Years active | 1970s-1980s |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Major figures | Hoxton Tom McCourt |
Influences | Skinhead, Mod |
Influenced | Mod revival |
The suedehead subculture was an early-1970s offshoot of skinhead subculture in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Although sharing similarities to 1960s skinheads, suedeheads grew their hair longer and dressed more formally. [1] [2] Although often working class like skinheads, some had white collar jobs. A female suedehead was a sort.
Suedeheads wore brogues, loafers or basketweave Norwegians instead of heavy boots. Suedeheads wore suits (especially in check patterns such as Prince of Wales and dogtooth) and other dressy outfits as everyday wear instead of just at dancehalls. Crombie-style overcoats and sheepskin coats became common. Most London suedeheads wore a silk handkerchief in the chest pocket of their Crombie, which also had a circular tie-pin through the Crombie and the handkerchief. Shirts often had large button-down collars, usually either pointed or rounded, called butterfly collars. The top shirts were Ben Shermans with a back pleat and top loop. Early on the most common style was a large windowpane check worn under a tank top. At the height of the era, shirts changed to muted pastel shades, with the colour being governed by the day of the week. Sta-Prest trousers became worn more than jeans, which had been common with skinheads. Although the most popular form of trousers were the 2Tone Tonik, which changed colour as they moved. The most common base colours were blue and green, whilst the most favoured secondary colours were red, yellow and gold. Another characteristic was coloured socks—such as solid red or blue—instead of plain black or white. [2]
Suedeheads shared the skinheads' interest in rocksteady, reggae, soul, R&B, funk and ska, [2] [3] but some suedeheads also listened to British glam rock bands such as The Sweet, Slade, Ziggy Stardust and Mott the Hoople. [2] [4] In the late 1970s, most Suedeheads closely followed groups such as The Beat, Madness, the Specials and other artists on the 2Tone record label.
Suedeheads were portrayed in the east end London-based film Bronco Bullfrog and the Richard Allen novel Suedehead. [3] [5] [6] In the late 1970s, a suedehead revival developed following the 1977 skinhead revival. This originated with a small number of individuals such as Hoxton Tom McCourt, who also became involved with the mod revival of the late 1970s.
In the early- to mid-1970s, many suedeheads also owned Lambretta scooters and there was a type of mini-mod revival. It was a crossover movement based on style, music, clothes and was most common amongst working-class teenagers living in the larger inner-city conurbations.[ citation needed ]
In the 1980s, a number of fanzines were dedicated to the Suedehead culture. This includes The Suedehead Times, which released three issues between 1985 and 1986. [7]
Morrissey released a single called "Suedehead" in 1988, although the lyrics appear to have nothing to do with suedehead subculture.
A skinhead or skin is a member of a subculture that originated among working-class youths in London, England, in the 1960s. It soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working-class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in the late 1970s. Motivated by social alienation and working-class solidarity, skinheads are defined by their close-cropped or shaven heads and working-class clothing such as Dr. Martens and steel toe work boots, braces, high rise and varying length straight-leg jeans, and button-down collar shirts, usually slim fitting in check or plain. The movement reached a peak at the end of the 1960s, experienced a revival in the 1980s, and, since then, has endured in multiple contexts worldwide.
Punk fashion is the clothing, hairstyles, cosmetics, jewellery, and body modifications of the punk counterculture. Punk fashion varies widely, ranging from Vivienne Westwood designs to styles modeled on bands like The Exploited to the dressed-down look of North American hardcore. The distinct social dress of other subcultures and art movements, including glam rock, skinheads, greasers, and mods have influenced punk fashion. Punk fashion has likewise influenced the styles of these groups, as well as those of popular culture. Many punks use clothing as a way of making a statement.
Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) are anti-racist skinheads who oppose white power skinheads, neo-fascists and other political racists, particularly if they identify themselves as skinheads. SHARPs claim to reclaim the original multicultural identity of the original skinheads, hijacked by white power skinheads, who they sometimes deride as "boneheads".
A suit, lounge suit, business suit or dress suit is a set of clothes comprising a suit jacket and trousers of identical textiles generally worn with a collared dress shirt, necktie, and dress shoes. A skirt suit is similar, but with a matching skirt instead of trousers. It is currently considered semi-formal wear or business wear in contemporary Western dress codes, however when the suit was originally developed it was considered an informal or more casual option compared to the prevailing clothing standards of aristocrats and businessmen. The lounge suit originated in 19th-century Britain as sportswear and British country clothing, which is why it was seen as more casual than citywear at that time, with the roots of the suit coming from early modern Western Europe formal court or military clothes. After replacing the black frock coat in the early 20th century as regular daywear, a sober one-coloured suit became known as a lounge suit.
Rude boy is a subculture that originated from 1960s Jamaican street culture. In the late 1970s, there was a revival in England of the terms rude boy and rude girl, among other variations like rudeboy and rudebwoy, being used to describe fans of two-tone and ska. This revival of the subculture and term was partially the result of Jamaican immigration to the UK and the so-called "Windrush" generation. The use of these terms moved into the more contemporary ska punk movement as well. In the UK and especially Jamaica, the terms rude boy and rude girl are used in a way similar to gangsta, yardie, or badman.
Mod, from the word modernist, is a subculture that began in 1950s London and spread throughout Great Britain, eventually influencing fashions and trends in other countries. It continues today on a smaller scale. Focused on music and fashion, the subculture has its roots in a small group of stylish London-based young men and women in the late 1950s who were termed modernists because they listened to modern jazz. Elements of the mod subculture include fashion ; music and motor scooters. In the mid-1960s, the subculture listened to rock groups such as the Who and Small Faces. The original mod scene was associated with amphetamine-fuelled all-night jazz dancing at clubs.
The 20th century saw the rise and fall of many subcultures.
Crombie 1805 Ltd., formerly known as J&J Crombie Ltd., is a Scottish fashion company, producing high-end clothing and accessories under the Crombie brand name. Crombie is most famous for its luxury coats; so much so that the word 'Crombie' is sometimes used by other companies to refer to their own coats produced in the style of Crombie's most famous three-quarter length overcoats, although the Crombie company has been known to take legal action to prevent this trademark word from being used generically.
A blazer is a type of jacket resembling a suit jacket, but cut more casually. A blazer is generally distinguished from a sport coat as a more formal garment and tailored from solid colour fabrics. Blazers often have naval-style metal buttons to reflect their origin as jackets worn by boating club members.
The Teddy Boys or Teds were a mainly British youth subculture of the early 1950s to mid-1960s who were interested in rock and roll and R&B music, wearing clothes partly inspired by the styles worn by dandies in the Edwardian period, which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after the Second World War.
Fashion in the 1990s was defined by a return to minimalist fashion, in contrast to the more elaborate and flashy trends of the 1980s. One notable shift was the mainstream adoption of tattoos, body piercings aside from ear piercing and, to a much lesser extent, other forms of body modification such as branding.
Trojan skinheads are individuals who identify with the original British skinhead subculture of the middle 1960s, when ska, rocksteady, reggae, and soul music were popular, and there was a heavy emphasis on mod-influenced clothing styles. Named after the record label Trojan Records, these skinheads identify with the subculture's Jamaican rude boy and British working class roots.
The uniforms of the United States Navy include dress uniforms, daily service uniforms, working uniforms, and uniforms for special situations, which have varied throughout the history of the navy. For simplicity in this article, officers refers to both commissioned officers and warrant officers.
Fashion of the 1980s was characterized by a rejection of 1970s fashion. Punk fashion began as a reaction against both the hippie movement of the past decades and the materialist values of the current decade. The first half of the decade was relatively tame in comparison to the second half, which was when apparel became very bright and vivid in appearance.
Workwear is clothing worn for work, especially work that involves manual labour. Often those employed within trade industries elect to be outfitted in workwear because it is built to provide durability and safety.
Bodgies and widgies refer to a youth subculture that existed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1950s, similar to the rocker culture in the UK or Greaser culture in the United States. Most bodgies rode motorbikes but some had cars, many of which were hotted-up with accessories such as mag wheels and hot dog mufflers. Males were called bodgies and females were called widgies.
'Hoxton' Tom McCourt is the former bassist and bandleader of punk rock/Oi! band, The 4-Skins. He was one of the most influential members of the skinhead revival of 1977 to 1978, the mod revival of 1978 to 1979 and the Oi! movement from 1979 to 1984.
A scooterboy is a member of one of several scooter-related subcultures of the 1960s and later decades, alongside rude boys, mods and skinheads. The term is sometimes used as a catch-all designation for any scootering enthusiast who does not fall into the latter three categories.
Azerbaijani traditional clothing is the traditional attire of the Azerbaijani people. It is closely connected to its history, religious culture and national identity.
The peacock revolution was a fashion movement which took place between the late 1950s and mid–1970s, mostly in the United Kingdom. Mostly based around men incorporating feminine fashion elements such as floral prints, bright colours and complex patterns, the movement also saw the embracing of elements of fashions from Africa, Asia, the late 17th century and the queer community. The movement began around the late 1950s when John Stephen began opening boutiques on Carnaby Street, London, which advertised flamboyant and queer fashions to the mod subculture. Entering the mainstream by the mid-1960s through the designs of Michael Fish, it was embraced by popular rock acts including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Small Faces. By the beginning of the 1970s, it had begun to decline due to popular fashion returning to a more conservative style.