Style Rider: Alvvays Are Always Striving for a "Country Club Gone Wrong" Look

We're always hearing about bands' tour riders (who can forget that Van Halen refuses to be in the same room as brown M&M's, Britney Spears insists on bunless McDonald's hamburgers, and DMX requires three boxes of condoms and one gallon of Hennessey?). As for what they pack for tour? Not so much. When musicians hit the road, they're often gone for six months at a time, traveling in a beat-up van with little more than a duffel bag. The stuff they decide to bring along has to be comfortable enough to travel in, but cool enough to wear on stage—not an easy feat. So we're reaching out to our favorite artists to find out what they don't leave home without when they're embarking on tour. Chanel mascara? Black Chucks? That perfectly beat-up biker jacket that makes literally everything look infinitely cooler? We're about to find out, and we'll be reporting back with our findings each week.

After trying her hand as a solo artist with marginal success, Toronto native Molly Rankin dyed her hair platinum blonde and suddenly found herself as a bombshell of a front woman in Alvvays (pronounced, yep, "always"). She teamed up with childhood pal Kerri MacLellan on keyboards and enlisted three boys—Alec O’Hanley, Brian Murphy, and Phil MacIssac—on bass and drums. Fast-forward a few years, and now the Canadian music scion (her dad's the frontman of folk collective The Rankin Family, which is a big deal up north) is ready to make a splash with her indie-pop quintet.

Their sound is reverb-heavy surf rock, but Molly's look—cherry red lips, peroxided locks, worn-in biker jacket—is classic rockstar. While Kerri, the only other girl in the group, is never not behind her big glasses and bigger bangs, Molly plays the part of the leading lady in bold patterns (from floral to stripes to gingham, she's done it all) and super skinny jeans, anchored with bright white high-tops she can dance in. The dudes, for their part, stick to the twentysomething dude uniform of white t-shirts and beat-up black jeans.

This fall, they're hitting the road with Team Spirit before embarking on a stint abroad to support Real Estate so we grabbed a second with Molly to find out what she's bringing along with her. Go see them when they come through your town—when she launches into their latest hit, "Marry Me, Archie," you'll be ready to legally change your name.

BOUJOIS PARIS FOUNDATION

"Kerri and I both splurge on this because it lasts forever and feels/smells sensational."

L'OREAL PARIS GOLDMINE SHADOW
"Rather than pile on black stage eye makeup, I enjoy shimmery gold things that reflect in light."

RIMMEL LONDON LASTING FINISH LIPSTICK
"Not stick or gloss. Sometimes a really matte color comes off harsh and has to be applied perfectly.

WHITE SOCKS AND SNEAKERS
"I am a fan of 'country club gone wrong" look.

CORN STARCH

"It absorbs hair grease, makes your roots less drastic, and is cheaper than dry shampoo/smells better than baby powder. Very cheap."

Casey Lewis does this every week. She's on Twitter - @caseymlewis.