"STREETWEAR"

[bobbyhundreds]

So I'm writing this article - and I'd like everyone's input.

1. What is "streetwear"? Does that term mean anything to you?

2. Where did "streetwear" come from? Where / How / When did it originate?

3. What are some labels you would consider "streetwear"?

Everyone jump in,... and watch the elbows.

thehundreds is huge.

www.thehundreds.com

[horriblyjollyjinx]

what street wear is, or at least which brands are street wear, is always changing.

to me street wear is something that not everyone else is wearing, and preferrably, have never heard of. brands that are 'in'(of course, theyre always out when theyre in) are never street wear.

evisu and bape is not, but levi's repros can certainly be, as they are not worn by everyone and not something that is extremely contemporary like the two former brands, however they might have BEEN street wear.

what Ii mean is that street wear is always somewhat obscure and not well known, never in sight of the public eye.

at least thats street wear to me.

tally-hoo

[giantreptile]

as far as I know, Vision skateboards started the term "streetwear"

[dagsolo]

I agree with horribly, although within the confines of supertalk, the definition may not apply.

What I mean is: the supertalk user is very much "in the know" when it comes to brands.

Most people here have heard of BAPE, but this is not a mainstream crowd.

This crowd knows BAPE and therefore BAPE might not be considered streetwear because of that.

The average consumer wouldn't know most of the brands mentioned here.

So, to them those brands would be considered streetwear.

If a brand is not readily available in Arkansas for example, but has half a floor in Macy's Hearld Square,

that brand could be streewear in Arkansas and played out here.

That's just my take on it.

Can I ask you something? These sunglasses: they're really nice. Are they like government issue, or do you guys all go to the same store together?

[champagne_bubblebath]

Quote: to me street wear is something that not everyone else is wearing

Here is an interesting article regarding this statement, that I think touches on most of our attitude towards fashion and/or trends.

http://www.pliink.com/mt/marxy/archives/000171.html

[dagsolo]

I swear I've never seen that article before! LOL

(by the way, I'm googling W.I.T. right now...)

Can I ask you something? These sunglasses: they're really nice. Are they like government issue, or do you guys all go to the same store together?

[powerglov]

Daaamn, alot of you hit it dead on. You've said what I wanted to say. I didn't quite grab it from the right angle. I came off weak, I'm embarrassed.

The Hundreds is streetwear!!

Hmm this is a pretty tough one, I would agree that "Vision Streetwear" was probably the originator of the term. Streetwear as it is seen today I think of as the Stussy/Freshjive camp and everything that evolved from that. That's as far as I woudl take it on a branding aspect.

I would say that streetwear is clothing that's "on street level" it hasn't hit the mainstream, and isn't widely advertised, if at all. It's the kind of clothing that's made by people who are into a certain subculture, for other people in their crowd (or possibly just a certain style adopted by people into that subculture). By the time people catch on, those who started it are tired with it and on to something else. It's always changing.

Streetwear styles will usually end up setting the trends in mainstream fashion, but the meaning it once had is lost, and is popular simply for being 'cool' or looking good. It's a much more down to earth type of fashion, focused on quality and design rather than bottom-lines and sales volume. It has meaning on a personal level.

At least that's how I feel about the term ...

Edited by powerglov on Aug 5, 2005 at 09:15 AM

[neawts]

I had some elaborate explanation that I was going to post, but that article explains it perfectly.

Quote: Being imitated in a short amount of adoption time forces a no-win solution: quickly abandoning a style because it's being copied by "less cool" people also means abandoning something that the fashion leader is supposed to "honestly" think is fashionable. These days, the media can spot a trend in its infancy, which leads to the following trend-killing responses: 1) People who shouldn't know about it learn about it just as fast as "cooler" people ["see you at the Warsaw this friday after Finance class. lol"] 2) Those with access to alternate, negative information about the brand can freely spread the word ["Casey Spooner can't sing."] and 3) Those who pride themselves on being "in the know" are immediately turned off by learning about a trend from the internet. ["whatever W.I.T. is, I now hate it."]

Of course there has to be something substantial about a brand or style to make it stand out or create a following. A mix of elitism, good design, and brand management (I only have 30-something posts and I've used that phrase a lot already).

[powerglov]

Yeah that marxy is something else, he wrote a thesis on A Bathing Ape a few years ago, which if anyone could find, would probably contain some VERY relevant points.

Edited by powerglov on Aug 4, 2005 at 06:58 PM

[MyMindSpray]

to me, "streetwear" was never about labels, but rather a style of dress..."streetwear" is just that...from the streets...before labels like bape and w)taps, before even stussy and fj, "streetwear" was evident all over america...older cats like myself will remember rummaging through army surplus stores for BDU pants and jackets...taking trips to new york and searching the city for shells and puma clydes...depending on where you were from and what you were into, that's how your style developed...whether you were influenced from hip hop, skateboarding, surf, punk rock, modern art, graffiti art, etc, etc, chances are you distinguished yourself from the norm, just as these artforms as a whole did..."streetwear" was just the natural progression of these interests transforming from a hobby to a culture...and with culture, no doubt comes one's style of dress...is there a difference between individual a) that rocks nike dunks/recon trousers/stussy tee/acronym jacket/supreme cap and person baggy surplus BDU pants/white hanes t-shirt/black NorthFace jacket/surplus wool hat...???....

in the end, it's not what you wear, but how you wear it...to me, "streetwear" isn't defined by what labels are rocked, but by who you are....

just my thoughts....

[neawts]

Yeah, you're right. I guess I was sidetracked because that article was talking about brands. But streetwear doesn't have to be streetwear brands.

[bobbyhundreds]

Thanks for the responses everyone

Keep 'em coming...

thehundreds is huge.

www.thehundreds.com

[horriblyjollyjinx]

So, do you guys feel that street wear means an actual style, or that it can be both skinny and baggy jeans etc? To me, it can be either. And yeah, street wear isn't much about brands either, you could go into a thrift store and buy garments that could be worn in a streety outfit. I also dont think you can fully have a "street wear" style by only buying from a few brands either.

I think the most important thing is that street wear isnt at all dressed up, and not too clean or new looking. It comes from the streets, it something you wear when actually doing stuff, like skating, not just go to dinner parties and sit on a chair.

You can wear a slim fit, long sleeve shirt with a cardigan and still be street, but not if the shirt is too crisp looking and looking brand new etc. You could have a tie too and still have a streety style, but it should sort of look effortless and laid back, not like you've thought about the outfit for hours before going out.

Boxfresh shoes definitely is not "street". I think the most important factor to the style is that your shoes and maybe your jeans show some wear and effortlessness, like I said. You dont get that with snow white shoes, which by the way looks shit either way.

For shoes, I'd say that stan smiths and converse jack purcells or chucks(unless you get a shitty style) work fine. They're always okay, and never too 'in' even though the chucks have been very popular recently.

I dont think you have to buy cheap garments or expensive ones exclusively either, certain things from say Paul Smith, Marc Jacobs or Filippa K can in my oppinion be worn in a street outfit. These brands have a quite easy going, not so dressed up or pretentious collection & image and their clothes can surely be paired with some of the pearls that H&M and Zara have from time to time(not GAP tho, theyre always shit).

I think that street wear have lots of similarities with indie music. Both cover many styles/genres, the pursuers of the styles are snobs, and whenever something gets big enough, it dies, because then all "the other idiots" know about it.

tally-hoo

Edited by horriblyjollyjinx on Aug 4, 2005 at 12:40 PM

[rhythmandsound]

what's up bobby, good luck w/this article! note all comments aren't directed at all at you or anyone in particular. first off, i think the term 'streetwear' is kinda lame. hopefully no one goes around claiming to rock 'streetwear.' i mean, it comes down to how you wear stuff...you can look legit wearing Polo or Supreme or some no-name gear you got for 3 bucks, and you can also look wack wearing same. when it comes to brands, 'streetwear' technically can either be any brand that caters specifically to said market, or somehow involuntarily finds themselves embraced by said market. One or two people have already hit it on the head...i think true 'streetwear' originally started w/stuff like army surplus, classic workwear brands, sportswear, and also more 'prestigious' brands like Polo or whatever, all of which current self-styled 'streetwear' companies have since co-opted, repackaged and refined to cater to a certain market. The best companies (apart from the originals mentioned in the previous sentence) distill the best of all these categories down into quality pieces that somehow set themselves apart from the old stand-bys by somehow. I've got nothing against a brand trying to be 'streetwear' (apart from the fact that there are precious few of them putting out good stuff), but the label itself seems to be getting mroe and more suspect by the day...

[rhythmandsound]

ps i guess after re-reading the thread it looks like MyMindSpray already said it all...good one man!

[Ryan]

ok this is gonna be a bit of ramble but to me real streetwear is a combination of products NOT originally intended for streetwear.

i think one way to look at its mostly a mix and match of clothing and shoes designed for other purposes.

ie workboots, surplus clothing, even sneakers...how many people you think buy nikes for example and actually use them for their intended purpose? or at least whats the ratio?

what im seeing nowadays is that its not the type of clothing and how you wear it that people look to define it, its the labels. stussy this futura that bape blah blah blah. some people seem more concerned making sure that their entire outfit consists of labels that are "accepted" vs..hey does this actually look good on me? it gets tacky real fast

personally 9 times out of 10 clean white tee, dark jeans, and off the rack af1s > super limited supreme box cap, the hundreds shirt ( =P just a friendly jab) to match the super limited dunks, and selvedge jeans with a 5 " so you know for damn sure they are selvedge even from a mile away..

not saying that that will never look good. buts its one thing to wear clothes vs being able to pull it off.

my .02 cents..

/ramble

[siznam]

a lot of these comments are right on the money, so i'll just add this one thought...

to me, streetwear isn't something that can be wrapped up and fit nicely into a definition....its like punk - there is a whole spectrum of things that are punk, but making one all-encompasing statement doesnt seem to do the term justice...you can spot style and know its punk, but when someone asks why it is or isnt punk, its a lot harder to put into words....

without defining it, i can say that from my point of view streetwear styles do have one thing in common:INDIVIDUALITY....streetwear is whatever you or i choose to make it, but we always make it our own...

[hahnstch]

kinda hard to put it in words actually. but i think mymindspray puts it well, it's how you rock it. but on the other hand, some brands just will never get to the point of being considered a street label, such as stuff from h&m, a&e, a&f...

just out of curiosity, what do you guys think of the so-called high-end streetlabel? i mean, some people would consider comme des garcons, undercover and number nine as street label...

[minya]

Argh.

Edited by minya on Aug 4, 2005 at 02:40 PM

[minya]

Quote:

to me, "streetwear" was never about labels, but rather a style of dress..."streetwear" is just that...from the streets...before labels like bape and w)taps, before even stussy and fj, "streetwear" was evident all over america...older cats like myself will remember rummaging through army surplus stores for BDU pants and jackets...taking trips to new york and searching the city for shells and puma clydes...depending on where you were from and what you were into, that's how your style developed...whether you were influenced from hip hop, skateboarding, surf, punk rock, modern art, graffiti art, etc, etc, chances are you distinguished yourself from the norm, just as these artforms as a whole did..."streetwear" was just the natural progression of these interests transforming from a hobby to a culture...and with culture, no doubt comes one's style of dress...is there a difference between individual a) that rocks nike dunks/recon trousers/stussy tee/acronym jacket/supreme cap and person baggy surplus BDU pants/white hanes t-shirt/black NorthFace jacket/surplus wool hat...???....

in the end, it's not what you wear, but how you wear it...to me, "streetwear" isn't defined by what labels are rocked, but by who you are....

just my thoughts....

--- Original message by MyMindSpray on Aug 4, 2005 12:02 PM

^^^ what he said.

[emrinderForgotHisPassword]

Quote:

ok this is gonna be a bit of ramble but to me real streetwear is a combination of products NOT originally intended for streetwear.

i think one way to look at its mostly a mix and match of clothing and shoes designed for other purposes.

ie workboots, surplus clothing, even sneakers...how many people you think buy nikes for example and actually use them for their intended purpose? or at least whats the ratio?

what im seeing nowadays is that its not the type of clothing and how you wear it that people look to define it, its the labels. stussy this futura that bape blah blah blah. some people seem more concerned making sure that their entire outfit consists of labels that are "accepted" vs..hey does this actually look good on me? it gets tacky real fast

personally 9 times out of 10 clean white tee, dark jeans, and off the rack af1s > super limited supreme box cap, the hundreds shirt ( =P just a friendly jab) to match the super limited dunks, and selvedge jeans with a 5 " so you know for damn sure they are selvedge even from a mile away..

not saying that that will never look good. buts its one thing to wear clothes vs being able to pull it off.

my .02 cents..

/ramble

--- Original message by Ryan on Aug 4, 2005 01:16 PM

right on the money, everything's been like that. i'll put it more bluntly, everything non ghetto's picked up by like rappers and shit people emulate it. Coogi, eccentric old man austrlaian sweaters and biggie made it high class hood gear. The north face snorkels, timberland work boots, mongram designer handbags and ofcourse nothing's bigger than Nikes. i've seen it happen all around me recently with the 3X polo and lacoste and all that shit.

i fought the law and the law won

[bobbyhundreds]

Dope dope dope

First off, no offense taken from anyone here. And shout-outs back at everyone who said whatup.

Second, the reason why I'm asking these things is because we are in the process of writing a 2-page spread for the next issue of Agenda magazine which will hit next month. We've been asked to write a spread on basically.. the Top 25 "Streetwear" Brands out there today.

The only problem I've been having is that although I use it, I personally have never been fond of the term "STREETWEAR." It doesn't make much sense to me, but then again, it's an easy way to classify things. It's kinda like "grunge" or "emo" and all those other mediated music subgenre classifications. Let's take Bape, for example (stop snickering). Bape isn't straight hip-hop-related, or skateboarding-related. It's neither tight-fitted, nor baggy. The clothes should be cheap, but are priced as high-end. It looks like stuff you'd buy in a skate boutique, but they're sold in their Soho store.

So what is it? There shouldn't be a need to classify it within a genre, but when all is said and done, people are gonna set up categories and labels and names... e.g. "streetwear."

"Streetwear" is being used so often in our industry now, that you really can't escape it. I've seen/heard it being used to describe everything from hip-hop labels to artsy-fartsy American Apparel t-shirts. But we all know there are so many different shades of grey in between there.

Maybe one day someone can write a full dissertation about this. I think another problem with the whole thing is that this sector of the industry is still relatively young, fresh, and identifying itself.

Anyways, it's just one of those nonsensical things about subculture. I guess..

Thanks everyone

thehundreds is huge.

www.thehundreds.com

[champagne_bubblebath]

Cliff Huxtable and Kevin McHale were rocking Coogi sweater long before Biggie Smalls ever did.

[emrinderForgotHisPassword]

Quote:

Cliff Huxtable and Kevin McHale were rocking Coogi sweater long before Biggie Smalls ever did.

--- Original message by champagne_bubblebath on Aug 4, 2005 03:28 PM

nice attempt at trying to correct me, but that's the point coogi being something "white" in the eyes of hip hop kids and then someone in this case BIG introduces it and makes it high fashion for the hip hop crowd.

i fought the law and the law won

[emrinderForgotHisPassword]

wow kevin mchale wore coogi, now that is very cool.

i fought the law and the law won

[rhythmandsound]

top 25 streetwear brands? that's a tough charge.

[futureofstyle]

I'd have to sum up streetwear as "Life style clothing" that falls under the raydar of mainstream clothing!

Hi i'm just your average newbie chillin on supertalk!

[bobbyhundreds]

Quote: top 25 streetwear brands? that's a tough charge.

You're tellin me.

Obviously, everyone has their own 25 names that they think belong in that category, so our list is bound to make some people scratch their heads.

But no worries - we're just gonna speak our mind, step on toes, and make babies cry. snootchie bootchies.

thehundreds is huge.

www.thehundreds.com

[Selegna]

THAT WAS A HYPERSTRIKE!

YALL KNOW HOW I FEEL..

Edited by Selegna on Aug 4, 2005 at 04:08 PM

[jjs home]

I think stuff like Bape is damn near the definetion of streetwear. maybe people wanna marinlize it because its gained popularity and attracted interest in different genres, but i feel it defines the mold of what every street wear company strives for, expect the fact that people get truend off as new people get turned on

Streetwear is whatever you want it to be. It can be tight, loose, old looking, new looking whatever. I feel a lot of people speaking to that are right on the money, but my addition would be that its destination designed clothes aimed at fashionable individuals for their streetwearing. I know that needs definetion, but its for the street walker who wants to be high fashion.

It can't really be defined by on look, eventhough you might decide to do that for your article, becase everybodies streets are different. Like for instance noe dude said your shoes gotta be scuffed, but on the deepest streets, those the closest to where that whole definetion of "STREET" came from fashionable folks wanna pop a fresh box everyday. Like the maybe ya'll wanna exclude urban, but most streetwear its just the metrosexual adaptation of urban fashions. Bape camo is bsically the streetwear adaptation of old school camo jackets and pants in the hood. Yeah you could say "oh no its just from army camo" to try to marginalize the urban side, as is usually done, but Nigo takes cues from hip hop for many things (see his jewlery), why wold this be different. Same with mesh back hats. Yeah truckers wore em, but they became fashion when golden age hip hop heads started rockng em. I think its funny because these companies are taknig their cues from japan, if they aren't from japan, who inturn took their major cues from urban. Look at supreme they flipped starter hats, ewing gear, and many other things to get what they got. I do however feel streetwear stretches past just urban influence, because it grabs punk, skate, even high-end designer (supreme cashmere sweaters) to create someting new from 1000 places and influences for the streets. Streetwear embodies the fashion and tastes of the street in the form of garments. It follows people desire to be exclusive, limited, and new as the streets always have for whatever genre you subscibe too.

The mag is asking you to write a bullshit atricle, because in streetwears true essence its about the individual more then the gear. To pick 25 you have to define just one type of "STREET" individual to define the choices by which is BS, because they are basically wanting you too define the more metro look when the whole cnocept for the name came from a hip hop background. I feel a good article wil even express the hypocricy oh how these major companies, magazines, and nistitutions are trying to create new meaning for streetwear, when its really been around since the 80s