Urban Clothing in its infancy was considered by some to be nothing more than a passing phase that was expected to quickly fizzle out. Going on four decades later it’s easy to see that urban clothing, and more importantly urban culture have become a household understanding. Fashion brands that were originally designed for minorities have seen their brands enter into exclusive deals with some of the most reputable retailers associated with designer fashion world wide.

However, the question that rests with everyone is, how has urban clothing thrived where many other fashion genres have failed?

In the Late 70′s and 80′s the whole thing started. It is important to understand that this is known as the “old school” hip hop time, or to some the “golden age” of hip hop. This was when items like the track suit, and bucket hats were the most stylish things you could wear. It is also a necessity to clarify that large gold necklaces, shiny over-sized earrings, multiple rings on each hand, large rim glasses, and shiny name belts were popularized through his time. So for the record the age of “bling” was started from the beginning of the culture. Even with all of this flamboyance hip hop clothing was still only popular by word of mouth, and in desperate need of some help if it was going to survive. The late 80′s provided the exact help that urban clothing needed to push to the next level. In 1988 on of the single most important things to happen to not only the hip hop clothing, but the hip hop industry in general happened. The birth of Yo MTV Raps. Urban clothing now had a digital vehicle to be able to travel for everyone to witness. With this exposure, the late 80′s in the 90′ saw an emergence of every possible style imaginable. This time saw lots of color dominating the fashion landscape. Some groups across the US even used the video outlets to show off their political views or local affiliations. Video gave the middle and upper class a view of the word they would normally try to ignore through urban clothing and music. It was an important time in hip hop history.

Next is the late 1990′s, and this is where we saw a split in urban clothing wear. While some chose to wear throwback jerseys, baggy jeans, and heavy work boot. Some of the elite in fashion chose to follow the mafia style and wear suits, baller hats, leather shoes, and more. The women of hip hop followed suit by electing to leave the image of copying the male style of baggy urban wear and embracing their femininity. Women would now be seen dancing on stage in high heels, and would e seen around here respective towns in only high end fashion. As well urban clothing accessories switched at this time from gold to platinum, and this is why many people consider this time synonymous in urban history with bling.

Next is the present and this is where the savvy of urban clothing designers, and wearers really comes out. Now more than ever their are new, fresh and hungry urban wear designers starting their own labels. This has been made popular by the consistently rowing popularity of the Internet. The same way that video, and TV and cameras were used to propel urban fashion forward, the Internet is propelling it to the next level and allowing it to solidify its position as an integral part of modern culture. While it almost a necessity to have a website in today’s urban clothing market that isn’t enough for some. » Read more: Urban Clothing – Surviving In A Digital World!