Streetwear beginnings rant...

[andewhall]

I was thinking one of the coolest and most interesting things about streetwear is where the styles originated from. I guess this thread has been put forward before, but It is an interesting topic of discussion. Who were the people of companies making the crossovers back in the day etc, the main cats bringing these styles to the forefront of streetwear as we know it today.

As we all know these garments styles started out as:

Denim: Workwear, miners, cowboys, farmers etc

Sweats/caps/tracksuits: Sportswear but never really worn off the track, field etc. Adidas

T-Shirts: Undergarments. Brando, James Dean

Cargo Trousers, Jackets M65etc: Military

Your thoughts and knowledge?

[captain5640]

I don't have any knowledge on the history of this. However, I do feel that it is very interesting that one article of clothing that to some people is considered nothing more than what they have to wear to work, etc. can be flipped around by people like us and turned into a fashion statement. Wear 501's with a designer T and some good looking shoes,you have style. Wear 501 with cowboy boots and a cowboy hat, you're a cowboy.

[keri]

The thing about it is, our work wear is a part of our everyday lives. A cowboy who hates boots might not wear his botts when he's not in the field. A soldier who doesn't know how to shop for himself might wear his uniform pieces everywhere. A few guys might get hot and take off their overshirts. People might get lazy and wear their workout gear on their way to the gym or shopping after a workout.

Someone see's this, and says, hey I like that look, I'ma own it, then they do, and others copy, and it becomes an underground sensation. And like all things uderground, it gets popular, and it becomes a trend, then it fades and wanes over time, but stays a standby, cause lots of it makes good sense. Why wear two shirts when you can print something nifty on the undershirt? Why not wear jeans when they are super comfortable, durable, and are easy to move in? Where can I put all my assorted ipos, cell phnes, pda's, etc? -oh yeah, im my cargo's. Why the hell change out of my workout clothes when they are so comphy?

The same can be said of sneakers, driving gloves, and all those hats that are like cabby's hats, jockey's hats, or even cowboy & baseball hats.

[viv1984viv]

the way I see this topic is that most items, biker jackets, converse, jeans, cargos etc all have a double meaning, where they origionated from and what they mean to people now. And people judge on both aspects in a very reflexive manner.

Its strange how fashion follows socio, cultural trends...... the shifting, yo yo ing "waist", the diapearing and reappearing crotch, ive read bit and bobs saying that movements in cuts and styles are all reactions to gender issues and social issues etc

just a thought.

someone once called me a fake skater for wearing eS shoes and so I called him a fake cowboy cos he was wearing jeans, he was wearing stan smiths at the time, and never played tennis....mmmmm.

[Whodinihimself]

It would be difficult to trace the manufacturers or companies that began mass producing a type/style of clothing for everyday use..After the first youth movement (which took its style from on working class clothing) was exploited, streetwear arose again out of a few people with a talent (music, breakdancing,etc) who adopted a certain look to identify eachother (kind of like a gang)...but then because the media latched on, everyone was exposed to these people and their way of life...and because they seemed like they were onto something new and different people wanted to be like them and dress how they dressed..even tho they might not have had the same talents as the former group of people. The sad truth is that it all came from new scene's. All those people that tried to dress like different types of rockstars or hip hop artists were just pledging their alligiance to that style of music...but nowadays the lines have blurred...and you have some people who just wanna look like a "rockstar"...for the sake of looking like a rockstar...they have no knowledge of where the look they are copping came from...which obviously came out of necessity...thats all those people could afford...take designer grungewear for instance..a total oxymoron...yet it exists..because many people are wannabe's...which is what lead to the much used term "poseur"..But I think the beauty of streetwear nowadays is that pretty much anyone can wear anything they like, and not be pigeonholed into belonging to a certain group...and thats a good thing..because judging someone based on their clothing is ridiculous...

....But anyway, yeah...theres nothing that streetwear originated..everything about streetwear sprung out of out of need or utility...everything has been done...its just new twists that are purely aesthetic...but as trends wax and wane new companies will try to tap the trend and mass market "coolness" ... but i think it also depends on where you live...cos different movements happened in different places...and continues to happen today...an example would be how some countrys people covet American clothing..and vice versa....its the whole "i want what i have, and what you have tommorrow, and what they have the next day" consumerism thing....and big companies supplying the ability to do that is what drives the industry of "cool".....but it would be interesting to know which companies were first to see a streetwear trend and push it to the masses...and how they did it.

[Guest cutandpasterva]

I've written a couple papers on the emergence of youth fashion, and the codependency of the music and fashion industries, so this sort of historical aspect of the fashion industry is a favorite topic for me...

the rise of jazz and rock and roll on England in the 1960s was the biggest, most recent impact on the fashion "system" , especially in menswear, simply because before that, there was no recognizable youth fashion...designers caught onto what beats, teddy boys etc were wearing it and projected it to upscale markets, where it could then trickle down. Because these kids were wearing denim, undershirts etc, it was a trickle up trickle down kind of system you were talking about, because the inspiration came from the everyday working class