Sitting in the green room at The Treasury in Saint Paul, while Dad Bod finished their sound check, Yasmin Nur was definitely not in Kansas anymore. The Wichita native was kicking off her first tour that included 10 cities from Minnesota, to Boston, to Atlanta, to Nashville. Although the 23 year old musician has been playing guitar since 13, Yasmin admitted she was a bit intimidated by her first big tour ahead of her. Having dropped her debut album Punch Me! This is a Nightmare! in late 2020, Yasmin has established her own brand of anthemic rock based in 90’s rock and grunge. Her biggest hit “Flowers in My Garden” just reached over 500,000 streams and the newest single “My Favorite T-Shirt” talks about clothing and feeling pretty in something, which appropriately coincides with this interview.
“Wichita is not the fashion capital of the United States. It’s like smack dab in the middle of everything,” Yasmin was quick to toss out. She credits her mom as helping find her appreciation for style. They started watching Project Runway together and would constantly assimilate cute clothes and fashion combinations from the show. This gave her a window beyond Kansas trends. When she was younger and had a bad day, her mom would take her to the mall to pick out a piece of clothing. This little boost in confidence helped her navigate many of the themes that her EP release dealt with. Coming of age, especially for young women, can be strewn with heavy competition, perceptions, and a social media loop that overvalues many things.
Hearing Yasmin speak about her upbringing, you can tell the value her mother instilled in finding an identity. Digging through old pictures of her mom in the 80’s wearing high waisted pants and little shirts inspired her. “Many of those styles are back in fashion now,” Yasmin jokes, “almost like nothing has really changed.”
As we’ve established, Wichita is in the middle of not much. Three hours to Kansas City and Oklahoma City, there’s slim selection for Yasmin. Which means her two thrift store options are DAV thrift and Goodwill. If she can’t find something there, she orders it online from Depop, an app. It equates to thrifting, just without the extra work of digging through racks of clothes.
Yasmin’s musical influences align with her sense of personal style. Paramore, Mazzy Star, and Veruca Salt round out her top list. You can hear Paramore’s slick, anthemic rock & roll impact in “I Wanna Throw Up” and “Driving in My Car.” Mazzy Star finds their way into “Girl Anthem” with their brand of melancholy sweetness. Finally you can hear Veruca Salt’s influence by Yasmin taking an abrasive punk-pop sound and polishing it with a more accessible power pop vibe.
“Those girls always wore the little dresses, the big shoes, the tights and boldly went on stage. I’ve always thought that it doesn’t get any cooler than them, to be honest.”
There are some go-to elements that Yasmin incorporates a lot in her stage outfits. Combat boots with a chunky heel go with everything. Her tour boots are from Journey, but boasts that her Doc Martens are her home boots because they are too comfortable to bring on the road. Her green plaid straight legged pants are Brixton, a skating brand. “I love plaid,” Yasmin smiles. “My favorites are plaid and flowers. If I opened up my show bag that I brought it’s all plaid and flowers with some sparkles.”
Her top came from a place in the mall that sells prom dresses, called Windsor. She was drawn to the keyhole feature and the detailed ties in front. The thick black open sweater is from Marshalls. Rounding out her aesthetic is an oyster shell necklace from a local boutique Moonstone Crystals. Noticing the silver butterfly earrings, Yasmin proudly stated she made them from charms she found.
The overall look combines a utility-punk vibe with bold feminine touches that feel very intentional. There’s an edge in her look that enhances her presence on stage. Her darker eye shadow balanced with a layer of glitter ties into that teeter-totter approach, mixing hard punk with playful feminine elements. That credence in her outfit is an added instrument when performing.
“I want people to see that I’m confident, even though on the inside I’m screaming. I’m really nervous all the time and have a lot of anxiety, but I wanna dress in a way that makes people think that I’m like, no big deal.”
Digging deeper into what inspires Yasmin, she mentions singer/songwriter Sky Ferreira. Her fashion has an effortless simplicity to it as Yasmin admits she packed an American Apparel circle skirt so she could channel her inner Sky while on tour. Cluing me into a more high fashion dynamic, Yasmin has been attracted to the new Marc Jacobs line called Heaven. What stands out is the line uses cool musicians for their campaign like Nicki Minaj, Yung Lean, and Steve Lacy. This replacement of the standard perfectly shaped model is a refreshing thing to see. It also ties in extremely bold and creative outfits directly to bold and creative musicians.
Although Kansas isn’t known for it’s chic and buzz-worthy clothing, Yasmin is finding her voice. When you can pull pieces from gemstone boutiques, mall prom dress stores, and thrifty online apps to put together a complete outfit, you know watching Project Runway has paid off.
Check out the links below for ways to follow Yasmin Nur and all the places we mentioned above.
Yasmin Nur Music - Instagram - Depop - DAV Thrift - Marc Jacobs Heaven - Brixton - Windsor
