Taking It Back To The Late 1970s To The Mid 1980s...

Hip hop fashion, also known as urban fashion is a distinctive style of dress originating with African American youth on the scene of NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philly, the San Francisco Bay Area, Detroit, Memphis, Virginia, Atlanta, and St. Louis among others. Each city contributed various elements to its overall style seen worldwide today. Hip hop fashion complements the expressions and attitudes of hip hop culture in general. Hip hop fashion has changed significantly during its history, and today, it is a prominent part of popular fashion as a whole across the world and for all ethnicities.

This was the time of break-beat deejaying, cutting and scratching of turntables, rapping, graffiti art, b-boying and beat-boxing.

In the late 1970s, established sportswear and fashion brands, such as Le Coq Sportif, Kangol, Adidas and Pro-Keds attached themselves to the emerging hip hop scene.

The 80s were strictly for brightly colored name-brand tracksuits, sheepskin and leather bomber jackets, Clarks shoes, Britishers a. k. a. British Walkers and sneakers (usually Pro-Keds, Puma, Converse's Chuck Taylor All-stars, and Adidas Superstars often with "phat" or oversized shoelaces). 

The Fresh Prince (Will Smith) popularized the high-top fade haircut, which has made a strong comeback today. The Jheri curl was also quite a a hit at the time.

Popular accessories included large eyeglasses, Kangol bucket hats, nameplates, name belts, and multiple rings. Heavy gold jewelry was also popular in the 1980s; heavy jewelry in general would become an enduring element of hip hop fashion. In general, men's jewelry focused on heavy gold chains and women's jewelry on large gold earrings. The heavy jewelry was suggestive of prestige and wealth, and some have connected the style to Africanism.

1980s hip hop fashion is remembered as one of the most important elements of old school hip hop, and it is often celebrated in nostalgic hip hop songs such as Ahmad's 1994 single "Back in the Day", and Missy Elliot's 2002 single "Back in the Day".