Is This Really a Race Issue?

"Whose race are you guys biting?"

-- A Friend - On What another friend and I were wearing

Now I am not even going to dwell on the ignorance of that question. But I will point it out. Let us get one thing straight. It's not a race issue really in my opinion; it's a lifestyle choice. There is an entire subcultre that goes with the mainstream that people don't realize exist. Marketing big wigs at huge consumer corporations call it exactly that: The Lifestyle Culture. Fitted caps and baggy jeans have moved from stereotypical Hip Hop wear to what the LS culture would call street wear.

So what was once thought to be an epidemic of Wiggers, Fliggers, and Chiggers running rampant up and down your block; is really a new rising culture that got its start back in the 80's. No I am not going to document the rise of this phenomenon. I am much to young to do that; however I am old enough to recognize it. But I will say this, as cyclical as fashion is the 80's aren't coming back - the 80's never left. Ill elaborate more on that in the future. So I digress. The big colors and the big shades and the suspenders and the crispy kicks with loud colorways are not a sudden re-occurrence in the world of style and fashion. It's an idea that went overlooked as soon as 96 hit and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air went off air. But even towards the end of that show the Fresh Prince himself was looking more like a pauper. So no one in the mainstream paid much more attention to the whole LS culture.

All you really hear is wigger this, wanna be that. Act your own race. Dress accordingly. According to who? What I love most about being - not defined by me - a sub culture is that it allows a freedom of expression. I mean sure you see people who are in the spotlight praised for their "individualism," but try doing that while not designing clothes or making music and you get some serious stink eye action.

HOWEVER!

If you want to get real technical with the whole race thing, saying how black I am dressing allow me to retort. You claim the way I dress is black? That I'm down like a brotha. When really arguably the most well known brand within the "Wigger" community is A Bathing Ape (and it's subsidiary BBC) well if I am not mistaken Nigo - Bape's creator - is Japanese. Uniqlo is another brand based in Japan. Amanda and La Messie are the masterminds behind False brand clothing and are based out of HK. Some of the most prolific designers hail from Japan -Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamomoto - so really am I trying to be black? Or is this a reversal and everyone chooses to ignore it. Japan is fast becoming a heavyweight country within the fashion idustry and some writers and magazines even consider them to be the next/new fashion capital of the world.

So before you ignoramus' decide to get fresh and tell me I dress like a "black guy" or to "dress my own race." Not only does it not make any sense because of the Asian impact within this brand of fashion, but because I am not dressing as a certain race. I am dressing to a certain culture. The clothes we put on in the morning aren't just clothes in my opinion, It's an extension of who we are. The clothes we put on in the morning is our way of expressing ourselves for that day. So I guess that means everyday I just want to be black. But doesn't everybody?