H. Drew Blackburn
The Hottest Streetwear Brands In Dallas Right Now.
One way or another, we all deal with fashion in our day-to-day lives. It doesn't really matter whether your sensibility falls in the bare minimum, “Does this smell OK?” range or at the plan-your-New-York-Fashion-Week-outfits-two-months-in-advance peak — we're all in this thing, reluctantly or otherwise.
Most of us sit somewhere between those extremes. And, quite comfortably, that's where street fashion, which has its roots in skate and hip-hop culture, lies too.
Sure, there are the weirdo hypebeasts who take it too far, dropping a couple-hundred-plus for a T-shirt with a logo, but for most young folk, streetwear is also the optimal sartorial choice. It's casual yet fashionable. It's fun but high-minded. It's thoughtful and laidback.
Better, Dallas actually has quite an awesome pastiche of streetwear brands to call its own at the moment. Here, we round up the coolest ones.
El Chuy.
El Chuy is largely an Old English ode to Dallas. They've got biker shorts with the script, swimsuits with the script and a wide variety of hats that represent whichever neighborhood you claim. They've got a pretty fly Pegasus nylon varsity jacket. Recently, they glo'd up and made the official t-shirt for Rageville. This brand keeps it 100 percent Dallas all the time.
Stem & Thorn.
Stem & Thorn is the brainchild of Jeremy Biggers, an artist with endless easels. He's also an inventive and somewhat psychedelic music video director, not to mention an awesome photographer who, full disclosure, we ask to contribute to our coverage from time to time. Can you blame us? Biggers has one of the coolest eyes in town, and the graphic designs he uses for his clothing brand are as dope and alluring as everything else he does.
RAK Clothing.
RAK Clothing is shorthand for Random Attraction to Klothing. The attraction doesn't seem all that random, though: The brand takes high fashion and flavor-of-the-month trends and brings them down to Mars. They've got the cropped, well-fitting joggers and simple tees without too much noise. RAK Clothing masterfully designs calculated cool threads.
Wheron.
Verum. Fresh Kaufee. Freshmen on Varsity. Centre.
Wheron makes some beautiful art —
It's time to be a bookworm and brush up on some Latin, folks. Verum, in Latin, means “truth.” And, honestly, that's a perfect name for this brand. The designs are all clean, monochromatic and effective. Verum's threads are typically simple — and, when they aren't, there's a focus on one thing that makes the piece pop. A zipper here, a leather patch there or a single color juxtaposed on an end of grayscale. There's always something special at play.
The man behind this brand designs album covers. He does posters (sometimes, even, for us). He's been the subject of a short documentary. Yes, Joonbug is a great artist. The real has been recognized. His Fresh Kaufee designs are worthy of their own shine, though. They're concentrated in their simplicity and boast a great minimalism-meets-rustic quality. They've got as much craft behind them as a carefully crafted cup of coffee. Except, they're even smoother.
Athletes have bad style. It's true. Remember in high school? The jocks — the ones really into things — would wear mesh shorts, tees and slides. They'd throw on some Jordan's if they were feeling fancy. Bad as some athletes are, though, the concept pof athletics is a classic look. And Freshman on Varsity knows that well, taking the great templates of sport fashion — letterman and dugout jackets, mostly — and makes them flashy and cool enough for all you fly gals and guys out there to rock off the field.
Centre is known first and foremost as being the most prominent streetwear boutique in Dallas. Its brick-and-mortar spot at Mockingbird Station and carries some of your favorite international streetwear brands — 10 Deep, Stussy, Rocksmith and all that jazz. But their in-house stuff in fifteen flame emojis, too. Honestly, it may even be the coolest stuff they've got in stock. Plus, they're almost always paying homage to Dallas in an interesting or cheeky way. Centre always stays on top.
