Greaser Style: Now

So, how can we evolve the limited selection that is Greaser fashion?

Now in modern day, the lines of fashion are more blurred and expansive for any style. We can have blends of greaser and rockabilly. We can put a little dash of punk or grunge into Greaser fashion. Modern day fashion takes inspiration from past trends, and popular figures. Nostalgia has become a common troupe in pop culture, hence this blog. For instance, Elvis and Jimmy Dean has been an inspiration for my style of dress. 

I would like to show you my take on greaser fashion is updated with more current trends. Instead of a black leather jacket, I have a brownish, dark chocolate colored jacket. I would pair it with slim fit bright jeans with some unique design elements, a plain white t-shirt, and black leather sneaker/boot hybrid.

Jacket: Express

Boots: Call it Spring

Jeans: H&M

Shirt: Fruit of the Loom

Since Elvis Presley was a huge inspiration for greasers, you can try and emulate his jailhouse rock look, like I did. I paired a jean jacket, with normal jeans and a black and white bar t-shirt. The ensemble is topped off with black leather derby shoes.

Jacket: unknown

Jeans: Levi’s

Shirt: H&M

Shoes: H&M

I personally like to incorporate a little Rockabilly into my style of dress. I did so with a red, white, and blue flannel, a simple, white t-shirt, cuffed blue jeans and purple converse. I added grey socks and a red bandana to both fit the style and give it more edge.

Shirt: Volcom

Jeans: Levi’s

Shoes: Converse

Since, I’m not afraid to pair denim on denim, I bought a denim button down, which I tucked into my jeans. You can cut the fabric channel with a black belt. I added a gold and navy bandana tied to my wrist. I added black leather Chelsea style boots to give it a slickness to it.

Shirt: H&M

Jeans: Levi’s

Boots: H&M

Lastly, I noticed a stellar denim and leather hybrid jacket on Amazon. I figure it would go great with a blue and white strip shirt, black spandex/cotton blend pants and white vans.

Jacket: Zicac

Shirt: On the Byas

Pants: On the Byas

Shoes: Vans

Send in your ideas and combinations about what you would put into the mix of greaser fashion!
Away we go, Rockabeau ;)

Greaser Style: Then

There is a definite good and bad about greaser fashion. It is easily identifiable but almost too limited in selection. Of course, women have a larger collection of looks due to an abundance of different types of clothes, while men are left with just shirts, jeans, jackets and footwear. Unless you don’t mind societal gender standards, then any selection of garment is all up to you.

Denim, leather and cotton were the most popular types of fabric used by greasers. Durable fabrics were needed for the dirty jobs that greasers would work, such as a being a mechanic. Flannels, tank tops, t-shirts and button downs with rolled up sleeves were also acceptable looks. A mute color scheme, such as grey and navy, is a preferable selection to complete the classic look. Footwear included motorcycle boots, leather boots, and sneakers. Shoes in the subculture are usually a Converse brand.

Accessories to the classic greaser aesthetic include leather gloves, tube socks and a switch comb. A now not-so-acceptable habit of smoking cigarettes completed the aesthetic. A classic outfit for a greaser is a plain white t-shirt, black leather jacket, boot cut jeans and black motorcycle boots. This ensemble was worn by Marlon Brando in The Wild One.

There was not much documented for women’s wear on account that women were still treated like property in the greaser gangs. They weren’t revered as much as their male counterparts, but there just as identifiable as the men. Some stereotypical styles of dress for women in the gang were black tops with white polka dots, bandanas worn to keep up-dos in place, a pencil skirt, and red heels.

The classic look of greaser didn’t focus too much on trying to be different. It was just nonchalant at the time. Men and women weren’t afraid to show off their attributes such as toned arms or sick tattoos. But if you’re stick thin like me, a hot leather jacket can still grab anyone’s attention

And away we go, Rockabeau ;)

The Short History of Greaser Subculture

Behind the hair gel and Harleys stood the greasers. And no, this is not a fan club for Grease, the musical. Greaser subculture was an American zeitgeist for 1950’s youth. Leather-clad working class teenagers, also known as “hoods”, made their mark on American culture. Greasers where actually one of the first types of street gangs. The subculture inspired a style and social commentary among American youth that was brought to mainstream media and became a caricature for rebels all over the country. Greasers allowed the youth of the 50’s to look past America’s superficiality and rely on budding individuality.

The greaser subculture became prominent in the late 1940’s and 1950’s. The word was used to describe blue-collar teenagers by their peers. The subculture was surrounded by poverty-stricken and crime-ridden neighborhoods and held a non-conformist attitude to social norms of the time.

The term “greaser” has numerous definitions in relation to it use in the subculture. The most substantive definition came from the Greaser Act of 1855. Also known as the Vagrancy Act, this law was an anti-Mexican law. According to Wikipedia, the law states "all persons who are commonly known as 'Greasers' or the issue of Spanish and Indian blood... and who go armed and are not peaceable and quiet persons."(3). The term greaser was originally used as a derogatory term against Mexicans who would grease the hinges of shopping carts.

The greaser subculture of the 1950s used this as a form of rebellion, since a good portion of teenagers among greaser gangs where Hispanic. The superficial term for greaser originated from the slicked back hair that these teenagers would usually show off. These looks would be created using pomades and gels. Notable celebrities of the subculture were James Dean and Marlon Brando. Their film appearances in Rebel Without a Cause and The Wild One, respectively, furthered the style’s glamour.

Now that we know the origin of this subculture, I want to contrast how we will fit Greasers into modern day society. A new age model should reflect the injustices that occur in societies today, but more on that later. ;)

And away we go, Rockabeau

Sources

Retrowaste: http://www.retrowaste.com/1950s/fashion-in-the-1950s/1950s-greasers-styles-trends-history-pictures/ 

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser_(subculture):

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser_Act

Weebly: http://thegreasersubculture.weebly.com/background-information.html

Rockabeau? Who is Rockabeau?

Hello, I, am Rockabeau

Before I detail the tantalizing future of my blog, I want to give you a bit of insight as to who I am.

I was born on a farm, smack dab in the middle of two towns, each two miles outside of my home. On the lot where old cars I would play in and climb on. In one of the barns was a tractor shed; there was an old motorbike that I would sit and daydream of riding on the highway with my hair tasseled to the wind. I would always slick my hair up and play with toy cars. But one day I found a VHS copy of Grease. My mom told me it was a musical, so I suddenly lost interest. But I couldn’t stop staring at Jon Travolta on the cover. Through copious amounts of hair gel, I would try to emulate his hair cut. His pout wasn’t bad either, if you know what I mean.

As I got older I left my toys for my idols. My 8^th grade teacher assigned the class to read the novel that changed my life, The Outsiders. There was finally a book that could keep my attention. The film left quite the impression on myself, as well. After waking myself from day dreams of Matt Dillon, I started to craft my own personal style. I looked up music to correspond with newfound strut, snatched hair gel from my sister’s vacation tote bag and nicked one of my mom’s combs. I owned the streets every time I would walk down the block.

Back in the day *laughs* which were 6 years ago, I didn’t understand why I became so attracted to this lifestyle, but reflecting upon it now, it makes more sense to me. I was coming to terms with my eccentric family and my sexuality. I was born in a conservative town and I had to keep my exuberant personality stifled. Observing documentaries, videos, and media about greaser subculture was so pleasing to me. Identified with the outcast, a stylish one at least, brought me a sense of serenity and acceptance. The overall aesthetic of a classic greaser was both cool, but tough looking, two qualities I wanted to be respected for. Bullying had ravaged me in my youth, and I wanted to bite back so desperately, so I wanted to emulate a group of people that would fight tooth and nail for their own.

Now in my college years, my aesthetic is down to a science and friends in abundance. But I want to bring a legitimacy to my part in the greaser subculture. There is more than the glamour of black leather jacket. I want to learn the more in-depth details of this subculture. I want to learn with you and modernize greaser subculture. I want to revolutionize what we listen to, what we wear, what we drive and who we are about, while taking notes from the past.

Please join me on my journey, or should I say, our journey, as I try to modernize greaser subculture through fashion, music, and cars. I want to expand upon a community of outcasts and discover how we can fit the mold of the current day and age. But then again, are we still outcasts? Denim certainly isn’t out of style and to be an outcast is more so popular than ever now. 

follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/rockabeau

And a way we go, Rockabeau ;)