Urban Clothing Buying Guide
The meaning and style of an urban look is notoriously hard to pin down. The various interpretations are made from viewpoints which are influenced by geographical location and musical styles that are associated with that person. This means the term urban has no specific meaning unless you talk about where you are and what your influences are.
American Style Streetwear
In the USA, urban culture could be directly linked with the rap and hip-hop scene. Brands such as Akademiks, Rocawear and Ecko are known as urban labels which are best known for designing in tandem with the culture in which their roots are established. In fact plenty of rappers themselves have founded these labels themselves, translating their image and lifestyle directly into their clothing ranges. A lot of these brands create premium ranges of clothing with higher prices so that rather than having universal appeal, they have become aspirational brands of clothing.
UK Urban Culture
The story in the UK and Europe seems to be a different one, making it more difficult to get a universal definition of urban clothing. The musical influence from the States is still evident, with the early New York hip-hop of the eighties a strong pull. But as UK culture has evolved so has the urban look. Brands over here that are referred to in urban culture are embedded into a style that now encompasses graf artists, and inner-city dwellers but also encompasses influence from surfers, skaters and skiers, with manufacturers such as Addict and Bench best defining the genre in this country. Urban clothing stores like Cult Clothing tend to include fashion labels that aren't traditional high-end brands and instead are alternative streetwear brands.
Casual Street Fashion
With many trying to define what exactly makes up urban clothing, it's easy to see why fashion experts have had difficulty nailing it down. It seems like a particular style of urban clothing very much depends on which side of the Atlantic it has originated from. However there is a theme which applies to both which might help us get a true meaning for urban style: urban clothing has not been dictated by catwalks and so-called fashion experts. Urban could best be defined then as a style created by the people, which reflects the mood and the attitude of those that want to wear it; instead of conforming to the trends as imposed by the fashion houses and magazines. A reactionary clothing style that is a result of the current alternative youth culture itself.
