If you’re stuck in a rut with your band playing the same old clubs to the same dwindling fan base, it’s time for a change. Part of that change means creating a new image as you seek out new fans and venues. The song may remain the same, but the fashion has got to change. Crafting a new look for your band can be exhilarating, not only for the audience but for the band members. You’ll surprise old fans, make new ones and feel better about the direction of your career.

There are as many different ways to create a new band look as there are clothes, makeup and hairstyles. When choosing a new look, consider what has been successful for other bands.

If you’re the type of band that never gave a thought to what your wore on stage, maybe a uniform look is the way to go, instead of the shabbiness that is your nature. That doesn’t mean actually wearing uniforms, it means dressing up in the same outfits for each appearance. Dressing the part helps you be the part.

When the Beatles began the British Invasion in the early 1960s, they were all wearing the same suits and ties and had the same mop top haircuts. Since those days the dress up look has worked well for many bands, some dressing up in different outfits, others all wearing the same outfits. Dressing up to play music means you take yourself seriously and you come across as fashion conscious professionals. It’s not for everyone, though.

Hippie, jam and grunge-type bands would likely lose a lot of their appeal if they traded in their scruffy dressed down look for prim and proper suits and haircuts. But a dressed down look is still a look and even these kinds of bands must be aware of what they’re wearing on stage. Music is fashion, like it or not. Kurt Cobain played David Bowie songs, but he never dressed or wore makeup like Bowie. Conversely, Bowie might not pull off the flannel shirt look too well, the way Cobain did. You have to be aware of what works for you, what will appeal to your fans and what will surprise your fans in a good way, instead of turning them off and making them giggle at you.

If you’re an Americana act who normally dress like the members of Crazy Horse, perhaps a switch to country-western attire would thrill your fans, who would delight seeing you take the stage in well-worn straw cowboy hats and boots.

Experiment and see what works for you. Try the new look out in secret first with your closest friends and fans, to get a reading on if it will fly or not. Simply changing hairstyles, instead of changing wardrobes, could be enough to pull off a successful new look. Perhaps you could try straight with bangs, instead of your unkempt curly mess. Or maybe Flock-of-Seagulls-style hair with Texas rodeo clothes. Or, do like Lady Gaga and Madonna, who change their look for each tour and show, sometimes each song.

There’s no one correct way to change your band’s look, but you should bring your most fashion conscious friends on board to help guide you through the transition, especially if you and the other band members aren’t fashion savvy mavens and mavericks of style.