FASHION : Holey Noses! : Piercing trend that began as radical has extended to eyebrows and navels and crossed over from outrageous to mainstream.

A rack of nose jewelry awaits shoppers at Afterthoughts in Oxnard’s Esplanade Mall. It is, in fact, trainer nose jewelry for those who have not yet taken the plunge of perforation.

Holding a pinch-on nose ring in her hand, salesclerk Patricia Hernandez says: “They are the top seller. It’s like everybody has them. It’s demand--you know what I mean?”

Once in place, clamped on a nostril, the rings look just like the real thing.

“These are not just for kids,” Hernandez assures us. “We have older ladies, older men. Just walk down the mall today; you will see them. It’s everybody. You know what I mean?”

We know. It’s hard to be radical nowadays--and getting harder. Street trends, once the domain of the truly hip, now spread faster than mutant aliens, and sometimes bear a resemblance.

Rock fans--not to mention designers--copy rockers’ underground fashion as fast as it springs onstage, trying to stay on the cutting edge of cool. The middle class adopts the outrageous looks--and there’s no one left to outrage.

It was easier in the ‘70s. An extra earring, a hint of leather and chains, had shock appeal. Now, nothing shocks anyone, and most of it is tamed and mass-produced for the mall.

Industrial boots, camouflage jackets, frayed jeans, bared navels, ragged hair, leather everything have trickled into the style vortex and caught the wave into the mainstream.

Take kilts. Once considered the ultimate tacky threads, pleated plaid skirts were hauled from the catholic closets of girls reaching majority and chucked in charity bins. Now, they are chic.

The fact does not please a young woman named Jessica from Ventura who makes the punk rock scene.

“It makes me mad. It means a lot to me, but now they are selling them,” she said bitterly. “It’s the Euro-trash look. It’s like they finally did this--after we’ve been doing this for so long!”

You have to sympathize with the feeling. If everything counterculture goes mainstream, what’s the point? How can a statement be made to the square if they mirror it back faster than you can diverge?

Like America, Ventura County wants to take a walk on the wild side. Jim Angelo, owner of Jimi’s Tattoo Parlor in Port Hueneme, has watched it happen.

“Middle class, upper class, we get ‘em all,” he said, affirming that tattoo clientele has changed in the last few years.

Another demographic warp in ink art is age.

“About a quarter are over 30,” the artist said, “Then we get people in their 50s and 60s. That’s about 10%.”

Half of the older customers are women. But, so far, they still choose mundane symbols. “No skulls or grim reapers,” said Angelo, “They want a rose, usually.”

Almost as big as tattooing is a wave of body piercing that has crossed over from subculture.

At Charlie’s House of Tattoo in Simi Valley, Tara Hyde said the custom is spreading fast, and that piercees over 30 make up a 15% segment of the trade, “but, it’s growing.”

Noses are being overshadowed by eyebrows as sites for apertures, she said, with navels running a close second. Interestingly, many people seem to take to piercing more easily than tattooing, working up to the tattoo on a later visit.

With such trends flourishing around us, standing out from the crowd is a tricky business.

This was borne out by Roy, a first-year Ventura College student who wears alternative fashions.

“At first, it’s like ‘Look at that freak!’ They are making fun of you,” he said. “Then all of a sudden, they see it’s different. A couple of months later, you see them doing it.”

You could tell Roy was serious. His dark hair parted in the middle, he wore a spiked dog collar and choke chain set off by a black rayon jerkin. Fishnet stockings covered his arms, custom cut for the fingers. Completing the ensemble were gray jersey pants, neatly cut off at the knee, black Oliver Twist-style stockings and industrial boots.

Even this outfit is too readily copied by his contemporaries--so he constantly checks thrift shops for a unique touch, or crafts accessories on his own. For club wear especially, he said, he must go to greater extremes.

What other elements can he adopt to stay ahead of the masses?

“Skirts,” he said, “They really confuse people.”