Oi! is a working class street-level subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s.
The music and associated subculture had the goal of promoting unity between punks, skinheads and other non-aligned working class youths (sometimes called herberts). The Oi! movement was partly a response to a sense that many participants in the early punk rock scene were, in the words of The Business guitarist Steve Kent, "trendy university people using long words, trying to be artistic...and losing touch". Robb, John (2006). Punk Rock: An Oral History (London: Elbury Press). ISBN 0-09-190511-7
Oi!-related clothing items include: traditional British punk and skinhead-oriented items such as: rocker jackets (sometimes customized with paint and metal spikes or studs); flight jackets; Harrington jackets; denim jackets, or vests; T-shirts (often with images or text related to the skinhead or punk subcultures); Ben Sherman or Fred Perry shirts or sweaters; jeans (sometimes splattered with bleach); bondage trousers; bullet belts; studded leather belts; braces; spiked or shaven hairstyles (including Mohawks), sometimes dyed); combat boots or Dr. Martens boots; and flat caps.
