Headphones as Accessories
Graphic by Margeaux Rocco.
I am the proud mother of a fifteenth month old pair of AirPods Max. Ever since getting my headphones over a year ago, they have practically become fused to my ears. I eat with them on, sleep with them on, run back in the snow to my apartment and risk being late to class whenever I forget to put them on. And when they run out of battery, I leave them on and enjoy their company in silence. Beyond mere sound quality and noise-cancellation benefits, my headphones have become an inexplicable part of my style, a teal green extension of my head that not only drowns out the outside world but infuses my outfits with a sense of personality and intention.
Beyond just sound quality and noise-cancellation benefits, over-the-ear headphones have toppled the hierarchy of function and form, opting to combine the two by merging style with purpose. Their chunky, clunky style has catapulted 90s reminiscent aesthetics into a technology-driven age, creating a modernized retro feel that has begun to dominate the ears of the fashion industry.
I asked some passionate headphone wearers in the Northwestern student body about their over-the-ear headphones and how it contributes to their fashion sense.
Sony XM4000
Photo courtesy of Maya Shadid.
“These headphones are literally a part of me. They do not leave my ears. I sleep in them, and everyone tells me it’s supposedly really bad for you, but I don’t care. For some reason, when I’m wearing headphones, I just feel safer. It’s almost like a safety blanket. I feel genuinely naked without them, naked and afraid. I feel like they’ve been really therapeutic for me. My headphones make me feel like I’m genuinely in my only little world. I’m super into music, I’m going into the music industry. This summer, I was working in Nashville at a record label, and I was listening to music all the time, and I started noticing around the office that people were not wearing just airpods all day. When you listen to music like that, it becomes imperative that the quality needs to be at a certain standard.
This is hard to explain, but the music I listen to and what I wear that day are directly correlated—they thrive off of each other. I’m she/they, so If I’m wearing a more masculine, like baggy streetwear fit and feeling like I’m the shit, the headphones are a central part of that outfit. If I’m wearing a more feminine or female-presenting fit, it makes me feel more whimsical and carefree and light and earthy. And when I’m wearing a more masculine outfit and presenting that way, it makes me feel like a badass. There’s never a fit that’s gonna go on without my headphones. I feel like it’s just a conversation starter, like people know a little bit about my personality when I’m wearing them.”
AirPods Max
“When I first got my headphones, it wasn’t a stylistic choice, it was more for functionality. I had a hard time focusing in cafes because they would play really loud music. But, eventually, my headphones became something beyond their functionality. Especially during a time when I was transitioning my style from being more preppy to more retro chic and street style fashion, my headphones have become an accessory. I just wear them around, and I like to feel really cool and like I shouldn’t be bothered.
I like to add them onto outfits. Sometimes I’ll put on an outfit, and then I’ll look at myself in the mirror and think my headphones would look really good with this outfit. I’ll even add onto my outfit to add onto the look I’m going forward with. I’ll add sunglasses or extra rings to dive a bit deeper into that retro look.”
Bose QC45
“The appearance mattered a lot to me. I wanted ones that were light and would look good with whatever I was wearing on a daily basis, and I have a beige [pair], so they match basically anything. It’s like half functionality, half style. I think headphones have definitely become a trendy thing recently. Now you see them all over Pinterest, and the Sony ones blew up on TikTok. So I definitely think they’re a statement. Whichever ones you buy are kind of a statement of your sense of style.”
Sony WH-CH710N
“When I got my headphones, I wasn’t thinking too much about style but more about quality and value. I feel some over-the-ear headphones are definitely overpriced, so it’s nice that there’s a range of options out there that, I think, are all cute. I think over time, though, they’ve become more of a style consideration for me, especially color-wise, since they’re gray and match a lot of my clothes. I like wearing them instead of earmuffs, too. I feel like they’re able to keep my ears warm while still looking cool.”
AirPods Max
“I feel like I’m always listening to music, and I think they look so cool. I’ve been wearing them every single day. I wear a lot of pink, so the fact that it has pinky-red tones, I feel like they match my outfits, which is fun. When you’re wearing over-the-ear headphones, you can feel like you’re in your own world—it’s like an escapism kind of mechanism.
I feel like having more clunky tech is coming back with the resurgence of Y2K style. People are really gravitating towards technology that’s not quite as sleek and minimalistic as what we’ve been used to recently, so I think they go hand-in-hand with point-and-shoot cameras or Polaroid cameras or film. Everyone’s lugging around headphones, that are super visible and something that you would have seen from an earlier decade.”
With the emergence of aesthetic over the ear headphone cases, the rising popularity of tying ribbons around headphones, and the wide range of headphones available, it is clear that these durable headphones have adapted in tandem with a trend cycle that often encourages unsustainable turnover and rapid change. One can only hope that over-the-ear headphones, in all of their beautiful, bulky glory, are here to stay.