he said, ‘Well, I’ll be back in three months.’ So it was very romantic, just out riding horses, and when he came back he brought me a poncho from Spain that actually was the template for the long sequin ponchos that I wear on stage today, and at the beginning of Fleetwood Mac.”
She shared her surprise that a small romantic like this could impact her for many years to come.
“That relationship kind of went on for a little while when he got back,” she said. “But it was a mind-blowing experience, because it did cause an effect, you know? That poncho became one of the iconic things that I have worn ever since.”
Stevie Nicks has a vault for her clothing
Nicks values her catalog of clothing, so much so that she keeps her wardrobe in a temperature-controlled vault.
“I have my shawl vault — they’re all in temperature-controlled storage,” she told Rolling Stone. “I have these huge red cases Fleetwood Mac bought, all the way back in 1975 — my clothes are saved in these cases.”
Part of the reason Nicks preserves her clothing so carefully is because she wants to give it away.
“All my vintage stuff is protected for all my little goddaughters and nieces,” she said. “I’m trying to give my shawls away — but there’s thousands of them. If I ever write my life story, maybe that should be the name of my book: There’s Enough Shawls to Go Around.”
