Boutique & Chic Fashion Blog

Obey clothing was created by graffiti artist Shepard Fairey. Shepard’s stencil art has become more famous and prolific and so has the clothing. The majority of Obey t-shirt designs feature the same street art that are found on city walls of the world. They feature full colour prints and graffiti designs. The rise of Obey clothing can be seen by the amount of media attention they have seen recently because of the Obey “Progress” and “Hope” t-shirts.  The designs feature some of Shepard Fairey’s most controversial artwork to date and have been causing a stir.

The Obey Clothing Autumn 2008 line features the limited edition Public Enemy X Obey t-shirt and the M-65 coat, both of which are compiled of Public Enemy art. The ladies line of Obey clothing features a range of jeans called Kinky Love IV and Wild Side. The Kinky Love IV skinny jeans have colourful block denim while the Wild Side skinny jeans have leopard print styles. Shepard Fairey and the Obey Clothing boys have done an excellent job this year, with some high profile clothing designs and artwork being seen all over the globe. Obey are sure to make more news in 2009 after a very prolific year for the clothing label.

Paul Frank is a clothing label from California.  It was started by a art student called Paul Frank and his good friend Ryan.  The brand is known because of its colourful characters that are printed on the t-shirts.  The most notable of these is Julius  the cheeky monkey that is the logo of the brand.  Paul Frank also make accessories like watches, wallets and bags that are inspired by vintage fashion.

The brand was originally founded when a young Paul Frank was studying art in California.  Before Paul knew it he was sewing wallets day and night and he was searching for a way to make it a job. After his friend Ryan tried to get him a position at Mossimo and failed, he turned to Paul and said “Why don’t you just do this yourself”.  Paul didn’t have the money and Ryan decided to get some money together and fund the company himself.  They soon had a business license and they began building the brand.

With Paul controlling the creative side the other side of the Paul Frank Industries brand was headed up by Paul’s friend Ryan Heuser and John Oswold.  Ryan had previously worked for clothing label Mossimo handling PR duties for the brand’s men’s division and John had gained a degree from San Diego and had a couple business ventures.  After meeting Ryan in 1997, they became good friends and business partners.  The brand quickly became a favourite with many celebrities becoming fans of the accessories and clothing.  This raised the profile of Paul Frank the man as well as Paul Frank Industries.  The business began to build faster with a wider range of Paul Frank characters, a bigger clothing line andbespoke Paul Frank accessories for celebrity friends.  Paul Frank was here to stay.

The Paul Frank Fall 2008 range is as broad and varied as ever. The range features Julius the Monkey along with his friends printed on to most of the Paul Frank clothing and accessories. There are some great new heavy metal inspired t-shirt prints like the Metal God short sleeve tee, Smashing Pete t-shirt and the Misfits inspired Julius and Friends Skull Decay hoody featuring Julius as the Misfits skull faced logo. Another Paul Frank brand is Small Paul, a range of clothing, accessories and toys for small children. The range is what you would expect with the usual array of t-shirts and trousers but also has plush toys of Paul Frank characters such as Julius, Bob and Worry Bear. Paul Frank are well known for their men and women’s retro watches. The Freedom of Choice, Patrol, Workin in a Coalmine and That’s Pep watches are fine examples of this.

Volcom Clothing is an urban streetwear brand that produce snow, skate and surf wear. Volcom Clothing started way back in 1991 when two good friends, Richard Woolcott and Tucker Hall, went on a snowboarding holiday. They discussed the idea of starting a sports business that would sell snowboarding, surf and skate wear.  The Volcom Clothing has now expanded to include the Volcom Snow clothing and accessories range.

Although Volcom are considered a surf label, they are more of a urban streetwear clothing brand.  They use many of the same street art processes that street artists use.  This is why you often find that Volcom t-shirts have graffiti designs that look like they have been sprayed straight on to the clothing with a can of paint.

Their range of snowboard clothing is very popular among both snowboarders and urban streetwear lovers.  This is not surprising as the idea of the brand came to life when the 2 founders were on a snowboarding holiday.  They produce a variety of snowboarding clothing as well as accessories like goggles and ski lift pass holders.