evolution of fashioN

Hip Hop Fashion in the 80's

Hip Hop fashion in the 80's was really about wearing specific types of jewelry/accessories and name brands. Many of Hip Hop's biggest icons made names for themselves through their fashion. Artists like Run-DMC and LL Cool J really made it popular to wear adidas shelltoes, kangol hats, and rings with multi-fingers. Gold rope chains were also extremely very popular and were worn by the majority of rappers.

LL Cool J wearing a Kangol hat.

RUN DMC wearing shelltoe adidas.

Big Daddy Kane wearing two gold chain ropes and some multi-fingered rings.

LL Cool J wearing multi-fingered rings.

As for hair in the 80's the majority of men were into Hi-Top fades and jheri curls. Even some women began to start getting jheri curls done.

Kid N' Play with hi-top fade haircuts.

Michael Jackson with a jheri curl.

Popular brands in the 80's:

Nike / Air Jordan
Reebok
Ralph Lauren
Adidas
Kangol
Converse

Hip Hop Fashion in the 90's
Fashion in the 90's was signicantly based on baggy clothing. This was inspired by prison clothing. Since a lot of inmates would get their belts taken away, they were forced to wear pants without belts. This really inspired Hip Hop all throughout the 90's especially the beginning of it. As the beginning of the 90's began, groups like TlC, Kriss Kross and rappers like Fresh Prince made it very popular to wear bright-colored neon clothing. TLC and Fresh Prince in particular sported baseball caps (backwards) which was very popular. A lot fashion in the beginning of the 90's was about standing out. Kriss Kross for example, began to wear their clothes backwards. TLC wore condoms upon their bright-neon baggy clothing to promote safe sex.

Kriss Kross wearing their clothes backwards.

TLC wearing baggy clothes with the infamous condoms on them.

Fresh Prince wearing his hat backwards.

Some of the jewlery from the 80's still had an influence on the 90's however, gold teeth (made popular by Master P) came on the scene. But slowly, gold became dominated by platinum silver jewlery. As the 90's went by the less popular gold jewlery was sported.

The male Hip Hop fashion icons of the 90's would have to be Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, Notorious B.I.G, and Jay-Z.

Jay-Z and Notorious popularized the "Scarface" style (inspired by the movie Scarface) by wearing acessories like Fedora hats and alligator-skin shoes.

Jay-Z (middle) with a Fedora hat and sporting the "Scarface" style.

Biggie also rocking the "Scarface" style. He has a fedora fat and alligator shoes.

Puff Daddy popularized flashy aviator jackets and was one of many who wore platinum silver jewlery.

Biggie feat. Puff Daddy & Mase - Mo' Money Mo' Problems in which Puff Daddy (now known as Diddy) is wearing his trademark, "shiny" clothing.

Hair in the 90's
Hi-top fades began to fade away as the mid-90's arrived and made way for cornrows, afros, and caesar haircuts. A new hair accessory - the doo rag helped keep such hairstles intact.

Female Fashion in the 90's

There were two distinctive styles for women. Some rappers like Missy Elliot and Da Brat made it okay for women to have a tomboyish look which included wearing work boots (like Timberlands), baggy pants, and sunglasses. Other females like Lil' Kim and Foxy Brown were female rapper innovators in wearing high-fashion aka "girly" clothing.

Rapper, Da Brat, a female, wearing baggy pants, work boots, and sunglasses.

Popular brands in the 90's:
Timberland
Fubu
Tommy Hilfiger
Baby Phat

Jordan

Sources:

http://www.apparelsearch.com/Definitions/Fashion/hip_hop_fashion.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?A-Brief-History-of-Hip-Hop-Fashion&id=100428
http://www.tripletsandus.com/80s/fashion.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Hip-Hop-Jewelry&id=407541
http://people.howstuffworks.com/hip-hop7.htm
http://teens.lovetoknow.com/Hip_Hop_Clothing

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