The original rebel and style stars, Teddy Boys were a youth subculture characterized by their neo-Edwardian style in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Following the war, when young teens had dropped out of high school in favor of jobs, a generation of working class youngsters became known as the Teddy Boys. The group had taken to wearing original Edwardian duds from 1901-1910; including drainpipe pants, draped blazers with velvet accents and cropped denim. The Teddy Boy, shortened from Edwardian wore creepers and bolo ties, quaffed their hair and smoked incessantly. They were the first high profile, youth cult to receive attention from the press; wearing their style and rebellion as a badge of honor.
The Teddy Boy's female counterpart is often known as the Teddy Girl, but were actually called Judies at the time. Similar to Teddy Boys, Judies were made up of the working class youth and chose to cloth themselves in turn of the century, Edwardian fashions. They often wore draped blazers, button ups with large collars and pins, hair in a bun and cropped denim. These rough around the edge ladies were not quite as notorious as the Teddy Boys, but they played the part just right.
Check out more from the fashionable 50s subculture below!