Teddy Boys: Difference between revisions
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During the 50s and 60s there was a boom of Youth Subcultures in Britain. With the American lifestyle coming to Britain there was the chance for British working class teenagers to afford fashionable clothing and to adopt the American way of life. Among other youth subcultures, the Teddy Boys were famous for their provocative fashion and the riots they were involved in. | |||
'''Clothing''' | |||
As mostly all subcultures, the Teds also caused great sensation with their alternative fashion. They used the Edwardian fashion and applied and transformed “them to the situations and experiences characteristic of their own distinctive group-life and generational experience” (Clarke et al., 41). Consequently, the Teddy Boys adopted the style of the Edwardian Gentlemen in order to party and enjoy themselves. Usually the clothing consisted of a “drape jacket, […]suede Gibson shoes with thick crepe soles, narrow 'drainpipe' trousers, a smart shirt and a loud tie - usually of the 'Slim Jim' or bootlace type” (The Velvet Collar and the Iron Fist). | |||
'''Riots''' | |||
The Teddy boys were very often involved in fights with other young people who did not share their clothing or did not belong to the subcultural group. Fights often came up due to offences to their dress code. In 1953 there was the first murder of a Teddy Boy in South London at Clapham Common. A fight between three youths and some of the Teds arose because one of the teenagers had insulted one of the Teds (Clarke et al., p.68). | |||
Additionally, the Teds were present in the Notting Hill race riots in 1958 which had started “with a minor domestic dispute between a black man and his white wife” (Olden, 2008) and then turned into one of the most racial violent acts in Britain. | |||
Sources: | |||
Clarke, John et al, “Subcultures, cultures and class.” Resistance through Rituals – Youth Subcultures in post-war Britain. Eds.Stuart Hall and Tony Jefferson.Abingdon: Routledge 2006, pp. 3-59. | |||
Olden, Mark. White Riot: The Week Notting Hill Exploded. 30 May 2012 <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/white-riot-the-week-notting-hill-exploded-912105.html>. | |||
The Teddy Boy Movement. 30 May 2012 <http://www.rockabilly.nl/general/teddyboys.htm>. | |||
Revision as of 08:06, 30 May 2012
During the 50s and 60s there was a boom of Youth Subcultures in Britain. With the American lifestyle coming to Britain there was the chance for British working class teenagers to afford fashionable clothing and to adopt the American way of life. Among other youth subcultures, the Teddy Boys were famous for their provocative fashion and the riots they were involved in.
Clothing As mostly all subcultures, the Teds also caused great sensation with their alternative fashion. They used the Edwardian fashion and applied and transformed “them to the situations and experiences characteristic of their own distinctive group-life and generational experience” (Clarke et al., 41). Consequently, the Teddy Boys adopted the style of the Edwardian Gentlemen in order to party and enjoy themselves. Usually the clothing consisted of a “drape jacket, […]suede Gibson shoes with thick crepe soles, narrow 'drainpipe' trousers, a smart shirt and a loud tie - usually of the 'Slim Jim' or bootlace type” (The Velvet Collar and the Iron Fist).
Riots
The Teddy boys were very often involved in fights with other young people who did not share their clothing or did not belong to the subcultural group. Fights often came up due to offences to their dress code. In 1953 there was the first murder of a Teddy Boy in South London at Clapham Common. A fight between three youths and some of the Teds arose because one of the teenagers had insulted one of the Teds (Clarke et al., p.68). Additionally, the Teds were present in the Notting Hill race riots in 1958 which had started “with a minor domestic dispute between a black man and his white wife” (Olden, 2008) and then turned into one of the most racial violent acts in Britain.
Sources: Clarke, John et al, “Subcultures, cultures and class.” Resistance through Rituals – Youth Subcultures in post-war Britain. Eds.Stuart Hall and Tony Jefferson.Abingdon: Routledge 2006, pp. 3-59.
Olden, Mark. White Riot: The Week Notting Hill Exploded. 30 May 2012 <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/white-riot-the-week-notting-hill-exploded-912105.html>.
The Teddy Boy Movement. 30 May 2012 <http://www.rockabilly.nl/general/teddyboys.htm>.