Margo Price Knows Exactly What She Would Wear to Court

An old-soul singer with a rags-to-riches story that’s far from over, Margo Price is an Americana icon. Bursting into the collective consciousness with a performance on SNL in 2016, Price has made the most of her time in the limelight since, earning a Best New Artist Grammy nod in 2018, penning a memoir (Maybe We’ll Make It, which hit stores in late 2022), and releasing a whole slate of stellar albums.

Her latest, Strays, is out now and finds the country star dabbling in rock and roll, extolling the virtues of a good mushroom trip, and advocating for reproductive rights. She’s also exploring the full range of her style, with press images from around the album’s release showing her in both a floaty, ethereal pink dress and a red and blue Mushroom-covered, fully fringed Nudie suit.

We talked to Price about her very first Manuel suit, her country style idols, and finally picking up her first real pair of Doc Martens.

The Perks of a Dress-Up Bin

I was always kind of a style chameleon. Even when I was very young, my mother would get really frustrated because I was changing my outfits three times a day. I was in tap and ballet and all these dance lessons when I was young, so I really enjoyed dressing up at home and putting on different clothes even back then. My mom had a big trunk of clothes from the ‘70s that we had in our playroom and I was always getting in there, putting on cowboy hats and vests and cool ‘70s bridesmaids dresses.

Her '80s School Style

I think I followed the trends of the times. In the 80s, there was lots of neon and different colored socks and always lots of cute denim mini skirts. That was probably also from the area where I’m from, which is the Midwest. The middle of the country is always kind of late getting there.

My mom grew up really poor and she always had hand me downs, so she did like to take me shopping. She was frugal in the way that she did it and we would sometimes go thrifting, but she would find things on sale. She always made sure that I had cute clothes and new stuff. My two younger sisters got to wear my hand-me-downs.

The Importance of Doc Martens

Our budget definitely determined things when I was growing up. I remember wanting a pair of Doc Martens and my mom was, “we'll go get the off-brand kind, because I’m not going to buy you the real Doc Martens because you're just going to outgrow them and there's going to be a new thing that you want to wear next year.” So we got the knockoff ones then, but I just got myself my first pair of real Doc Martens and they have embroidered roses all over them and I feel very proud to have purchased a pair of them myself.

Her First Big Fashion Splurge

My first big purchase was a Manuel suit. That was a very big deal, to get a Manuel. I wore it at the Ryman. 

I always thought I would have a custom Manuel suit made but I had a stylist that flaked on me. She was supposed to have this suit made and didn’t, so I just went into the store and said, “I need something for tonight. I'm playing the Ryman, Emmylou Harris is joining me, and I have nothing to wear.” So I ended up getting this incredible all-black suit with black rhinestones. It's classic as fuck. I'm going to be able to wear it until I die. Maybe I'll be buried in it. I can wear the pants with a different top or I can just wear the blazer over something. I put it on and I felt like Johnny Cash. I was like, “Yeah, this is it.”

Her Evolving On-Stage Style

What I wear on stage is all situational. It’s about climate and what instrumentation there is. A lot of times I am playing drums on stage and so I have to be a little mindful of that. There's other shows where I only do a 30-, 40-minute set, and I'm not going to be sitting behind a drum kit.

I started integrating the drums into my show in 2017 and prior to that, I was wearing a lot of gunny sack, Loretta Lynn-style vintage dresses. Then the suit phase happened. During my headlining shows, I wore a suit the whole time, but I started doing a costume change for the encore. I would go back, do a quick change, which takes me back to my dance roots because I was raised in that whole dance competition world where there's lots of sequins and hairspray and it’s really loud.

Lately I've been wearing stuff from a company called Easy Tiger. They have these crazy rhinestone showgirl outfits. I've been doing a barefoot vibe with a long dress I can play drums in and then I go back and do the quick change and I put on a pair of six-inch heels, something sparkly, and look like Tina Turner.

What She Would Wear to Court

I definitely have this one dress that I’d wear if I had to go to court because I was trouble and I was trying to look respectable. It was this vintage blue flowered dress, but it wasn’t revealing. It made me look put together and like a nice person. Luckily, I haven't had to do that in a while.

Her Everyday Look

have this jumpsuit that I've been wearing that is a light green color. My husband calls it my Ghostbusters outfit. It's a working man's everyday look. I can pull it together, and I can dress it up with a cute pair of boots. I also love to wear my Imogene + Willie jeans and a great rock T-shirt, a pair of black Beatle boots, and my black leather coat that has just been with me through hell and back and is my everything.

Defining the Perfect Leather Jacket

Mine is from a company called Deadwood. They’re from Stockholm, Sweden. I found this leather jacket about seven years ago in Austin, Texas. It was summer, so I didn't need a leather jacket, but it just was just the perfect jacket. It's made of recycled leather, so when I got it, it was already really, really soft.

I wear it in the airport. It's got an inside pocket. I put my phone and my passport and it's right on my chest. 

That leather jacket means everything to me. When I met Lucinda Williams, she was like, “Great leather jacket!” She was wearing a black leather motorcycle jacket too and she said, “I want one like that because it's all fitted and nice,” so I reached out to the company and I got her a black leather jacket too. They also sent me this cool black very Tina Turner-style black leather dress so I'm very brand-dedicated now.

A Message to Rodarte and Cult Gaia

I really love Rodarte dresses. I bought one that was on sale. I bought their mushroom dress, and I wore it at Red Rocks. I would love to have the budget to buy more of their stuff, or I just wish they would send me stuff. I really, really love them. Their stuff just fits my aesthetic. It's very vintage and cool. 

I would also love to have a nice pair of Gucci slides, but those are also very expensive. I want the kind that slip on with the fur on the inside. I like Gucci in general. I really love their aesthetic and the way that they’re classic but modern.

I also wish I could splurge on Cult Gaia. I love their stuff.

Finding Her Personal Style Through Vintage

My style really took off when I moved to Nashville because I started going to like all the vintage shops and I didn't have my mom telling me what I should pick out. I was able to lean into who I was at that time. I started wearing a lot more boots and peasant skirts and some big ugly sweater I would steal from my boyfriend. 

I did really get into like Western wear and wearing stuff that’s over the top. I took a lot from stuff that Emmylou Harris wore. She would pick out great dresses, but she would also wear a really awesome Stetson cowboy hat and just play a character. I was really building my identity and my music sounded very vintage, and so it made perfect sense to dress from another time as well.

Her Country Style Icons

Going back in time, I think I was very influenced by Loretta Lynn’s big dresses and big sleeves and all the dramatic hair that Dolly Parton used to pull off. Even Linda Ronstadt, it was like she skirted the line. She would do country music, but she was also the queen of rock. She was just like Beyoncé in that sense. I love that she’d wear some cute little spaghetti strap pink top and just a pair of cute shorts.