The past decades have seen thegrowth of a certain fashion style, hip hop fashion. The origins of hip hopfashion can be traced to the African-American, Carribean-American, and Latinoyouth, along with influences from the hip hop scene of Los Angeles, Brooklyn,Chicago, East Bay, Puerto Rico, Detroit, and many more.

The hip hop culture is wellreflected and complemented in the hip hop fashion now because it has alsoundergone many significant changes during its history. The differentexpressions and attitudes of hip hop culture are evident in the hip hop fashionthat we see in today's popular brands like Akademiks.

In the 80's, several brands likeLe Coq Sportif, Adidas, Nike, Pro-Keds, and Kangol, started releasing stylesthat appeal to the emerging hip hop scene. Most of the clothing items at thetime were brightly colored tracksuits, sheepskin, and bomber jackets. Haircutslike the hi-top fade popularized by Will Smith, and accessories like largeeyeglasses, name belts, multiple rings, and heavy gold jewelry, were also verypopular.

The gangsta style was popularizedin the late 80's up to the 90's.  This styleconsisted of plaid shirts and jackets, Chuck Taylor sneakers, and baseballcaps. The late 90's looked to the gangsters of the 1930s and 1940s forinspiration. Many shifted from gang-inspired clothing to classic gangsterfashion by using bowler hats, double-breasted suits, silk shirts, andalligator-skin shoes.

Sportswears were popularized inthe late 90's as part of hip hop fashion with the prominence of Tommy Hilfiger.One particular sportswear trend that emerged is the throwback jersey. SeanCombs also brought in elements like loud, flashy PVC aviator inspired suits andplatinum jewelry.

Existing clothing brands likeFUBU, Adidas, Ecko Unlimited, Pro-Keds, and Rocawear, took advantage of themarket for urban streetwear. New clothing lines like Akademiks, Baby Phat, Sean John, OutKast, and Phat Farm,also emerged.

The ?old school? hip hop trend isgaining popularity once again these past few years. The articles of clothingthat's popular lately are those similar to the early 80's styles. However, hiphop fashion has a more diverse collection now. The collections of popularbrands like Akademiks arewider and appeals even to those not really very much into hip hop fashion.Visit the website http://www.streetzwear.com.