Streetstyle: From Sidewalk to Catwalk remains a key study of youth fashion, charting how style tribes from the 1940s to the 1990s borrowed from one another and reshaped themselves over time. First published in 1994 to accompany the Victoria and Albert Museum’s Streetstyle exhibition, Ted Polhemus showed how movements branched and evolved, from American Modernists to English Mods, and from postwar Folkies to Hippies and later New Age Travellers.
 
In 2025, the book feels strikingly current. Today’s fashion culture moves even faster, with digital communities, global streetwear, and constant revivals creating an ever-expanding mix of influences. The “supermarket of style” Polhemus described has grown into an environment where people combine elements of Punk, Grunge, Rave, Y2K, Techwear, Indie, and countless micro-scenes with ease. His framework helps make sense of how these hybrids form and why they continue to shift.
 
With more than 200 photographs, including 100 in colour, the book documents how looks travel from everyday life to the runway. It remains both a cultural history and a guide to understanding how identity, music, and creativity shape what people wear.