Streets disciples...

Street wear, no relation to streetwear............
From the 1960's til the 80's Street gangs were an iconic part of New York's street culture, Denim jean jackets with the sleeves chopped off, or leather vests were A common uniform for most of these clubs. The names of the gangs were catchy, and cool, and were usually displayed on the back of the vest or jacket alongside the gangs logo, and part of town were they were from. Cowboy, Indian and rebel outlaw fashion was also tied into the look of the gangs( it wouldn't be uncommon to wear a fringe Davey Crockett suede jacket with a raccoon tail hat, or perhaps a buffalo soldier hat, Bandanas, a few feathers here and there, it was an original mash up of different time periods mixed and matched to create a rebelious look, sometimes with a machete or sword, maybe a flint lock piece as well.) Whether it was THE SAVAGE SKULLS, THE CRAZY HOMICIDES, THE TOMAHAWKS, THE BALL BUSTERS, WE CHILL TOGETHER, 7 IMMORTALS, or one of the many other gangs, they played a part in the beginning of an urban movement that helped in my opinion mold the early years of hip hop culture. I have always been intrigued by subcultures, and New York street gangs are at the top of my interest list, there was a huge gang era in Philadelphia during this time as well, that I know a little more about, due to some extensive research and photo documentation that some of my close friends have done. Well thats for another time, but back to NY, the street gangs there were colorful and memorable, with more glamour then Philly. The movies "WARRIORS", and "80 BLOCKS FROM TIFFANY"S" are a take off of real life things that were happening at the time. Heres a few pics,and clips to help paint the picture a little better. Henry Chalfant who is widely known for his movie "STYLE WARS" and the book "SUBWAY ART" made a documentary about these gangs that he finished in 1993 and will be coming out this month I believe, do check it out if you find this post interesting, I am into history of all sorts, and especially stuff that is relevant to the stuff i'm into today, and it is neat to see were certain styles and trends got their beginning. Check it, check it out now...