Keeping up with Chappell Roan’s tour looks is my new favourite hobby
All I have wanted to do on social media this year is see every moving part of Chappell Roan’s live performances.
It’s crazy to imagine now, but in April of this year I hadn’t yet heard of Chappell Roan. When my favourite makeup artist, Donni Davy, transformed her into an ethereal butterfly for her Coachella performance, I started to listen and completely fell in love with her. The backstory to that collaboration is so lovely – take a look at this interview Donni did with Who What Wear.
Donni created this really unusual winged eyeliner for her makeup look, complete with Half Magic adornments to mimic the patterns and textures of an actual butterfly. I loved that Donni’s makeup was beautiful but also strange, and it gave a Tim Burton quality to an otherwise conventionally girlie explosion of colour and glitter. Something that Chappell does a lot is pays homage to her own favourite inspirations, and this look was in reference to Lady Miss Keir.
Since discovering her those months ago, I’ve watched as she imagined different versions of herself with every live performance. We’ve had many a version of Chappell, in true drag queen spirit, including:
Lady Liberty for the Gov Ball (a political statement in honour of her unwillingness to perform at the White House)…
A wrestling champion for Lolapalooza, maybe my favourite performance of hers to date…
… and good old Chappell as herself, comfy in her clothes and screaming like a teenager to have her favourite drag queen, Sasha Colby, on stage with her.
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The thing I love about Chappell is that she is showing us every part of her creative process as she goes along. Nothing is a secret; we can follow the trail of her magic to her stylist or her makeup artist. I can’t remember a time before this where we could follow every part of an artist’s entourage on Instagram and have access to this much detail.
Because of this, getting in on the fun is more tangible. I followed this page on Instagram @ChappellRoanStyle which is dedicated to finding all of her tour outfits, and discovered that her Midwest Princess album cover dress was from a brand called Cinderella Divine. I typed them into Vinted, they had one dress in my size, and I found the most stunning ball gown (which I am planning to wear to Venice Film Festival later this month) for just £8!
Chappell knows we want to dress up with her and encourages her audience to do so ahead of each show. She shares a theme for each tour date on her Instagram story, inviting everyone to get creative and join her. How much fun is this? I am going to see her on Friday 20th September (having spent the price of a holiday on a resale ticket) and I am counting down to finding out what I’m requested to wear. It’s all just so much FUN – it’s kind of like how we’ve all been immersed in making Eras Tour outfits but with the spontaneity of having to run with a last minute theme.
I cannot overstate the impact that finding Chappell in a year of quite a lot of solitude has had on me. Surrounded by friends who are mostly in couples, lots with children, it really does resonate to hear her perspective that she’s sick of going out with men who ask her no questions at all on a night out. So am I! Instead of listening to a load of well-meaning commentary about how I’m not putting myself out there or giving people a chance, I truly am much happier nodding along when she sings “this man wouldn’t dance, he didn’t ask a single question… It doesn’t matter though. He doesn’t have what it takes to be with a girl like me.” It’s true. It’s not that I’m not putting myself out there. I refuse to spend my evenings on a dating app messaging someone who asks me zero questions in return, never mind give them my actual IRL time if this is the foot we’ve gotten off to.
At the best of times I am prone to becoming besotted with my favourite musicians. Music is one of the parts of my life that brings me the most joy. Haim are my favourite sisters in the world and I could listen to them every day. The Eras Tour has genuinely enriched my life over the past 12 months or so and I love listening to Taylor. But Chappell has had such an enormous impact on me, it kind of goes beyond a play of an album. I listened to a podcast she did recently and – I’m paraphrasing – but she said that if you’re thinking of going for something, or trying something new, it’s going to be cringey and that’s ok. This is SO me at the moment! I’m very much trying new things, wanting to get better at interviewing people, and I’m sure a lot of the time not doing an incredible job. But I’m only going to get better if I keep going, and knowing that Chappell feels cringey sometimes too was an insight that made me feel more motivated.
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To every single moving part of Chappell’s glam squad… please know that there are people like me who are waiting for every small detail, the band’s makeup, the squished cigarette in her NPR Tiny Desk wig, and thinking they are just the best thing ever.
And if you aren’t listening to Chappell Roan yet… oh my god are you in for a treat.
(P.S I have SO much I want to say about Chappell, I’m saving a full glam squad deep dive for another time.)
Such a joy-filled piece, Rose! Enjoyed it, and looking forward to more. X