How to Dress Like a Gangsta
Wear baggy wide-legged jeans., Buy some fresh white t-shirts., Rep your teams., Get some kicks., Put it all together.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Wear baggy wide-legged jeans.
Loose-fitting pants that sag around the waist became trendy among urban youths whose belts were confiscated in prison, resulting in a low-slung baggy style among ex-cons and real-life gang members.
When buying jeans, try on multiple sizes to get a fit that's snug enough to stay up, but hangs low on your hips and bunches around your shoes.
Try getting pants that hang appropriately without a belt, or try getting oversized pants and cinching them up around your hips with a belt where you want them to rest.
Make sure to combine the look with colorful boxers so you're not letting anything inappropriate show.
Enterprising clothing manufacturers like Rocawear began making pants designed to be worn with a sag.
They make regular blue-denim colors as well as bright reds and pastel colors.
Shop around to find colors and play with different styles. -
Step 2: Buy some fresh white t-shirts.
An iconic "gangsta" style combines baggy jeans and an oversized, extremely clean white T-shirt.
Typically you can buy the shirts in packages of 2 or 3, and dispose of them after a couple of uses.
The extreme whiteness and cleanness of the t-shirt is very important.
You want to look as if they were fresh out of the package.
Make sure they're big enough so that the sleeve of the t-shirt covers your elbow.
They should be several sizes above what would be considered a normal t-shirt fit.
Alternatively, get some tank-top style undershirts of a normal fit.
This is also a common "gangsta" style. , It's common to wear local college or professional sports jerseys.
Basketball jerseys are probably the most common, but football and hockey jerseys are also popular.
Pick jerseys from your favorite players from the teams you like, or go for a throwback jersey for a more vintage look.
These are often somewhat expensive, which is part of the attraction: jerseys suggest wealth and regional pride.
Regional representation isn't a necessity.
Pick a jersey that looks cool.
Also, if you're not a sports fan, you can still wear a jersey.
The most popular basketball jerseys in the last few years have been LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, while the most popular football jerseys have been Robert Griffin III and Peyton Manning. , High-top basketball shoes are always a popular choice, for many of the same reasons jerseys are popular, and you'll want them to be as clean as the shirts.
Shoes should be fresh and new-looking, as if they just came out of the box.
Popular brands include Nike Jordans, K-Swiss, and Timberland work boots.
Sometimes, you'll see the shoelaces removed, or reverse-laced with the ends tucked down into the shoe, or tied under the tongue of the shoe, rather than showing on top.
Some people will remove the laces entirely. , Try different combinations of shirts and pants with your shoes to get the most desirable look for what you're going for.
The most classic look might be bright white t-shirts with saggy blue jeans and super-crisp K-Swiss shoes.
Accessorize to complete your new persona. -
Step 3: Rep your teams.
-
Step 4: Get some kicks.
-
Step 5: Put it all together.
Detailed Guide
Loose-fitting pants that sag around the waist became trendy among urban youths whose belts were confiscated in prison, resulting in a low-slung baggy style among ex-cons and real-life gang members.
When buying jeans, try on multiple sizes to get a fit that's snug enough to stay up, but hangs low on your hips and bunches around your shoes.
Try getting pants that hang appropriately without a belt, or try getting oversized pants and cinching them up around your hips with a belt where you want them to rest.
Make sure to combine the look with colorful boxers so you're not letting anything inappropriate show.
Enterprising clothing manufacturers like Rocawear began making pants designed to be worn with a sag.
They make regular blue-denim colors as well as bright reds and pastel colors.
Shop around to find colors and play with different styles.
An iconic "gangsta" style combines baggy jeans and an oversized, extremely clean white T-shirt.
Typically you can buy the shirts in packages of 2 or 3, and dispose of them after a couple of uses.
The extreme whiteness and cleanness of the t-shirt is very important.
You want to look as if they were fresh out of the package.
Make sure they're big enough so that the sleeve of the t-shirt covers your elbow.
They should be several sizes above what would be considered a normal t-shirt fit.
Alternatively, get some tank-top style undershirts of a normal fit.
This is also a common "gangsta" style. , It's common to wear local college or professional sports jerseys.
Basketball jerseys are probably the most common, but football and hockey jerseys are also popular.
Pick jerseys from your favorite players from the teams you like, or go for a throwback jersey for a more vintage look.
These are often somewhat expensive, which is part of the attraction: jerseys suggest wealth and regional pride.
Regional representation isn't a necessity.
Pick a jersey that looks cool.
Also, if you're not a sports fan, you can still wear a jersey.
The most popular basketball jerseys in the last few years have been LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony, while the most popular football jerseys have been Robert Griffin III and Peyton Manning. , High-top basketball shoes are always a popular choice, for many of the same reasons jerseys are popular, and you'll want them to be as clean as the shirts.
Shoes should be fresh and new-looking, as if they just came out of the box.
Popular brands include Nike Jordans, K-Swiss, and Timberland work boots.
Sometimes, you'll see the shoelaces removed, or reverse-laced with the ends tucked down into the shoe, or tied under the tongue of the shoe, rather than showing on top.
Some people will remove the laces entirely. , Try different combinations of shirts and pants with your shoes to get the most desirable look for what you're going for.
The most classic look might be bright white t-shirts with saggy blue jeans and super-crisp K-Swiss shoes.
Accessorize to complete your new persona.
About the Author
Anna Johnson
Anna Johnson is an experienced writer with over 5 years of expertise in museums libraries. Passionate about sharing practical knowledge, Anna creates easy-to-follow guides that help readers achieve their goals.
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