People talk about fashion all the time. It’s on everyone’s mind, and a lot of folks are very conscious about formal wear or business wear or the casual things to have when going on holiday. Street wear is something that’s causing an awful lot of chat these days. It’s exciting to some but for most of us it’s a little bit confusing. It causes a really good question to be asked: what exactly is” Street” anyway?

Roots

The roots of street fashion can be found in the inner-city culture of major American metropolitan areas. It started growing in the 1980s among the skateboarding crowd and became very popular in Japan. It is now widely accepted in international fashion. Though it does have urban beginnings, street should not be confused with the hip-hop culture. This clothing niche has its own style and fashion message for the public.

Apparel

Shoes are a big part of this modern look; sneakers in particular. These are not the kind of shoes though that you see on a tennis court. No, these are the kind that slaps the tar and concrete of the downtown walks and avenues. The brands are well known by the fashion conscious: Nike, New Balance, Puma and the icon in this corner of footwear, Air Jordan These shoes don’t come cheap by the way. Depending on the brand name and style, the sneakers can cost as much as a good-looking suit. Sadly, there have been stories of near riots breaking out when new sneaker fashions hit the store. Folks have to be on top of things and are willing to fight to get what they need. Things may get a little extreme, but the sneakers are all part of the image and that’s just how the fashion conscious streetwise roll and stroll.

Pants are part of the look but this is where the style is different from hip-hop. Cargoes and camouflage are both popular but are worn further up the body. Something else that’s key is that pants really are not defining parts of this type of clothing. It’s almost as if pants were more an accessory like a pair of gloves. There are other things much, much more important in this scene.

T-shirts rule in the world of street clothing. These advertise sometimes in a subtle way and other times just shout out loud to the whole world. Spread across the chest or painted across the back, the T-shirts tell the message and the purpose of the one who wears them. It lets the public know about the favourite sports team, the train of thought, or the single driving passion of that person as he or she moves through the crowd. Hoodies also are part of the scene in this style of dress. These, too, carry a message but the hoodie also serves another real purpose. A little bit mysterious, like a modern monk’s cowl, it allows the person to shut out the world and spend some time in deep thoughts, protected by the fabric from annoying distractions.

No image is really complete without a few accessories and the fashion smart include these in the street picture they show the world. Some of the accessories are connected to the skateboard origins of the style and items might include baseball caps, sunglasses, and iPod earphones just to name a few. (Baseball caps by the way are an extension of the T-shirts and the hoodies. The caps carry the message in the logos emblazoned on them.)

Some of the accessories might seem to be a bit trivial to a few critics, but they really are not. These complete the person and let everyone else know that” street” is the way he or she wants to step in the modern world.

The Street Statement!

Street wear has strength to it and projects a forceful image that has wide open and unmistakable clarity. This is a style with attitude, most definitely. It has a cocky self-confidence that gets right in a person’s face and says” this is who I am, like it or not. You best deal with it!” It speaks of the person who walks cool in the shades but in nobody’s shadow. A firm resolution outside the boundaries but inside the mind comes out in every stitch of the fabric and ridge of the shoes. There are old rules but now there are new rules and this style tells everybody who rules. This is not apparel for the timid but it does have what it takes to make heads turn. No question about that, my friend!

Jo Ritchie works as a copywriter and often publishes content on urban clothing and street fashion for Reprebate.

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