Hip Hop Style

In the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn of the 1980s, b-boys and MCs wore a mix of athletic gear and flashy accessories: clean sneakers, crisp denim, bold eyewear and brimmed hats. Run-DMC made that look official by turning sneakers and tracksuits into a group uniform, while Harlem tailor Dapper Dan remixed luxury logos into custom pieces for rap's early stars.

1990s New York rap swapped tracksuits for rugged workwear and head-to-toe preppy labels. Wheat Timberlands and Carhartt jackets suited the city's winters and hardcore image, while crews like the Lo-Lifes turned Polo and other upscale brands into street trophies. Black-owned labels such as Karl Kani and FUBU showed that hip hop could build its own fashion businesses.

LA's gangsta rap look came straight out of the neighborhood: cheap, durable workwear, pressed khakis, flannels buttoned to the top and sunglasses you couldn't see through, much of it borrowed from Chicano cholo and lowrider style. N.W.A added black-and-silver Raiders gear, partly because the neutral colors kept them clear of gang colors, and turned the whole outfit into a worldwide image of Compton.

The Bay built its own style on local workwear like San Francisco's Ben Davis, then got louder with the mid-2000s hyphy movement. Vallejo's Mac Dre mixed Burberry, Kangol and Levi's under oversized stunna shades, and the hyphy uniform of white tees, big chains and huge sunglasses fit a scene built around sideshows and going dumb.

Southern rap in the 1990s dressed loud and local: New Orleans hustlers had their own sneaker uniform, No Limit sold a whole soldier image with its records, and Atlanta mixed hometown sports gear with gold teeth. The look came from the street economy of each city, not from New York magazines, and labels like No Limit and Cash Money carried it nationwide.

In the 2000s the South ran the charts, and its uniform spread with it: oversized white tees, old-school jerseys, and mouths full of Houston-made grills. As New Orleans stars chased Japanese streetwear, the look also moved from cheap basics toward rare, hard-to-find pieces.

Detroit style grew out of auto-factory money and street hustle, and it favored grown-up luxury: Cartier frames, custom leather and exotic-skin shoes, next to the city's own workwear. Chicago's contribution was Michael Jordan, whose Bulls years made his sneakers and team gear something worn everywhere.

When Chicago drill broke out in 2012, its teenage stars spent their first money on premium denim, designer belts and luxury down coats, and they posted every fit online. The look was stacked jeans, a big-name belt buckle, crisp sneakers and a coat built for Chicago winters, a flex that fans could copy piece by piece.