What is Streetwear?

Origins

Fashion is ever changing and streetwear is one of the most distinctive and iconic genre of clothing around today. It reflects the retro times of the late 1970’s and early 1980’s and is an ever changing trend that will be around forever. Although it is completely different to other forms of clothing style, just like hip hop, skatewear and graffiti fashion, streetwear draws its style from its urban surroundings. It is often confused with different styles, but originated in a far distant place from any others, originating in the US and expanding into other countries as it took hold of youths that were really into alternative music and fashion. When punk first emerged, towards the end of the 1970’s, it soon almost integrated with musically styled clothing. The hip hop and rap culture attracted people interested in surfing and skating, and they were drawn to the individual style that was emerging. The way they looked at clothing was pretty much similar to those wearing punk gear – it was a way to rebel against politics and create confident groups of young people wanting to advertise their style and their cause. Shaun Stussy, a surfer from Laguna Beach in California, first created one of the well-known streetwear brands at the start of the 1980’s when the new wave of musical talent was emerging. Shaun was, and still is, a popular and respected surfer whose clothing inspired those involved in the same arena. The brand, Stussy, today is as popular as it ever was and perhaps as a founder of distinctive streetwear this was just the start of individual clothing that would tell a story of history and evolvement.

Evolving

Streetwear is ever evolving yet it stays true to its musical, sporting and sports roots. Loud graphics and clashing colourways are popular in streetwear, and as young people across the US got a hold of growing street style, other countries did too. The pop culture in Japan hooked onto it and started creating mass produced urban style clothing. It ended up quite commercial, with clothing manufacturers across the world getting involved and taking the originality away from what the smaller manufacturers were offering. Many youths still wanted streetwear ‘boutique’ style – hand made, original, exclusive and true to its roots so the impressive smaller companies have grown to become just as popular as the bigger ones, yet each company and each different brand offers something for everyone. Today, streetwear is available to everybody and anyone who wants to define themselves as a follower of dedicated 80’s retro fashion. Both menswear and womens wear is usually designed and created for functional use. That is particularly true of snowboarding and utility jackets and other outerwear. All pieces are designed to look good, hold phones, mp3’s and more, and have been created to do the job they are supposed to – keep the wearer warm, yet stylish. Wearing Streetwear Clothing Today Big labels like Volcom, Dephect and Addict are producing distinctive streetwear that youths find pretty desirable. The fashion style is a great alternative to pop culture. Teaming a loud outfit with a nifty pair of Adidas and a snapback cap is a good start. Both kids, men and ladies fashion are catered for all over the world with some of the biggest labels designing exclusive collections it’s easy to find the most suitable items that are just right. Tees with artwork, slogans, vibrant colourways and graffiti are some of the ways to work streetwear. To choose the perfect streetwear outfit, its easy to put together a number of different styles to achieve the right look. The styles are always changing – the catwalk depicts the seasons trends – so one minute there may be huge bright prints and embroidered pieces, and the next it will be subtly labelled. Iconic pieces that are functional and good looking from collections whose creations are intended to reflect musical, sporting and urban roots are easy to find from labels like DVS Zoo York. Sturdily built jeans with functional pockets, trainers that can be worn easily and a huge selection of tee’s is what our store offers. Honest clothing at affordable prices is why people that like to follow the streetwear code a reason to keep coming back.

Check out some of our Streetwear Brands