Figure 1.--These inner-city London teenagers are wearing standard skinhead attire in the early-1980s. Notice the thin suspenders, tight jeans with narrow cuffs, and boots as well as the close-cropped hair. Along with the attire was a nilhistic outlook on life. Skinhead attire was most common for teenagers. Notice the normally dressed boys in the background.

Fashions often provoke strong feelings. One of the most evocative fashion trends was the skinhead look of the late-1960s, 70s, and into the 80s. Skinhead fashions were hated by many and loved by others. It began in England and spread to Europe and to a lesser extent America. Thee was a very strong social-class component. Boys, especially working class boys, but some girls also adopted the skinhead look. The movement consisted primarily of youths who came from the poorer classes, often but not always poorly educated, and were mostly city boys. The shirts were commonly button downs (originally a preppy style) with big collars. Popular brand were Ben Sherman, Brutus, or similar styles. The style was closely cropped hair, tight long-sleeved shirts (often patterned or checked), worn with very tight blue jeans and extremely thin "braces" (the British word for suspenders). The popular jeans were Levi�s Especially big E, or Wrangler. Sta-press, smart trousers were also worn. The kids often rolled up the bottom of their jeans if they were too long, and they liked to wear heavy high-top shoes/boots called "bover boots" which were kept quite well polished. Doc ,arins were especially popular. The boys slso were brogues, loafers, or of course Doc boots. Skinhead fashions were primarily for older teens, but a HBC reader, Bill, explains that he and other younger boys were also affected. A reader tells us, "I saw quite a few teenage boys dressed like this in London when I was on sabbatical leave in London in 1985-86. The movement consisted mostly (but not exclusively) of poorly educated youths who came from the poorer classes and were mostly city boys. The youths were reacting, it seems, against the dandified dress of their upper class contemporaries and they went in for a kind of anti-dandyism which was reflected in the care with which they dressed--to look like a tough "aristocracy of the streets". The skinheads were associated with teenage violence, but most of them didn't carry weapons. Originally, they had nothing to do with right-wing extremism although their style of dress was sometimes imitated a bit later in central Europe by neo-Nazi thugs."

Created: 11:35 PM 12/4/2011
Last updated: 11:35 PM 12/4/2011