Wednesday, 19 December 2012

The Teddy Boy: An Overview



After the war in Britain there was a need for the nation to regain pride in itself. The tailors of Savile Row started to create suits reminiscent of the ones worn when Edward VII reined. This symbolised a time when Britain was seen as great. However throughout the war the working classes had been promised a less class-ridden society and these new Edwardian style suits were opposing this. At the same time the increased number and spending power of adolescents had been noted by the marketing and advertising industries. Previously there had been no gap seen between childhood and adult hood, this sparked the birth of ‘the teenager’. In the late 1940’s–early 1950’s in mainly working class parts of London such as Elephant and Castle, this new youthful group adopted the Edwardian style of dress attempting to gain what they had been promised of a more classless society. Originally named Cosh Boys, they were eventually dubbed ‘New Edwardians’ or ‘Teddy Boys’.

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