Fashion among "hip hop" elites

On the East Coast, members of the hip hop community looked back to the gangsters of the 1930s and 1940s for inspiration.[15] Mafioso influences, especially and primarily inspired by the 1983 remake version of Scarface, became popular in hip hop. Many rappers set aside gang-inspired clothing in favor of classic gangster fashions such as bowler hats,[15] double-breasted suits,[15] silk shirts,[15] and alligator-skin shoes ("gators").

This look transcended into the R&B world in the mid-1990s when Jodeci came onto the scene, who were crooners but with a more edgy and sexual look. By wearing gangster-style clothes along with the bad-boy attitude and being a R&B group, they appealed to both men and women.

They were particularly known for their baggy clothing, symbolising a hand-me-down from an older relative with a bigger build, as a sign of toughness.

On the East Coast, "ghetto fabulous" fashion (a term coined by Sean Combs) was on the rise.