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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chav

The term "chav" refers to a subcultural stereotype of people fixated on fashions such as flashy "bling" jewellery (generally gold), and designer clothing with the beige Burberry pattern (most famously the baseball cap which has since been discontinued by the company), and such brands as Lonsdale, Berghaus, Burberry, Von Dutch, Louis Vuitton, Fred Perry, Stone Island, Kappa, Ben Sherman, Adidas, Nike, and best-known Sergio Tacchini. Musically chavs also tend to have a different taste mainly involving rap, dance, happy hardcore, RnB and an unusual type of music referred to as New Monkey. Response to the term has ranged from amusement to criticism that it is a new manifestation of classism.

The essential credentials of being a chav is of someone conspicuously "common" as defined mostly by taste rather than actual social class.

Elements of the stereotypical chav are someone who:

- wears particular clothing, such as:
Brand name athletic clothing and shoes. Stereotypically, this might include white trainers and tracksuits.
Designer clothing and accessories, in particular the distinctive tartan of Burberry

"Bling": that is, fake gold jewellery — in particular conspicuous earrings and trinkets on chains for women, and gold sovereign rings for men.
For Boys - Sports caps or burberry caps and hoodies. Often both are worn, the hood pulled up over the baseball cap.
Sports or jogging trousers, often tucked into sports socks, usually white. These are also referred to as "tracky Bs", "trackies" or "tracky bottoms", worn falling down.

- if female, wears thickly applied make-up, makes heavy use of fake tan, large hoop-earrings and has a hairstyle in which the hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail (called a "Croydon facelift" or "council-house facelift").

- owns a modified car, usually with a basic original specification, but decorated in a gaudy style. The Vauxhall Nova is one of the many small hatchbacks associated with this group. It is therefore associated with Max Power magazine.

- aspires to the latest mobile phone and other mobile gadgetry. Typically these include the Motorola RAZR series phone and iPod Shuffle music player.

A charva is someone from the "unworking class" — living off benefits and not actively seeking work. It is also often used to specifically refer to the children of such people and not the parents themselves. Typical elements of being a charva is someone who:

- lives on council estates and other low-income neighbourhoods, often supported by the "dole" (unemployment benefit / Income Support)

- Takes part in under-aged drinking and sex (and, consequently, is associated with teenage pregnancy).

- congregates and loiters in areas such as shopping centres, corner-shops and fast food restaurants.

- is associated with crass, loud, in-your-face drunken behaviour and minor criminal activities. This includes unprovoked attacks on members of the public ("happy slapping"), vandalism, verbal abuse, and drug abuse. Often these crimes are committed purely for the fun of it and not the material gain most criminals engage in their activities for.

The Burberry clothing brand, which quickly became synonymous with the "chav" subculture, ceased production of its branded baseball cap in 2004, in an attempt to distance itself from the stereotype. They also scaled back the use of their patented chequered/tartan design to such an extent that it now only appears on the inner linings and other very low key positions of their clothing. The company has argued that all chavs are associated with counterfeit versions of the clothing: "They're yesterday's news", stated Stacey Cartwright, the CEO of Burberry. "It was mostly counterfeit, and Britain accounts for less than 10% of our sales anyway."

Additionally, the fall in the sale of thongs has been attributed partially to their association with female "chavs".

The large supermarket chain ASDA (Walmart) has attempted to trademark the word "chav" for a new line of confectionery. ASDA spokeswoman Rebecca Liburd said: "With slogans from characters in shows such as Little Britain and the Catherine Tate Show providing us with more and more contemporary slang, our Whatever sweets — now nicknamed chav hearts — have become very popular with kids and grown-ups alike. We thought we needed to give them some respect and have decided to trademark our sweets".