Hip Hop Fashion Trends – Then and Now

Hip hop fashion trends are not a newcomer to the fashion scene by any means. In fact, this style has been around since the 1980′s, when celebrities like Will Smith and Christopher “Kid” Reid showed youth how it should be done. Of course, hip hop fashion trends have evolved over the past two decades as tastes and styles have changed to correspond with the culture of the time. The following will offer you a brief but colorful history into the world of hip hop, with some of the current fashion design today.Early Hip Hop In the 1980′s, major brand names became synonymous with the hip hop fashion trends. Brands like Nike, Adidas and Clark shoes were sported with leather bomber jackets and brightly-colored track suits. Sports jerseys were a hot commodity, with Will Smith showing them off in his hit television show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Aire. This was the time when heavy gold jewelry and large sunglasses came into play, creating an image of wealth and luxury in the hip hop culture of this time. In the latter part of this decade, MC Hammer and other rappers introduced hip hop fashion trends like baggy pants and baseball caps.The Gangsta Look In the 1900′s, hip hop fashion trends shifted to the gangsta look in the fashion of the Los Angeles Chicano gangsters. This style sported baggy pants that were worn low and without a belt, shirt tails hanging outside the pants and bandanas on the head. In the midst of this fashion trend, designers were also providing something that the youth of this time liked, and brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Polo and Nautica also came into vogue. At this time, hip hop fashion trends evolved into urban streetwear, with names like Mecca USA, Lugz and Rocawear coming into play.Flash and Bling The turn of the century saw hip hop fashion trends switch to flashy ensembles and bling bling jewelry, made popular by the likes of Jay-Z and The Hot Boys. High end designers like Gucci came onto the hip hop scene during this time as well. Today, the hip hop look has toned down somewhat, with hip hop fashion trends that are more tailored and professional – preppie hip hop, if you will. However, since the hip hop fashion trends are primarily embraced by youth, this style will always be cutting edge and separate from the fashion mainstream. After more than two decades on the fashion scene, it appears that this trend is more than just a trend – it is a fashion icon that is here to stay.

Best Payday Loan Companies – 1 Hour Cash Advances

In these tough economic times, many people find themselves short of cash and in need of an immediate loan. Payday loan companies often provide the ideal solution to emergency circumstances. These companies allow customers to take a loan out against their next expected paycheck. The loan has to be paid back with interest once the person is paid. The loans do not generally require a credit check, and often customers can receive cash in one hour or less. The interest demanded upon payment of the loan is often higher than with a traditional loan, so these loan services should only be used in case of emergency.The best payday loan company to use depends upon your needs and circumstances. You should never use a payday loan company as a permanent solution to your financial problems. If you find yourself requiring a payday loan on a regular basis, you should examine your budget to find a better solution, as interest payments will begin to eat up a substantial portion of each paycheck. If you do require cash in an emergency, however, you should try to find a place that promises a wait time of an hour or less. The last thing you need during a financial crisis is the stress of waiting for a long time to see if your loan will go through.Distance is also a factor when choosing a payday loan center to use for your emergency cash needs. Gas is expensive nowadays so you don’t want to be driving across town if it is not necessary to do so. Also, if your loan company is located too far away, you will find yourself reluctant to visit it when it is time to pay back the loan.Many payday advance companies are now doing business online. This method is not recommended because it is too easy for identity thieves or other scammers to create websites that mimic legitimate businesses. These people will steal your money or credit information instead of giving you the loan you have applied for. If you do choose to use an online payday advance company, make sure the website provides a phone number that you can contact to verify that the site is legitimate.Whether you use an online company or visit a physical address, the process for receiving a 1 hour cash advance is generally the same. Upon arrival, you will be asked to fill out a simple application form. The company usually will not run a credit report, although a few do; make sure to ask or check the FAQ online if this is a concern. Along with your application, you have to provide verification of income such as a check stub, and of course you will have to give the loan officer your driver’s license to verify your identity. Once the application and supporting documents have been received, you will be given your money. Online companies usually deposit the money directly into your bank account, while physical locations often give you cash.On your application, you will usually be asked to indicate when you are receiving your next paycheck. Your loan payment will be due on this date. You are required to pay the loan in full, including interest. It is important to pay these loans back on time. Many payday advance companies take a post-dated check for the amount of the loan, and if you do not have funds in the account to cover that check you can be arrested for writing bad checks. Even if companies do not take this step, they can sue you for the amount of the loan. Finally, interest continues to accumulate until the loan is paid back, so you could find yourself owing a far greater total than expected should you make a late payment.Payday loans can result in high interest charges, but in difficult economic times people often find themselves without other recourse. It is important to use payday loans appropriately and to pay them back in a timely manner to avoid extra fees.

How the Right Clothes Can Make the Man

Ask any fashionista if clothes are an important part of our identity and they will probably talk about how vital style is to their success. To break it down a little further and step away from high fashion and instead focus on the man in the street, how important are his clothing choices? Was Mark Twain right in saying “the clothes make the man” and has this adage been taken too literally of late? Everything that we do has a cause and effect impact on the world, so in that aspect our clothes will to some degree have an effect on how we are treated by others, but in what way?A simple example can be found at a high-end Michelin-starred restaurant. Unless your face is immediately recognisable as being wealthy and successful, it will often be your clothes that the host or waiter makes their decisions on and, if you’re not wearing the right clothes to a restaurant or nightclub, then the chances are you won’t get in. Call it ‘power dressing’ or dressing to impress, but the fact is that a man’s clothes determine how society sees him, this is something that women probably got to grips with a lot earlier than most men too.We’ve all heard the expression ‘first impressions count’, and it is absolutely true; as the average stranger takes no more than 30 seconds to assess another stranger on first meeting them, and this impression can then take up to five years to erase. You can forget the other saying ‘you can’t judge a book by its cover’, as anyone in publishing will tell you that it’s the covers that make the books stand out on the shelf.Obviously Hollywood has taken this idea a little too far, with movies like Jackie Chan’s ‘The Tuxedo’, where a down-and-out cab driver’s life is turned around thanks to the discovery of a technologically advanced tuxedo, and obviously James Bond has been known to pick particular threads too. To find serious real-world examples, you don’t have to look far. Politics is full of power dressing, where subtle messages are portrayed in candidate’s clothing choice, like Gordon Brown’s persistent red tie, or George W Bush’s choice of slightly oversized suit jackets to larger his appearance. In the first Kennedy-Nixon presidential race, radio listeners favoured Nixon thanks to his authoritative voice, while TV watchers favoured Kennedy as he looked fresh-faced compared to Nixon’s tired and unconsidered choice of mens clothes.To really understand how clothes can make a man’s appearance though, you can think back to childhood fairytales like ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ or try a simple test. Picture in your head the manager of a petrol station, and then picture the manager of a successful advertising agency. The two managers might be in charge of the same number of people and earn the same salary, but they will probably be dressed pretty differently.