The teddy-boy subculture arose in Britain in the 1950s, in the post-war era. It was a kind of challenge to society, youth style, designed to shock the generation of parents with both clothes and behavior.
Teddy Boy for Society
For the general public, teddy boys are the ones who are having problems, smoking, gathering in bars, drinking, robbing and fighting. The rebels shocked the older generation, and the newspapers tried to further inflate the hype around the new subculture. In 1956, in a movie theater during a show (the film “School Jungle”), “plush” hooligans disassembled, behaved inappropriately, jumped from their seats, broke furniture, and danced in the aisles. Then clashes with other gangs followed. The norms of teddy fights allowed them to fight with each other, and indeed, with everyone in a row.
What clothes did the teddy boy prefer?
A single-breasted woolen jacket with a velvet collar and a shirt with a crimp tie were perfect for the top in Edwardian style. The lower part is pants with horizontal stripes. Favorite shoes worn by a teddy boy were thick soled shoes. At that time, a complete set of a “plush” boy costume was very expensive.
Recognizable style
Sleek and combed hair, a long single-breasted woolen jacket with narrow contrasting lapels and a large number of pockets. The hairstyle worn by teddy-boy is very recognizable, an attack on the one that Elvis Presley had.
Teddy and rock and roll
In the 50s, fashion and musical entertainment could not be separated. Rock and roll was received by the youth with a bang. Many stars became teen idols, they had a huge impact on society and became a real breakthrough. Currently, stylists still use trendy elements that characterize the teddy-boy style.
Teddy Boys: Rebirth (70s)
In fact, everything remained the same, only with a big influence of glam rock, the appearance of bright colors for drapery jackets, shiny satin shirts with ties, jeans and belts with large buckles. In addition, varnish was used for hairstyles, not fat, as in the 50s.
Collisions with punks
With the emergence of two youth subcultures that challenge a decent society, clashes were practically unavoidable. The irony is that, despite their differences, they had a lot in common. Both of them had their musical preferences, as well as their unique style of dress. They had common foundations - self-expression, independence, non-conformism, resistance, faith in alternative versions, but they expressed it all in a slightly different way.
Both subcultures were negatively discussed and demonized in the press as representing a threat to society. During fights, chains from bicycles, studded cuffs, belts and other weapons were used. There were minor brawls, and large fierce clashes, as well as acts of vandalism.
Revolt against conformism and traditional style
Great Britain has always been a model of rigor, high morality and conservative views. Perhaps for this reason, many youth movements began to emerge in the country - teddy fights, a subculture of skinheads, 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 rebel teenagers influenced by American rock and roll. The Teddy Boy subculture originates in the 50s in London and is gradually spreading throughout the UK.
It was a special style, incorporating the features of the fashion of the Edwardian period. Young rebels had money and spent it on fashionable clothes, entertainment. They wanted to stand out and not be like their parents, who were used to lead a very economical lifestyle and raised their children in strictness. However, the penetration of rock and roll and new fashion, glamorous dudes and television did their job. Teddy fights (photos posted in the article) were mostly from the working class. But at the same time they sought to dress like dandies and "golden youth", like the children of wealthy parents, high officials.
Revival attempts
Since the end of the 70s, the teddy-fighting movement experienced both recessions and booms, 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 Maclaren. This was the last attempt to revive the style, although they tried to reanimate the movement in the early 90s.
The desire to follow fashion trends and draw attention to one's own person through appearance often leads to rash acts and sometimes illegal actions. The fashion movement that swept Britain was originally called cosh boys. Some time later, the Daily Express newspaper mentioned the affectionate word “Teddy” in relation to the former ruler of Edward VII. And since the style of the “plush” dandy was reminiscent of the Edwardian one, this name came up perfectly, reliably securing itself to the new subculture.
