BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN

I remember back in the mid-80s when Bruce Springsteen announced that he was going to marry Lake Oswego, Oregon native, Julianne Phillips. I almost lost my mind. As a small town kid, my spirit was always bolstered when I heard about folks from our seldom-talked-about state who made good.

This announcement was especially exciting to me because in 1984, Bruce Springsteen was HUGE. He had just released "Born in the U.S.A." and the record's title track could be heard blaring from boomboxes everywhere. While I have the fondest of memories of that Bruce, I'd like to focus on a younger Bruce whose style I was unfamiliar with until recently.

Young Bruce Springsteen had a few staples in his wardrobe that suited his slightly rebellious New Jersey attitude: leather jackets, ribbed white tanks (endearingly referred to as "wife beaters"), tight t-shirts, broken in jeans and newsie caps. There were also a few progressive hippie elements thrown in for good measure, most notably beads, scarves and unkempt hair.

Sometimes I'm amazed at how the simplest of staples can contribute to such a distinctive personal style. Young Bruce reminds us that sometimes we look our best when we don't try so hard.