California Apparel News

This week, California Apparel News’ fashion pages feature a trio of dancers—Rock Steady Crew’s Crazy Legs and Easy Roc and Lindsey Blaufarb of Beat Freaks—showing their moves on the streets of downtown Los Angeles (click here).

Rock Steady Crew was founded in the Bronx in 1977 when a group of B-Boys (break dancers) formed their own hip-hop crew. To join the crew, dancers had to challenge one of the B-Boys in the group. The dance style took off in the early ’80s and took the members of Rock Steady Crew around the world to perform and compete.

The B-Boy (and B-Girl) scene has its own sense of fashion—one that combines cool style with athletic-inspired practicality. California Apparel News fashion editor Joselle Yokogawa spoke with Crazy Legs and Easy Roc to discuss today’s streetwear style.

Crazy Legs

He’s been called “the original B-Boy” and is known as one of the pioneers of breakdancing. After just being around him, it’s clear that Crazy Legs has earned his legendary B-Boy status. As president and the only original member of Rock Steady Crew, Legs (as his friends call him) is constantly confronted by people who generally offer the same kudos: “respect.” But for someone who’s spent most of his life traveling around the world to perform—even the Queen of England has requested the presence of Rock Steady Crew—this Bronx native is surprisingly just a regular guy. One definitely from the original, old-school B-Boy era.

How would you describe your style?

My style is based on my mood-—I like to dress according to how I feel. My dancing gets in the way of how I feel sometimes, though, because no matter how I feel, I still have to add some kind of B-Boy element to it—just in case I gotta do my thing on the dance floor.

What’s your favorite style of clothing?

My favorite style is probably mostly geared toward streetwear and something that’s comfortable or something I can dance in or wear to go work out in.

What do you wear most often?

It depends on the season. In the fall, I wear a lot of track suits and jean suits. In the summer, I wear shorts and wife-beaters or baseball jerseys. And it’s always about making sure that your kicks look fresh and nice and clean, as well. Nothing says fresh like a brandnew pair of sneakers, you know? You could have the whole outfit and everything, but those brand-new white sneakers or just something looking real fly makes a big difference in your attitude and appearance. It’s like a fresh new haircut for your feet.

What are the brands of streetwear clothing that you wear most often?

Tribal gear, Triple 5 Soul and lately I’ve been wearing a lot of Pro-Keds and Dada Footwear.

What do you think of streetwear clothing today?

It’s a lot better than it was in the late ’80s because the designers are stepping up to the plate in terms of the quality that they’re putting out. A lot of the gear that they put out back in the late ’80s didn’t really do too well in the washing machine. You didn’t get too many good wears out of it. I think it’s definitely going in the right direction. There’s a lot of different designs that they’re coming out with, but the quality is what really matters.

What else is important to you in the clothes that you wear?

I don’t usually like to wear clothing that’s too dark. I’m down to wear clothing that has color in it. My life has been based on art. Appreciating art. Dancing as an art. When I danced, I always made sure that, if I knew I was going to a club that had dark floors or wasn’t lit very well, I made sure that I wore pants that had white stripes down the side or something. Or I wouldn’t wear dark sneakers just so that people could see my footwork.

How prominent is that original B-Boy style in streetwear today?

There are some people who try to keep it as hip-hop as possible, but then you also have this whole new generation of kids that are kind of like a grungy B-Boy—mixing the whole rock scene with the hip-hop scene.

How does old-school and new-school style compare?

Old-school you had be creative. You had to do with what you had and try to accessorize it the best you could, whether it be wearing a kangol or putting a permanent crease in your pants or putting artwork on your clothing—- authentic graffiti though, not just anything. If you bought off the rack, you changed it and made it really unique. It was really about being fly but at the same time making sure that you had something that other people didn’t have.

When it comes to the new-school style, I think the styles are merging between hip-hop, rap, punk and all that stuff. You have this potpourri of fashion out there right now.

Easy Roc

Easy Roc is an unsung B-Boy hero, with a soft-spoken attitude that downplays his considerable skills. Based in Los Angeles, Easy Roc is the co-vice president and West Coast representative of Rock Steady Crew. His style and finesse have made him one of the most innovative B-Boys around. He is the cofounder of the internationally known “B-Boy Summit,” and has a slew of television, music video, film, concert tours and guest appearances under his “EZ ROCK” belt. He even set a Guinness World Record for the most continuous head spins (no hands) back in 1999.

How would you describe your style?

My style changes quite a bit, depending on my mood. Some days I’m sporty, some days I’m grungy, some days I’m punk. The kind of clothing that I’m drawn toward now are things that look almost homemade—things that I could probably see making myself if I had the time. I like that because it kind of takes me back to what hiphop clothing was before there were major brands. Hip-hop clothing was buying anything that you saw that had potential and then changing it somehow to suit your own personal style. If you had a hat, you wanted to add something to it—like with paint pens or something. That’s kind of what people are trying to do now. A little bit of “then” and “now”—combining the eras.

What are some of the brands that you like?

Definitely when I’m feeling sporty, it’s Tribal. If I’m feeling like I kind of want to just downplay a little bit, I like Zoo York. Some of the brands (featured in the fashion shoot) were kind of new to me. I really liked the Gsus stuff, and the John Q line was really nice, with the little studs added here and there and zippers—it was kind of cool, gave a little hip-hop-meets-punk kind of thing.

How would you describe the direction of streetwear for today’s generation?

It’s weird because I’m seeing a lot of new things, as well as what they call “throw backs”—like going back in time. But they’re also doing some weird stuff—like with the sneakers. Dada is doing sneakers that look like car interiors, wood grain and metal-flake paint jobs and chrome. That’s stuff that I could have never have dreamed of for sneakers.

Do you like it?

It’s a different style. I’m into cars, big time. Low-riding is a hobby of mine, so I’m digging some of the paint jobs on shoes. They’re kind of taking it to another level.