Essential Street Culture Language To Keep You Updated With The Streetwear Game

Nidhi Iyer for Homegrown

Our upcoming culture and lifestyle festival, #HGStreet is right around the corner, well on 21st - 22nd of March (shameless plug). And for those who want to be in the know of the streetwear (and hype) culture, part of that immersion entails that you stay updated with the street lexicon. While we relatively know our way around, with new terms and phrases emerging every day, sometimes it’s just hard to keep up!

Buy Tickets for HGStreet here

So, we bring you a selection of phrases and abbreviations for the next time you can’t make sense of a reference. Streetwear has risen and it is only apt that you ride this wave.

The mainstream explosion of streetwear culture has subverted rules, modified approaches and essentially revolutionized the market as a whole. The sudden inflection in the streetwear game has changed the millennial and Gen Z language altogether. And we are here to guide you through the shift as we get with the program ourselves.

Antwerp six: The Antwerp Six refers to a group of fashion designers who graduated from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts between 1980–81.

Backdoor- Selling fits through means other than regular retail channels

BAPE: A BATHING APE / All things Japanese Streetwear

Beaters: Shoes for the rain/ bad weather

BOGO- Box Logo

Bots- Paid programs that help purchase large quantities of an item faster than manual checkout

BUMP- Bring Up My Post, used on streetwear forums and marketplaces to promote a listing

Clean: ‘Clean’, minimal outfit. Or when a sneaker is as new

Collab: Collaboration between a designer, an artist or between two brands for the creation of an item or a collection.

Cop-Purchase or a respected buy

Dead Stock (DS): Term used when an item for sale (sneaker or clothes in general) has never been worn.

Drip- Immense swag

DRIPGOD: Someone who is dressed in the latest fits

Drop: Release

F&F- Friends & Family exclusive

Fit: Look

Flex: Show off

Fresh- New and clean

Full-Size Run: Available in all conventional sizes

Geobasket: Rick Owens’ sneaker silhouette which has urban legend status

GOAT: GREATEST OF ALL TIME

Grail- Extremely rare or exclusive item

GR: General RELEASE, non-exclusive and available to the general public

Heat/Flame emoji: Desirable

HO: Acronym for ‘Highest Offer’ (maximum bid)

Hold: A term that is used when a seller chooses to hold a particular item in view of a possible sale in the future when the price has gone up.

Hype: Much anticipated product

Hypebeast: Person who cops hype

L/C: Legit check, questioning the authenticity of an item

NFS: NOT FOR SALE

OBO- Or best offer, the seller lists the price they want but are willing to sell the item to accept the best offer

OOTD: OUTFIT OF THE DAY

PC: Acronym for ‘Price Check’. It is used by users of a community to get an opinion, from more than one person, on the actual value and price of an item based on the conditions.

Plug: A person who through their contacts can make you have the object that would otherwise be very difficult to obtain (limited quantities, etc.).

PM: Acronym for ‘Private Message’.

Pop-Up: Are temporary stores of big brands in the most important cities in the world.

Proxy: Middleman who helps obtain the latest drop

WDYWT: WHAT DID YOU WEAR TODAY