Public Enemy known as Legendaries

Fashion is fickle — styles come, go and come back again in the blink of an eye. Hip-hop fashion is no exception. In the beginning, DJs were the leaders of hip-hop style. Many took fashion cues from the disco styles surrounding them, while others developed styles of their own.

As graffiti and breaking united with music to create the beginnings of a cultural movement, eyes started to focus on the MCs and breakers.

Hip hop fashion is a huge part of the hip hop culture, and is something that has evolved and changed over nearly 30 years. The 80s saw the birth of hip hop clothing, and the genre was really brought about in the early 80s.

It first evolved in the Bronx, an area of New York City. At first, most breakers dressed for comfort and practicality. Loose-fitting pants (sometimes with suspenders), comfortable sneakers (with the laces left mostly undone) and colorful t-shirts (to go with other members of a dancer’s crew) were standard on the East coast.

Meanwhile, military-inspired outfits with baggy pants (again, sometimes with suspenders) and lace-up boots were popular with some dancers on the West coast.

Through the 80s, the genre started becoming influenced by the west coast, and people like Will Smith started introducing things like Flat Top hair styles and high top sneakers. However the core of the hip hop fashion style was still the same. As rappers shaped hip hop as a music genre through the 80s, the clothing evolved with it.

Run DMC

Run DMC

When Run-D.M.C. hit the scene, so did a look that would, at least in part, be emulated for years: black leather jackets and pants, black fedoras or Kangol hats, large, chunky chains and, of course, Adidas.

Eventually, these leather “suits” made way for nylon and cotton tracksuits, still adorned with heavy jewelry. The ensemble was often topped with a Kangol or baseball cap and bottomed with a pair of designer athletic shoes (Adidas made way for Nike). African-inspired clothing also enjoyed a surge of popularity.

Kente cloth from Ghana appeared in almost every type of apparel, and red, yellow, black and green were the colors du jour. Hats, and even entire outfits, were worn backward (remember the Kriss Kross video “Jump”?).

Basketball jerseys were worn over t-shirts with jeans so baggy that they pooled in a puddle of fabric stopped only by the open, unlaced top of a Timberland or Lugz boot.

MC Hammer and The Fresh Prince

MC Hammer pants or sometimes called Harlem Pants

Blousy pants were popular among dance-oriented rappers like MC Hammer. Fezzes, kufis decorated with the Kemetic ankh, Kente cloth hats, Africa chains, dreadlocks, and red, black, and green clothing became popular as well, promoted by artists such as Queen Latifah, KRS-One, Public Enemy, and X-Clan).

In the early 1990s, pop rappers such as The Fresh Prince, Kid ‘n Play, and Left Eye of TLC popularized baseball caps and bright, often neon-colored, clothing. Kris Kross also established the fad of wearing clothes backwards.

Nike dominated the urban streetwear sneaker market in the late 80′s and early 90′s. Other clothing brands such as Champion, Carhaart and Timberland were very closely associated with the scene, particularly on the East coast with hip hop acts such as Wu Tang Clan and Gangstarr sporting the look.

Gangsta rap pioneers N.W.A. popularized an early form of gangsta style in the late 1980s, consisting of Dickies pants, plaid shirts and jackets, Chuck Taylors sneakers, and black Raiders baseball caps and Raiders Starter jackets. Hip hop fashion in this period also influenced high fashion designs.

Fashion Designers Turn To Hip Hop

The Fresh Prince – Will Smith

Hip hop became more and more popular, and the clothes were becoming less and less counter culture, and before long even high class fashion designers were looking to the hip hop culture for inspiration for their lines of clothing.

However old school hip hop and clothing are still a nostalgic and important part of hip hop history, so it is important to learn about it if you are interested in understanding hip hop culture and how it evolved.

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.

Who remembers the old school parkas?!

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.

The Gangsta Style

The Gangsta Style

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.

Gangsta-inspired clothing wasn’t the only 90s hip-hop staple. Designer labels, such as Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren, filled closets from the East to the West Coast. The label-heavy trend remains today.

Some of the more prominent brands on the shopping list include: Baby Phat, Carhartt, Converse, Dickies, Ecko and Ecko Red, Fubu, G-unit, Lacoste, Phat Farm, Reebok, Rocawear, Sean John, and Von Dutch.

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.

As the 1990s came to a close, oversized was still the size of choice, be it denim or cargo pants. The gangsta style of wearing pants so low that underwear shows persists today. Reportedly, the practice comes from prisons, where belts aren’t allowed due to potentially lethal uses. Kangol hats remain, as do baseball caps. Joining them is the do-rag, reportedly another prison-wear influence.

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