Youth subculture from the 50's: Teddy Boy
Subculture teddy-fight originated in the UK in1950s, in the postwar period. It was a kind of challenge to society, a youth style, designed to shock the generation of parents, both with clothes and with behavior.
Teddy Boy for Society
For the general public, teddy boys arethose from whom problems arise, smoking, gathering in bars, drinking, plundering and fighting. The rebels shocked the older generation, and the newspapers tried to further inflame the sensation around the new subculture. In 1956, at the cinema during the session (the film "School jungle"), "plush" hooligans arranged disassembly, behaved inadequately, jumped from their seats, broke furniture, arranged dances in the aisles. Then came clashes with other gangs. Norms of teddy-battles allowed them to fight with each other, and indeed, with all in a row.
What clothes did the teddy boy prefer?
For the top, it fit perfectly in the Edwardian styleSingle-breasted wool jacket with a velvet collar and shirt with a crimp tie. The lower part is trousers with horizontal stripes. Favorite shoes, which wore teddy-fight, was with thick soles. At that time, the full costume of the "plush" boy was very expensive.
Recognizable style
Slicked and combed back hair, longsingle-breasted wool jacket with narrow contrasting lapels and a large number of pockets. The hairstyle worn by the teddy-bout is very recognizable, the assassination of the one that Elvis Presley had.
Teddy and rock and roll
In the 50s, fashion and music entertainmentcould be separated. Rock'n'Roll was accepted by the youth with a cheer. Many stars became idols of teenagers, they had a huge impact on society and became a real breakthrough. Currently, stylists are still using fashion elements that characterize the style of Teddy Boy.
Boys-Teddy: Revival (70s)
In essence, everything remains the same, only withgreat influence glam-rock, the emergence of bright colors for drapery jackets, shiny satin shirts with ties, jeans and belts with large buckles. In addition, hair was used to use lacquer, not fat, as in the 50's.
Collisions with punks
When there are two youth subcultures,challenging a decent society, the clashes were almost impossible to avoid. The irony is that, despite their differences, they had much in common. Both of them had their own musical preferences, as well as their own unique style in clothes. They had unified bases - self-expression, independence, nonconformism, resistance, belief in alternative options, but they expressed it all somewhat differently.
Both subcultures were negatively discussed anddemonized in the press as a threat to society. During fights, chains from bicycles, studded cuffs, belts and other weapons were used. There were both minor scuffles, as well as major fierce clashes, as well as acts of vandalism.
Rise against conformism and traditional style
Britain has always been a model of rigor,high morals and conservative views. Perhaps, it is for this reason that many youth movements began to emerge in the country - teddy fights, skinhead subculture, punks and many others. As a rule, one of the reasons for their appearance is the social and political situation in the country. The Teddy boys were originally teen rebels under the influence of American rock and roll. The subculture Teddy Boy dates back to the 1950s in London and is gradually spreading throughout the UK.
It was a special style that absorbed the features of fashionEdwardian period. Young rebels had money and spent it on fashionable clothes, entertainment. They wanted to stand out and not be like their parents, who used to lead a very economical way of life and raised their children in severity. However, the penetration of rock'n'roll and new fashion, glamorous style and television have done their job. Teddy-bots (photos posted in the article) were mostly from the working class. But at the same time they aspired to dress like dandies and "golden youth", like the children of rich parents, high officials.
Attempts to revive
Since the late 1970s, the Teddy-fighting movement has experiencedBoth recessions and ups, new subcultures appeared. In the 1970s, a popular clothing store was opened in London, which was called Let it Rock. It belonged to Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren. This was the last attempt to revive the style, although the movement was also revived in the early 90's.
The desire to follow fashion trends andTo attract attention to one's own person through appearance often leads to thoughtless actions, and sometimes illegal actions. The fashion movement that gripped Britain was originally called cosh boys. Some time later, the Daily Express newspaper referred to the former ruler of Edward VII with the affectionate word "Teddy". And since the style of clothing of "plush" dandies was reminiscent of Edwardian, then this name came up as well as possible, firmly entrenched in the new subculture.
Main Features of Teddy Boys
- Special style in clothes (short trousers-puffswith high waist, bright socks, white or caged shirt, fitted vests, a tie or a butterfly and a necessarily long corduroy or drape jacket, boots on a thick sole).
- Hairstyle a la Elvis Presley (for making hairstylesThe big plus was a smart head of hair, allowing to build high waves on the head, teddy boys looked after their hair, combed them back and poured varnish, sometimes cut off the back of the head and whiskey).
- The desire to look glamorous and expensive did not save you from clashes with other youth groups. Gathering companies, arranged scuffles, often with the use of weapons.
- The teddy boys had teddy girls whoalso had a unique wardrobe. At the age of 14-15 they left school at school and went for independent life to factories or plants. A distinctive feature of steel tattoos, and the more they were, the more fashionable.
- Among the musical preferences were jazz, skiffle and rock'n'roll, which at that time only began to conquer the world.
