Street style fashion, also called the tricked up fashion, has been in existence amongst us since the beginning of time, but it was not until the 1950's that street fashion became valued and given a platform to vividly express itself to the society at large. Street style is a form of art that has originated from the diverse lifestyle of individuals all over the world and this form of fashion captures the urban lifestyle as well as hip hop, punk, jazz and R&B in its expression.
Street style in its raw form portrays the vibrance of the youth culture. Certainly, one of the most important features of street fashion is its diversity and fitting in to all social strata as opposed to high fashion which from the onset has been secluded for the elite. Certain street style photographers and bloggers try to capture the essence and value of street fashion. Legendary Bill Cunningham definitely was one of the proprietors for the revolution of street fashion in the mid 1950's. Street style bloggers such as myself, the Sartorialist, FRUITS, Jak, and lots more put in effort to capture street fashion raw at its roots.
In the evolution of street fashion from the 1950s, 1980s, 2000s and 2010s, some interesting pieces have been used to depict this unique form of expression, ultrabaggy pants, sneakers, black Gothic apparels, suspenders, hoodies, boots, neon socks, flared pants, denim, flowery ensembles and the likes all representing the transition from one era to another of the different lifestyles predominant and uniquely identified with each community. These pieces are emulated from the Gothic, biker, hipster, jazz, hippie, punk, hip hop, blues and R&B lifestyles and are a form of inspiration to urban fashion.
Street style fashion brings out the raw, authentic, genuine and original art seen in the streets and its no wonder that brands like Chanel, Sears & Roebuck and Christian Dior have tried to mimic the passion and art of street style in runway. Being loud and flashy is the order of the day in street fashion. These bold looks are a representation of self as it implicitly describes the personality of those wearing them.
From my own point of view, no matter what we wear or where we are going in that outfit, we have to pass through the streets either by car, or by foot to get there. So why won't we embrace street style fashion! It's part of us and our daily life.
Currently, we have tons of individuals going into the business of street style blogging, and in the 2000s it seemed street fashion lost its originality and authenticity in expressing passion and culture and evolved from styles of the regular average person off the street to become fashion for staged models and the elite who had what it took to pull off an elaborate and daring ensemble. Has street fashion completely lost its credibility? The answer is a definite NO.
Currently, some fervent and enthusiastic street fashion lovers still hold the value of this trend and as we see from the street and social media, the trend is been revived. Blogs and brands in addition to the aforementioned that express this trend are LookBook, FUBU and lots more.
Street style from the 1950s till date has brought about unity and cohesion amongst individuals by consolidating different social and cultural value and belief systems into one body with the same purpose and goal, FASHION.
This post previously appeared here: www.ivyekongfashion.com
Photo credit : Ivy Ekong Fashion