Punk fashion is one of the styles of streetwear that got it’s start in the 1970s. The style has evolved over many years of refinement and change, and is quite different from what it was originally, yet it still retains some of it’s roots. Originally, punk fashion was supposed to be aggressive, confrontational, and shocking. It was the style of rebels, and this was an ideal that has prevailed through punk’s history.

Early punk clothing was designed by Vivienne Westwood, and Malcolm McLaren, and was also inspired by such punk icons as the Ramones, Richard Hell, and the Bromley Contingent. Offensive imagery was important in early punk clothing, with images and phrases placed on clothing that was designed to catch eyes and scare people. Anarchy symbols, fake blood, and inverted crucifixes could be found on clothes in stores like SEX, and early punk clothing store. Often times, punk clothing was intentionally torn, a trend that continues into today, and covered in patches. Another early style was wearing leather rocker jackets and special blazers, patched and customized by the individual. Blazers are still a large part of the punk scene. The inclusion of blazers and the dress shirts that were also common shows that the punk scene was something that was, in it’s essence, a counter culture movement, and these clothes show that.

When it came to foot wear, people wore motorcycle boots, Chuck Taylor All-Stars, and other kinds of boots. Pants were often tight, and often leather, though tight jeans were very common aspects of punk apparel. Hair styles were messy intentionally, and styles like liberty spikes and mohawks were very common. Unfortunately, symbols found on early punk clothing were often racist, such as iron crosses or swastikas, this, however, changed in the mid 70s with Rock Against Racism, a campaign to eliminate racism among the rock and punk cultures. Luckily, the campaign succeeded, and to this day, punk culture is decidedly anti-facist, and anti racist, often containing things like crossed out swastikas in modern punk outfits.

Among women, early punk style could include ripped fishnet stockings, leather, and a large amount of facial piercings, something that men also sported. Also, punks who were women often sported feminine clothing mixed with masculine items, such as tutus and blazers or boots. There were also a large percentage of vegetarian and vegan punks, who did not wear fur and leather due to animal rights reasons. Punk clothing also saw the use of items like safety pins and tape to hold together clothing that had been torn and ripped on purpose, and even saw items like garbage bags being used as clothing.

All of these things moved towards the idea that punks were not normal, and they did not want to be. Also, none of these fashion items would have stuck around if not for the punk culture being supported by the vibrant music scene which fed it originally. Today, punk has changed a lot, but is also very similar, in many ways, to the punk designs of the 70s.

In the early 90s, hip hop fashion became influenced by traditional African dress. Bright colors, large pants, and head wear were all heavily influenced by this style of dress. Micheal Jordan also became a big name in the hip hop fashion game, and Nike continued to drive the sports wear side of the culture. Starter Jackets also became popular, and in fact became something of a status symbol among hip hop enthusiasts, as they were stolen from retailers frequently. Who remembers the old school parkas?! Baseball caps also became popular among rappers in the early 90s, and were usually worn backwards or to the side, and were often times brightly colored, as influenced by African dress. Gangsta style emerged, popularized by N.W.A., it featured Dickie jeans, plaid shirts, and baseball caps, often times these clothes would match color wise so as to show support for one’s neighborhood, in which clothing color was important. As the 90s moved forward, gangsta style moved towards styles developed in prison, such as wearing jeans low and sagged, black ink tattoos, and bandannas. The other side of hip hop, or the elite side, went the opposite route, and developed such trends as wearing suits, bowler hats, and other clothes inspired by the gangsters of old. Later in the 90s, throwback jerseys became popular, and the whole style starting moving more and more mainstream, today hip hop culture is one of the dominating forces in the cultural backdrop of America.

Stores such as FilthyDripped.com can attest to the rising popularity of streetwear in general, and not only for the male market. Lanie’s newest collection is sure to create quite a stir in streetwear culture and the designs are truly unique. She commented, “When designing a collection, I basically make what I want to see in my closet. This didn’t fall short for my Holiday ‘07 collection, which is set to deliver mid-October to early November. I’ve always had an interest in the early 60’s mod/punk scene in London so I developed a collection with a mod influence but gave it a military twist through the cuts, details and graphics. The military-mod theme isn’t completely literal but its influence is apparent.”

Long ignored by traditional fashion, women who are interested in streetwear often have to settle for wearing men’s trends. HellzBellz has been working to change this since 2005 and the reception has been tremendous. She has been traveling to shows on both costs and her work is certainly in demand, proving that streetwear is still on top, no matter what sex you are. According to Lanie, the type of woman interested in streetwear is, “A forward, non-conforming woman who lives life to the fullest and understands first and foremost that individuality is key. She’s also a strong female who isn’t afraid to speak her mind or express herself freely.”

Streetwear has maintained its popularity since it got its start in the 1980’s and can be found in special boutiques throughout the country. FilthyDripped.com is one of the most popular stores in California, offering numerous lines from designers and all of the latest trends. The streetwear market has managed to avoid falling into the same trap as traditional designers in the current economy, a fact that is attributed to its edgy design and appeal.

The new collaboration with Wildchild and Touchstone illustrates that streetwear is at the forefront of what is on the minds of the nation. Many of the designs are inspired by music and Wildchild is the perfect illustration of what happens when clothing and music come together. Business partner and co-founder of Wildchild Traci Copeland agrees stating, “Everyone loves music. It sets the tone for much of what we do, and our designs are a reflection of that. Music can be colorful, vibrant, and thought-provoking. This movie is a great platform to showcase that.”

You can see Wildchild Nation’s designs in Step Up 2: The Street, which will be directed by John Chu. As the company’s release pointed out, “Step Up 2: The Streets” proves to be a high impact ride down hip hop street dance culture and fashion.”

For twenty-eight years Stussy has managed to stay on top, continuing to offer their fans innovations and old favorites. Their new menswear line, Stussy Deluxe was rolled out at the recent Project Global Trade Show in Las Vegas to thunderous applause. Even though many other clothing manufacturers seem to be scaling back in this time of economic uncertainty, Stussy, and even boutiques such as FilthyDripped.com are holding their own.

Scott Terpstra, Stussy’s sales director commented on the increases stating that streetwear is deemed a “must have,” by their customers and has managed to stay liquid because it is “on trend.” Customers would certainly agree and many labels are benefiting from these conditions. Crooks and Castles, a Los Angeles based label has announced numerous plans for expansion and will be debuting new lines throughout the year.

In keeping with what they deem is a changing trend among their consumers, Stussy is changing their lines a little bit and trying to appeal to their core customers that are reaching into the 30’s and looking for merchandise that is not too “youth oriented.” Their new deluxe line featured denim with only a purple dot for the brand logo and they are incorporating much more luxurious fabrics like cashmere into their hoodies. Many claim that they are losing their roots a bit with this switch, but the bottom line may dictate the kind of clothing that the company produces. Despite these changes that have taken the line a little further from its roots, Terpstra commented, “We are an image and brand-integrity company.”

Hip hop rose to popularity in New York in the late 70s during the height of popularity of the so-called block parties. DJs usually played funk and soul music and later on tried to play only the break beats of the songs. It became a hit among block partygoers and the rest is history, so they say.

One of the famous DJs at the time was DJ Kool Herc, who is widely regarded as the godfather of hiphop. Aside from DJ-ing, he also began collaborating with emcees to supply the words to the music. A lot more DJs followed suit including hip hop legend Grandmaster Flash and helped develop the genre into what it is today.

But what’s hip hop without the emcees? Now popularly known as rappers, they supply the words to the music not by singing them but by rhythmically speaking them along the beat. The themes in the lyrics are varied ranging from partying, sex, drugs and even political ones.

As the music evolved, so did the art of rapping. Freestyle rapping is one popular form wherein rappers spit out lyrics spontaneously. This is also popular with rapping duels wherein two rappers go head-to-head and try to top each other in coming up with the best rhyme.

What could be considered as hip hop music’s golden age was in the 1980s when the genre was just starting to become recognized. Groups such as Run DMC and Beastie Boys, as well as solo acts like LL Cool J helped boost the popularity of the music was then limited to block parties.

Run DMC – this hip hop group is usually credited for taking the genre into the mainstream. The trio was formed in the early 80s in New York City. Since then, they have made a name for themselves by collaborating with other artists outside the hip hop genre. Probably the best example would be their collaboration with Aerosmith in the song ‘Walk This Way’.

Beastie Boys – originally formed as a punk group, the Beastie Boys have crossed over into the hip hop genre to become the first all-white rap group in the music’s history. Since its inception in 1979, the group continues to enjoy fame and success. A proof of it is its nomination into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2007. Did you know back in the early 80s one of the members of the Beastie Boys had his own shop at our very same spot? From what our neighbors told us, 2422 Telegraph Ave has its hip hop history!

LL Cool J – is the first artist signed by Def Jam, which is a famous hip hop label. He was signed in 1984 at the young age of 16 and since then, he has risen to become a respected rap artist who enjoys a career of over 20 years.

The three listed above are just some of the artists who have made a name for themselves in the early years of rap and who still enjoy the respect of the hip hop community through music and fashion.

If you look at some recent hip-hop videos, or even pictures from parties and concerts, you’ll notice artists such as Lil Jon, Nick Cannon, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Nelly and Nas bringing back the world-famous gold Dookie Run DMC rope chains — or as they were christened in the ’80s, dookie ropes (also known to some as dookie rolls and donkey chains). It’s a trend that’s making MCs think about the true-school innovators like Run DMC who first wore them and what gold ropes symbolized back in the day, as well as what these classic chains mean today.

Has the time come for MCs to put their platinum chains on ice? Not ice as in diamonds – they’ve been doing that for years. This time we’re talking about rappers setting their platinum down on the shelf for a returning favorite that’s old school to the heart like a dookie rope chain.

“It’s my way to pay homage,” says Cannon, whose new publicity shots show him wearing no shirt and a gold dookie rope chain. “Back in the day, most gold Run DMC chains were hollow. I had to go [with] the official one. Everybody been rocking platinum; you can’t tell platinum from stainless steel right now.”

“Platinum chains are wack, unless it’s a rope,” asserts Kanye West, who debuted his new heavy thick fat dookie gold rope in the video for Drive Slow. “I’m not trying to dis nobody’s chain, it’s just wack to me.”

Like Cannon, Kanye says gold dookie Run DMC ropes chains are appealing because they’re a nod to the past. “History repeats itself,” Kanye says. “It was throwbacks [jerseys], my album had the Tribe [Called Quest] sound. Now its gold ropes.”

Lil Jon agrees with Kanye’s theory about throwing it back. “We love the old school,” he says. “Everybody got pleasant memories of the ’80s. That’s when hip-hop was fresh and new, it was like a baby. All those pleasant memories, we trying to bring back. I grew up seeing the Slick Ricks’s, Run DMC’s and Big Daddy Kane’s dooky, but I was a kid — I couldn’t get no big-ass rope chain. I’m grown, I can do that now.”

“Things that are really authentic always return,” says original dookie-rope-rocker DMC Run DMC, one of hip-hop’s earliest innovators on the mic and in the jewelry department. “It ain’t a mere thing of just bringing the gold rope back. It means something.”

This decade was the era of ‘Big’. Everything had to be big in size, impact and spending. Rock bands played in stadiums with fancy lighting and pyrotechnics. Even hairs had to be big so people spent a lot of money on hair sprays during those days. And yes, even earrings had to be of the extra large variety!

But one could not really be big for a long time during that decade. It was the 90s and people always craved for bigger things. In other words, there was a constant competition to become biggest whatever of them all. From oversized clocks as necklaces, chains and Cazal sunglasses. Another good example of this outrageous trend is the parachute pants. This style of pants was popular during the 90s. They were tight and usually had extraneous zippers all over.

While these pants looked normal enough, rapper MC Hammer took it over the top by taking its size to the extreme! Hammer had these really baggy pants (also known as Hammer pants) that were so huge, two people could fit into each leg of it.

People nowadays may find such crazy behavior funny, but who could blame the people of the era? Each generation has its definition of cool and in the 90s, the slogan was that bigger is always better. And how happy (and crazy) life was back then.

Do we see these Hammer pants coming back? Hmmm…We’ll see! =)

Neon clothes can shock the uninitiated. Why? Because they are so bright that it is nothing that the first timers have seen in their entire lives. Actually, they are bright enough to be seen even at night. Nothing can get brighter than them except for halogen lights, maybe.

They were the in thing during the 80s and they were not only popular in clothes like sweaters but also in other fashion accessories such as shoe laces, hats, neon jelly jewelries and even on guitars! Popular colors were neon green and hot pink as well as the brighter varieties of orange and yellow. There were also shades of bright violet and blue but they weren’t as popular as their brighter counterparts. And as if one piece of neon clothing wasn’t enough, people back then actually preferred to match them with other pieces of neon clothing and accessories.

Neon is trying to make a comeback in the mainstream fashion scene with the latest from Coogi, Durkl, Caliber and more. Now would be good to have a pair of Cazal shades in handy because really, they can blind you far worse than a laser pointer or by staring straight to the sun. The world is a much brighter world to live in again. =)