Button-down shirts became staples, the aforementioned Ben Sherman among the most popular brands of the day. Workmanlike, they earned respect from the elders of working-class communities, benefitting the Skinhead in social standings as well as aesthetic. Classic English leather from Northamptonshire’s finest. Perfect youth attire neat with minimal effort. Levi’s Sta-Prest were the jean of choice, as they could be worn straight out of the wash with no ironing necessary. There was the short leg of the trouser, a way to flaunt pristine white socks, and – for skins – boots. Mod and Rudeboy were aligned in their love of sharp suits, and elements of formal dress made their way into the Skins style too. This, combined with the already popular Mod dress, would form the basis of Skinhead fashion. And as the native working-class rejected the bourgeois hippie ideals of the time, they embraced the style sported by many of their new neighbours, known as Rudeboy. The 1960s saw England ‘welcome’ an influx of Jamaican immigrants, many of whom took up residence in poorer, inner-city areas. But before the media hijacks fascist ideologies and football rivalries, the Skinhead movement emerged from England’s working-class estates as a symbol of racial harmony. Never has a subculture been so fraught with controversy, and never has it been so eager to betray its roots. Even now, 40 years on from the movement’s doomed second wave, the sight alone of a bare-headed Ben Sherman wearer is enough to make an onlooker (internally) question, “racist?”. And most damning of all, the crude anger strewn across the face. Skinhead: the look of the neo-Nazi. Worn-down Doc Martens laced up well above the ankle. Right arms raised in salute through the sleeve of a military bomber jacket.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |