First there was the Preppy style which became popular and peaked in 1950 and consisted of the polo and button-down shirt in pastel colors. The most characteristic color for pants were khakis. It had a clean cut look. Qualities of the preppies included mannerisms, neatness, good vocabulary and etiquette. Preppies were children of middle to upper class families. In the movies "Rebel Without a Cause", James Dean made his fashion statement wearing his blue jeans ,white t-shirts and a jacket. His hairstyle was a flat top otherwise called the crew cut.Gang members, who wanting to look tough, imitated the Marlon Brando image, leather jackets, black boots, slicked back hair, riding motorcycles such as viewed in "The Wild One," therefore becoming known as the "Greasers" . Even other "Wanna be Greaser" youths that were not involved in gang membership would also copy the look. It was the fashion trend of that era. If you looked like a Greaser then you were considered "Hep," or a Rebel. So then, what was the Greaser look? The hair would be slicked back to the middle of the head, then with the end of a comb make a center parting, applying lots of petroleum jelly or olive oil resulting in the famous DA (Duck Ass) hairstyle. It also had a pompadour in the front with long side burns., The Greasers would, wear a rolled up t-shirt sleeve (black or white) tight trousers, baggy gray or blues, Levi jeans with rolled up cuffs, and denim or leather jackets with the collar turned up to be "hep." which was the popular look of those days. They also wore black boots. Toward the mid fifties tattoos became more popular among the Greasers. The teenage girls would wear their hair up and back in a pony-tail style with bangs. Most of them wore bobby socks and saddle shoes, with their circular felt skirts or other round skirts supported by petticoats, that had all sizes of poodle appliqués. They loved the tight pullover sweaters and would wear a scarf knotted in a cowboy fashion at the side of their neck , capri pants (known as peddle pushers), and tons of make-up.. It was an era viewed as down-right rebellious between parents and teen-age offspring's.
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