Urban Clothing-History
 |
| Urban Clothing |
Urban clothing is tied to hip hop music which
began in 1975 in Bronx in New York mainly through the influence of Jamaican
immigrants. With the use of two turntables and a microphone, the Jamaican
practiced disc-jockeys which gave birth to popular music. The pioneers of
disc-jockeys where Clive ''Hercules'' Campbell, or 'Kool Herc'' who made music
out of break beats and Theodore 'grand Wizard' Livingstone who discovered
'scratching sounds' from a turntable. These two fellows formed the basis of rap
music which has grown to what we regard as street music and gained so much
publicity.
However along the journey, urban culture has
been enriched by various cities' like Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco,
Atlanta, Miami Los Angeles, Brooklyn cultures. As the rap music grew, so
did the urban clothing. This fashion has become more and more popular gaining
global acceptance. However the trend has witnessed changes over the years. This
fashion of clothes was first worn in the 1980s by big hip hop icons such as
Run-DMC, Big Daddy Kane and LL cool J. The fashion was characterized by many
rings, jewellery, gold necklaces which are today known as 'bling bling'. Big
glasses and sneakers also formed part of the fashion. Urban artist also wore
Jheri curls or hi-top fade haircuts. The black pride movement was perhaps one of
the most influential styles of the hip hop culture in the 1980s. It was
symbolized by African chains, dreadlocks, black-green- and red clothes.
The urban clothing of the
1980s reflected the traditional African culture popularized by rappers like MC
Hammer. The 1990s came with a change in hip hop music which led to the change
in the urban clothing. Singers like Left Eye of TLC popularized colored clothes
and baseball caps. Street gangs and prison uniforms also influenced the hip hop
wear. Baggy pants wear was influenced by the prison inmates 'fashion'. Normally
the inmates had their belts confiscated by prison wardens and since their
uniforms barely fitted them, they were reduced to pulling up their pants every
now and then. Cities have also contributed to the growth of the urban clothing
with preference of some wear over others. New York favored hooded clothes and
timberland boots while west coast went for big flannel shirts and converse
sneakers and the south liked gold teeth style.
In mid 1990s, urban clothing was enriched by
the Mafioso fashion characterized by hats and alligator skin shoes promoted by
stars like the Notorious B.I.G and Jay-Z. At the end of 1990s the taste of hip
hop stars changed to shiny, flashy sits and platinum jewellery which took the
place of gold and gave urban clothing a new face. During this period, several
clothing lines like FUBU, combs and Karl Kani were rolled out and through the
sale of hip hop clothes earned millions of dollars. Over the years urban
clothing tastes for men and women have changed.
Though men have retained the old hip hop
clothing fashion, women have adopted tighter jeans and shiny appearances. Women
have added a feminine touch to urban clothing by wearing lip gloss and make up.
At present the fashion goes beyond clothes to include gigantic tags made of
gold or other expensive material dangling from chains, large eye glasses and
outstanding haircuts all of which emphasize wealth and prestige.
Terrence Kent
Business Owner
Specializing in the progression of Urban Clothing in modern culture.
Business Owner
Specializing in the progression of Urban Clothing in modern culture.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/expert/Terrence_Kent/437617
Read also Moda Fashion at this site
No comments:
Post a Comment