Urban Clothing Meets Classy

Street style is clothing that has evolved from the streets of our cities, and not from high-fashion fashion brands manufactured overseas. Street style is typically associated with young people and is often found in high-crime urban areas. Since the days of the street hustler, who may have given way to the trend for hip hop culture and dressing, the streets of our cities have slowly been transformed into a virtual fashion runway. Today, the streets of New York City and other major cities throughout the world are filled with original street wear that is creatively and artistically designed by young people from neighborhoods like Gough Street, East Village, or even Prospect Park, all of which reflect the creative minds of our youth.

While this transformation from a low-income, immigrant neighborhood to an upscale one was a very intentional act on the part of our designers, the impact of the transformation had a profound effect on consumers. The designers of the “Goth” clothing lines were targeted at the younger, predominantly male consumer base. They succeeded because they tapped into a deep reservoir of adolescent and youth culture that had no use for the conventional styles found in mainstream media outlets. Those same consumers then transferred those tastes and interests to the brand name that was now being described as the “Goth” clothing line. In doing so, they sparked a revolution in the fashion industry, as urban clothing designers were no longer looked upon as “outsiders,” but insiders.

Urban clothing lines like POETKrueger, Baby Phat, and Kreepsville soon took off, attracting the attention of big celebrities and the fashion world. Paris Hilton was so impressed with their fashion sense she reportedly told her fashion advisors that she wanted one of their lines. This kind of attention and interest in urban clothes led manufacturers to wonder how they could create the same impact on ordinary people. One of the ways that companies have done this is by producing casual clothing products that are meant to be worn in place of traditional shoes that are often out of style and considered unattractive. Apparel such as T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, jeans, and leggings are all part of the urban apparel trend and have helped make the street style popular among even the most reluctant members of society.