The general costume seen on NME front covers is very similar across all issues of NME. As can be seen in the issues above, all bands share a look that the photographers have either suggested, or the band has incorporated themselves, that suggests that they exuded a minimal amount of effort in how they present themselves as a band. essentially, this is illustrated in the hair of all the bands shown above, which is mainly unkempt, long, and minimally styled, which illustrates how the bands do not focus on their appearance and are mainly concerned with the music itself. This consequently conflicts with other genres, such as pop, where the image of boybands is a huge contributor to the success of their ‘music’. in doing this, NME epitomises the values of indie rock through the image alone, suggesting that the genre music wants to be judged by content as opposed to aesthetics, and this also epitomises why the band members on the front covers are not always stereotypically good-looking. In terms of makeup and lighting, simplicity is key with both male artists and female artists. Generally, there are more male artists on the front covers of NME and therefore makeup is non-existent, which again conflicts with magazines such as KERRANG! Where male artists can often be seen exhibiting eyeliner or white face makeup. Also, female artists – when they do appear – wear minimal makeup, again to emulate that their appearance is irrelevant when it comes to the music they create. Furthermore, in terms of the costume itself, it is casual and loose-fitting across the upper part of the body – seen in the arctic monkeys and wombats issues – while often advocating skinny jeans on the bottom half, displayed in the issue with muse on the front cover. The simplicity of these outfits is reflective of the simplistic nature of the music played, though the inclusion of leather jackets, denim items, and chequered shirts (seen in all four of the issues above) add the illusion of the music having an ‘edge’ that segregates it from the ‘easy listening’ genre into the rock-orientated ‘indie’ genre. Moreover, the bands tend to wear similar clothes to others in their band, to show a continuation of style that emphasises the fixed nature of the music they play. In accordance with this, the ‘thrown-together’ look that most of the bands advertise coincides with the wilder nature of the indie rock music they play. Despite this, it is not unusual to see bands wearing smart/casual clothing, if they wish to appear more styled and show their music as elaborate, and this is subsequently displayed in how the Horrors have made themselves appear in the third issue shown above. Proceeding on from this point, the colours used in terms of costume are usually more inclined to be dark and simple, and therefore manage to look like clothes that anyone could buy; which is exactly the point. This dark colouring shows how, despite the casual look, the band is focused on guitar-centred rock music and are unafraid to incorporate a rebellious edge into their music, and this is true of the majority of indie rock bands. The band are attempting to connect with the readers while simultaneously promoting their music, and this is all partially achieved through how they decide to present themselves in the costume department.