Why Urban Wear Costs So Much

Urban wear has now been with us for a number of years. It is an outgrowth of the hip-hop culture, and by extension, of the "extreme" sports universe. If you are a fan of hip-hop or are into extreme sports, then you know exactly what is is meant by urban wear.

Urban clothing is bold, fresh and expressive of the hunger and apparent fearlessness of the hip hop generation. Urban clothing is characterized by trendy looks, controversial designs and a continually updated look.

Urban Wear Goes Designer

From the beginning there has been a preoccupation with "designer" urban clothing. It is not enough just to look "urban". New designs must be flambouyant and in your face. While youthful-looking in many regards, most urban clothing designs have been earnest and very concerned with projecting a "screw you" image.

More recent trends in urban clothing have been a bit more lighthearted with an acknowledgement that it is all a bit of a put on. As designs have migrated from the rapper-inspired and often rapper-owned design shops to more mainstream labels this is an inevitable transformation. It is difficult and disingenuous for mainstream labels to make out as though they are disadvantaged and unhappy with the status quo. They are the status quo.

Brands such as Rocawear, Ecko and Akademiks have long been identified with the urban wear trend and are well known for fashion designs born out of the street culture that was the source of both rap and urban wear designs. In fact many of the original urban wear labels were founded by rappers themselves. Like most celebrities they were simply trying to use their image and notoriety to make money selling things.

At the same time newer companies such as Vokal have further modified the urban wear label to include fleece loungewear, denim, high end velour, and brightly colored athletic jerseys. Baby Phat takes a different approach. They create a blend of hip hop style and sophisticated metropolitan fashion. The result is a refined urban look suitable for well to do trendies.

Of course co-opting trends is what the fashion industry always does. It is simply trying to cash in on the trend-following nature of consumers. And it only makes sense to target people with the time and money to pay top dollar to make the correct impression on their friends and colleagues.

Urban Wear Goes Wholesale

On the other hand, the fact that the world of urban wear is transforming itself so quickly and so regularly has led to the development of a wholesale market in urban wear. Since urban wear designs change so frequently and manufacturers need to remain ahead of the curve in order to stay profitable, they are usually quite happy to sell large lots of the last set of designs for very low prices.

This allows enterprising clothing merchants to buy up sizable lots of over stocked items and sell them in large quantities to retailers and directly to consumers - often on the internet. These items sell for significantly lower prices than you can find in retail urban wear specialty stores.

For consumers interested in buying five or six items at one time this is ideal. It makes it possible for someone interested in changing fashion trends to replace their entire wardrobe for much less than it might otherwise cost.

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