Thanks in large part to Soulja Boy and the hip hop community in general, everything is about swag. Pretty boy swag. Swag surfing. D-Town swag. California Swag District. My swag. Your swag. Here a swag, there a swag, everywhere a swag swag.
I suppose to a certain extent the Swag Revolution is a positive thing. It’s good that people are feeling good about themselves. But just cuz you’re sagging in your skinnies doesn’t mean your swag has automatically been turned on. (And to further this point, some people should realize the amount of sag does not automatically translate to an increase in swag. Yes, I have slim jeans and yes I sag myself, but there are limits to how low your pants should go. But I digress.) Suffice it to say, swag does not equal style.
Style is more than just dressing well. It is the ability to take relevant fashion trends and flip them in such a way that is truly personal and distinct from the crowd, and yet it still “works”. To dress well all you need to do is have money and copy what you see in magazines and advertisements. Style is more personal. Dressing well is a reflection of how well one keeps up with fashion. Style is a reflection of one’s self.
Add Class to this idea of Style and the result of this equation is how I define Grown Man Steez. Swaggin and stuntin is all good and fun, but that’s done to show off to other people. Cats on their Grown Man Steez already know who they are, so they do it for themselves.
Do I think I have Style? No, not yet. But in 2011 and moving forward that will be what I’m working towards.
5 Comments
Ouigi the Bearded Man from BKC! Respek.
Great read…Selvedge Yard and the Impossible Cool are great sites to see the history of steez and how fashion icons from
back in the days continue to influence style today.
*business idea*
Are there any stores in Houston that even cater to this?
*business idea*
Mortar Murtaza and possibly Norton Ditto.
I have to definitely agree with this post. But, style equals one’s swagger. At one point, I collected an abundance amount of tennis shoes, more specifically, over 50 pairs of jays. Similar to you, when the epiphany hit, I started collecting more dress shoes. Now, I don’t have any use for my jays, but to just play ball in. Anything I wear, including jeans, I wear dress shoes. Now, for those that think Jordan’s are expensive… Getting into the world of ferragamo shoes, Kenneth Cole New York shoes, and the Testoni Norvegese shoes… That is when it becomes expensive, but begins to justify an individual having style. So for 2011, I say go for it old roomie.
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by B. Square Clothing, Jon Cabby Caballero. Jon Cabby Caballero said: From now on, I'm advocating the proliferation of style over swag. RT @3KingsOnline New post: Style Over Swag http://tinyurl.com/27w52rk [...]