teddy boy ac

teddy boy

 the name  teddy boy was not officially born until late september on the 23rd 1953 when the daily express newspaper headline shortened edwardian  to teddy and coined the term Teddy boy nevertheless it is also known that a number of girlfriends  of the working class edwardians were referring to them as a teddy boy way before  the newspaper (daily express).

in 1953 a major newspaper reported on the sweeping trend in mens fashion  came across all the towns of britain towards about the new edwardian trend
however the working class edwardian style had been on the street since 1951 by the working class and now passed down to a younger generation.

teddy boy competition at nottingharn 1956


Although the popular press of the day claim that the working-class Edwardian fashion was initially worn in south and east London during the early 1950's, the fashion was actually taking hold all over the country at the same time. Examples of this can be found in Newspaper reports and Photographs which confirm this. 


The origins of the Teddy Boys actually go back to the late 1940's when Saville Row Tailor's attempted to revive the styles of the reign of King Edward VII, 1901-1910, known as the Edwardian era, into men's fashions. The Teddy Boy fashion of the fifties has its origins in what was an upper class reaction to the austerity imposed by the socialist government in the years following the World War II.



Teddyboy emerged in the 1950s as Britain was coming to the end of post-war austerity and represented the first face of British youth culture. The consumer boom of the 1950s America did not reach Britain until the 1960s but nevertheless working class teenagers could for the first time afford good clothes, a bicycle or motorcycle and entertainment. 

The clothing that the Teddyboys wore was designed to shock their parents' generation. It consisted of an Edwardian style drape jacket, much too 'camp' for a working class man, 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 trademark drape jacket was not as impractical as it seems. Not only did it act as a badge of recognition but, as it was made of woollen cloth with lots of pockets, its kept it's owner warm as he hung around in the street and was also good at concealing weapons and alcohol.

The Teddygirls adopted American fashions such as toreador pants and circle skirts, although they tended to wear low cut tops to make themselves look less prissy. Girls wore ponytails and the boys tried a number of experimental hairstyles, the most favourite being the overblown quiff.