On night two of Harry Styles in Chicago, two Palatine alums dressed as watermelons appeared on the jumbotron. On night three, girls decked out in wedding gowns waltzed through the aisle to find their seats. A girl dressed in a sushi costume danced and twirled through the crowd on night five.

All of these extraordinary ensembles were spotted at the various Chicago Harry Styles concerts, spanning from Oct. 8-15.

“I think his energy and his vibe, his motto of treating people with kindness, make it so exciting,” senior Jordan Demovsky, who attended nights five and six, said. “He always says, at every concert, ‘Just be who you are tonight.’ ” 

Styles is well known for his wild dance moves, talking directly to audience members, and his iconic move called “the whale” in which he fills his mouth with water, leans back, and blows it out of his mouth as if it were a whale’s blowhole.

“I feel like he really connects with the audience whenever he performs,” senior Caroline Kawiecki said when asked about the appeal of his concerts. “He’s just a natural performer…he dances around the stage and I feel like that really draws the audience in.”

Because of his noteworthy performances and immaculate crowd engagement, many audience members feel obligated to dress to impress at the concerts. By wearing fabulous attire himself, and emphasizing a carefree and nonjudgemental environment, attendees feel inspired to go above and beyond with their outfits.

“When you go to a Harry Styles concert, you kind of expect all the outfits to be crazy,” Kawiecki said. “I feel like there wasn’t one that specifically stuck out to me, but everyone wearing boas and sparkles, outfits that Harry would wear. I thought that was cute.”

Senior Michelle Malysa, recalls from night three, a girl with long elegant gloves and a beautiful dress having a fun crowd interaction with Styles.

Styles’ own outfits at Chicago included a variety of bright colored and patterned tops, commonly paired with bold flare pants. Specifically, he wore lots of hearts, checker print, and stripes, with the final touch of a feather boa for most of the nights.

“The boa, I would say, was the main part of my outfit just because I think a lot of people wear boas to his concerts and they are fun and cute,” Demovsky said. “I think that’s a staple of Harry Styles concerts.”

The feather boas, seen to have been a main feature of the Harry Styles concerts throughout the years. In the 2021 Grammys, Styles sported a custom Gucci feather boa that set the standard for the years ahead.

Both Malysa and Demovsky had mentioned including feather boas in their outfits, to complete the look. Since Harry Styles has made them such a prominent part of his own looks, he has in turn inspired his fanbase to follow in his footsteps.

“When Harry was at the Grammys, he wore this black and green outfit, and my outfit was slightly inspired by that color scheme,” Malysa said. “And in the new movie he was in, Florence Pugh had this black bow, and I wore that in my hair too.”

Kawiecki’s outfit was also inspired by Harry Styles as she wore a green top with flare jeans, just as he wears flare jeans. She mentioned that she could have worn another pair of jeans, but chose flare because Harry typically wears flare pants.

Harry Styles’ impact on his audience not only includes his inspiring outfits, but his overall positive energy and good vibes.