Sunday, December 11, 2005

Hip Hop fashion

Funny how volunteering for the college fest can make you write about subjects you never thought you would contemplate about. Normally, my fashion sense revolves around what is easily available at hand before rushing to college. So it is basically the repeatedly used and scarcely washed jeans with your basic t-shirt. Suddenly, I have to wear hip-hop clothing for Visions, as that is the dress code for the first day. I knew that Hip Hop clothing roughly invovled cargoes or three fourths with a ganja or a jacket. Looked it up on the net to choose what kind of clothing to by (I do this so rarely that this is the first) and I found out the subtle influences which lead to the fashion, and more importantly, the culture. I guess the fashion is jsut an expression of your culture...
Anything from FUBU will do, who knew that it was an exclusively hip hop brand? Basically you have to do yourself up as a rapper, and people will not know the difference.
The shoes is an important aspect, and anything large and rough will do, especially if it is made out weird/colored skin of a reptile (crocodile, alligator, snake) anything goes. The hairstyle usually involves dreadlocks or anything black americans would not find out of place. The headgear obviously involves a hoodie or a weird cap. The actualy clothing does not matter much. There is also the jewellery, thick, heavy and flashy. And everywhere, including fronts for your teeth. Here a gold tooth is actually style.
What is weird is the influence. Hip Hop clothing moved from the bright and flashy (yellow on orange) to the fleuroscent and neon (neon green on brown) to the almost gangsta type (dog collars, jackets, tatoos).
What is funny are the influences. Prisionrs were stripped of their belts, and therefore wearing loose jeans became the norm. Scarface single handedly changed the fashion. Black movements, urban culture, and individual stars, KRS so much so that he has an entire sub-culture named after him.

I am going to wear cargoes with a flashy tee and a cap.

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