Streetwear. Once a niche subgenre of menswear, now the default setting. What used to be a counterculture scene built around inexpensive logo tees and screen-printed graphics has become intertwined with high fashion to the point that any clear lines between the two are almost entirely blurred.
Looking at the positives, this mainstream adoption of streetwear has caused a general shift in formality across the board. Menswear has become more relaxed, so there’s now more scope for mixing and matching pieces that wouldn’t traditionally have been put together. In short, it has broadened our sartorial horizons. But as streetwear’s popularity has grown, so too have its prices.
Heavy hitters like Supreme, Palace and Off-White are now essentially luxury labels from a pricing perspective. This is great for those at the top of the food chain, but where does it leave the average man who wants to buy into the look but finds themselves priced out?
Thankfully, not all streetwear brands have gone down this route. From the smaller labels keeping it real to the retail giants offering streetwear staples at accessible prices, there are still plenty of places to go for those who don’t want to pay inflated prices. Here are the best ones according to us.
Carhartt WIP
Carhartt WIP might be the most consistent and reliable name in streetwear. It’s a one-stop shop for everything from well-made basics to statement seasonal pieces, and its prices have remained accessible while other brands’ have skyrocketed.
For things like simple hoodies, sweats, tees and pants, it’s one of the best in the game. But don’t sleep on jazzier pieces like patterned shirts, cardigans and fleeces either. The outerwear is great too.
Shop now at Farfetch
Stan Ray
Similar to Carhartt in both pricing and its overall aesthetic, Stan Ray is another American blue-collar brand that has moved into streetwear, offering up loose-fitting, hard-wearing essentials with an unmistakable workwear twist.
Its signature work pants are nothing short of a streetwear staple, coming in various easygoing cuts with practical pocket layouts and heavy cotton construction.
Shop now at END.
Champion
Born in Rochester, NY, in 1919, Champion made ‘streetwear’ long before streetwear was even a thing. The historic athletics brand was built around track and field, making high-quality sweatshirts, hoodies, joggers and tees for athletes, coaches and anyone whose life revolved around sport.
In later years, these same garments were picked up by the streetwear crowd – something that the American brand has now fully leaned into – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Shop now at Farfetch
Gramicci
Gramicci comes at streetwear from a slightly different direction. The American-born, now Japanese-owned label isn’t rooted in workwear or athletics like most streetwear crossover labels. Instead, it comes from a rock climbing background, making loose-fitting, comfortable clothing equally at home in the great outdoors or the city.
Its star attraction is its pants, which are almost always relaxed with relatively roomy legs and a signature built-in webbing belt.
Shop now at SSENSE
MKI Miyuki Zoku
Founded in 2010 in Leeds, England, MKI Miyuki Zoku quickly gained a reputation for its stylish, streetwear-infused menswear at affordable prices.
The label makes everything from heavy outerwear to knitwear., but it’s the heavyweight sweats and hoodies that keep us coming back. Made in Portugal from weighty loopback cotton, these sweats are reassuringly robust and boast a boxy, roomy cut that’s perfect for styling streetwear-inspired outfits.
Shop now at END.
Obey
Obey is the work of street artist Shepard Fairey and has been a key player in the streetwear scene since its inception in 2001. It’s a brand based around prints and graphics featuring Fairey’s iconic artwork, often bearing his distinctive face logo and/or ‘Obey’ branding.
Best of all, it’s still one of the more affordable streetwear labels, with T-shirts landing around the £40 mark and pieces regularly winding up in sales.
Shop now at END.
Uniqlo U
You can’t beat Uniqlo for simple, stylish clothing at wallet-friendly prices. The mainline collection is great for your everyday wardrobe essentials, but if you seek streetwear-leaning stuff, look no further than the Uniqlo U line.
It’s a stripped-back selection of understated basics reimagined in contemporary silhouettes that lend themselves well to streetwear-heavy wardrobes. Think oversized tees, loose-fitting outerwear and boxy hoodies.
Shop now at Uniqlo
Nike
Nike is a brand that needs no introduction, and while it’s not a streetwear brand per se, it has long been one of the scene’s go-to labels for basics, accessories and footwear. After all, Nike is responsible for some of the most influential sneakers in history, which have been a key part of streetwear since the beginning.
While it’s true that limited releases on the resale market can be expensive, Nike is generally a brand most can afford to buy.
Shop now at Nike
Adidas
In much the same vein, Adidas is not a streetwear brand in the strictest sense of the term, but its sporty pieces (sneakers in particular) have become a core part of the look. The brand’s history in streetwear can be traced back to the days of early hip-hop, when shell suits and Superstars became uniform for NYC groups – most notably, Run DMC.
Today, it’s a staple brand for picking up things like hoodies, tees, tracksuits and, of course, sneakers, all of which will slot seamlessly into streetwear-inspired wardrobe.
Shop now at Adidas
Dickies
Of all the American heritage workwear-cum-streetwear labels out there (and there are a surprising number of them) Dickies is probably the most budget-friendly. It makes largely the same stuff as the likes of Carhartt and Stan Ray, but the price points tend to be quite a bit lower.
The label’s work pants, in particular, are a bit of a staple in streetwear circles. The original 874 pants, for example, sit somewhere between a chino, a work pant and a smart trouser, and they go with almost anything.
Shop now at END.
Columbia
Outdoor brand Columbia was born in the Pacific Northwest in the 1930s to serve those who needed gear they could push to its limits. These days, it’s still making top-notch outdoor apparel, but it has expanded its lifestyle offering and incorporated a fair amount of streetwear-inspired garb in the process.
From retro fleece jackets to sporty windbreakers, the brand’s clothes fall somewhere between performance apparel and streetwear. If you’re a fan of the gorpcore aesthetic, you’re bound to love it.
Shop now at END.
Vans
Need we say more? The Californian footwear giant is one of the OG streetwear brands, hailing from a time and place that gave birth to the scene and everything it owes its roots to.
Yet despite its position as a streetwear titan, Vans’ products have remained relatively affordable. Its iconic skate shoes rarely top £100, and basic items like T-shirts come in at considerably less.
Shop now at END.
Reebok
British sportswear brand Reebok ruled the 1980s with its high-top aerobics footwear and envelope-pushing pump-action basketball kicks. Today, many of its most notable sneaker models have become bona fide streetwear go-to’s, thanks to their timeless style and countless sell-out collaborations with both high-fashion brands and niche tastemaking labels.
Check out the Club C, the Instapump Fury and the Classic for three of the best options.
Shop now at Farfetch
HUF
Founded by the late Keith Hufnagel, a pro skateboarder based in LA, HUF has been one of the most consistent brands in streetwear for over 20 years now.
The skatewear label makes clothing, shoes and accessories that draw heavily on its Californian skateboarding roots, but its adoption by celebrities and rappers over the years has seen it grow into a fully fledged streetwear giant, offering so much more than just socks with weed leaves on them.
Shop now at Farfetch
Puma
From classic suede sneakers to track tops and joggers, Puma is another big sportswear brand that excels in streetwear staples. Much like Nike and Adidas, it’s not dirt cheap, but compared to the high-fashion/streetwear crossover labels that now dominate the market, the prices for simple pieces are still very affordable.
Shop now at END.
Parlez
Hailing from Bristol, one of the coolest cities in the UK, Parlez is a streetwear label that brings together elements of sportswear, sailing and workwear, all filtered through a lens of sustainability.
The collection includes streetwear favourites like logo tees and hoodies alongside nautical-inspired outerwear, skateboard decks and accessories. Best of all, the prices are reasonable, with T-shirts going for around £40 and jackets from £100 up.
Shop now at Parlez
