Billie Joe Armstrong has been through plenty of looks since Green Day's early days, but the one most people picture is the American Idiot era: a black shirt, a red tie hanging loose at the collar, messy dark hair and heavy black eyeliner. When the album came out in 2004, the band changed its image and started wearing red-and-black uniforms onstage, and the black shirt and red tie became shorthand for Green Day. It is also one of the easiest rock-star costumes to put together, since almost everything is a closet basic.
How to Make Billie Joe Armstrong Costume
Black Dress ShirtRed Skinny TieBlack Skinny JeansBlack Converse Chuck TaylorsBlack Eyeliner PencilShort Messy Black WigBlue Electric GuitarSaveTap any item in the photo to shop itClick any item in the photo to shop it
| # | Item | Description | Shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Dress Shirt | A plain black long-sleeve button-down is the base of the look. Wear it untucked or half-tucked, with the sleeves pushed up if you like. | 🛒 Check on Amazon |
| 2 | Red Skinny Tie | The signature piece. A solid red slim tie, knotted loosely and pulled down from the open collar rather than cinched up tight. | 🛒 Check on Amazon |
| 3 | Black Skinny Jeans | Slim black stretch jeans keep the silhouette lean and all dark below the shirt. | 🛒 Check on Amazon |
| 4 | Black Converse Chuck Taylors | Black low-top Chucks are the classic pop-punk shoe and finish the red-and-black palette. | 🛒 Check on Amazon |
| 5 | Black Eyeliner Pencil | Line the top and bottom lids, including the waterline, and smudge it a little. It should look slept-in, not sharp. | 🛒 Check on Amazon |
| 6 | Short Messy Black Wig | Optional if your hair is not dark. A short, layered, choppy black wig gives the tousled, spiky shape; rough it up with your fingers. | 🛒 Check on Amazon |
| 7 | Blue Electric Guitar | Optional prop. Billie Joe is closely tied to a blue Stratocaster-style guitar nicknamed "Blue", and a blue Squier Strat is a playable stand-in. It is a real instrument, so for a party a cardboard cutout works too. | 🛒 Check on Amazon |
For a no-shopping version, a black shirt and any red tie you can borrow, dark jeans, sneakers and eyeliner already read as Billie Joe from across the room.
Getting the details right
- Loose, not formal. The tie should look yanked down and slightly crooked. A pre-tied tie works, but let the knot sag.
- Eyeliner is the finishing touch. He has used eyeliner as part of his stage persona since early in Green Day's career, so do not skip it, and keep it smudgy.
- Keep the palette tight. Red and black only: no logos, no bright shoes, no patterned shirt.
- Messy hair beats tidy hair. Product, fingers and a bit of backcombing do more than any exact cut.
Other looks
For the early 90s Dookie-era Billie Joe, drop the tie and wear a plain tee or flannel with the jeans, Chucks and a bit of eyeliner. Group costume: three friends in the same black shirts and red ties make a Green Day trio with one on guitar, one on bass and one on drums.
About Billie Joe Armstrong
Billie Joe Armstrong (born February 17, 1972, in Oakland, California) is the lead vocalist, guitarist and primary songwriter of Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. American Idiot, released September 21, 2004, was the band's first number-one album on the Billboard 200 and won the 2005 Grammy for Best Rock Album. Its single "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" won the Grammy for Record of the Year a year later. The album was adapted into a Broadway musical, in which Armstrong played St. Jimmy for several weeks.
