Skinhead: Encyclopedia II - Skinhead - Style

Skinhead - Style

Skinheads who adopt traditional styles are highly visible in public to both allies and enemies. In terms of clothing:

Tops:

• Men: Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, Lonsdale, Brutus, Jaytex or Arnold Palmer brands; cardigan sweaters; T-shirts; button-ups worn with top unbuttoned, generally with no tie; narrow blazers
• Women: Same as men with addition of dress suits comprising a matching short skirt and ¾ length jacket with button-up.

Suits:

• Traditional skinheads are known to wear tailored suits to events such as soul dances or ska concerts. Skinheads are particularly known to favour tonic suits (also known as shark-skin suits), so named for the shiny material.

Coats:

• MA-1 type Flight Jackets (popular brands include Warrior and Alpha) in black or sage green; blue denim jackets (Levi or Wrangler); Harrington jackets; Monkey jackets; Crombie-style overcoats; sheepskin 3/4 length coats; Donkey jackets.

Bottoms:

• Men: Blue Levi's or Wrangler jeans, straight leg with rolled cuffs (turn-ups) to show off the boots, often with the seam cut off and sewn to give a neater, flatter turn-up, and "properly" fitted; Sta-Prest flat-fronted slacks and other trousers; bleachers (jeans splattered with household bleach to resemble camouflage trousers) popular among punk-influenced Oi! skins; combat trousers, popular among Oi! skins and scooter boys.
• Women: Same jeans and trousers as men, but also skirts and stockings. Some skingirls wear fishnet stockings and mini-skirts, but that was introduced with the skinhead revival, not in the 1960s.

Footwear:

• Men: Boots, originally regular army or workboots, then Dr. Martens (Docs or DMs) and later brogues and loafers. Grinders and other brand boots have now become popular, partly because Dr. Martens boots are no longer made in England. During the '60s, steel-toe boots were often referred to as "bovver boots" - thought to derive from the Cockney pronunciation of "bother".
• Women: Docs, Monkey boots or loafers.

Hats: Trilby hats; pork pie hats; scally caps (Benny in the UK); "flat caps" (driver's caps).

Braces: No more than ¾ inch in width (In some areas, wider braces are considered to identify one as either white power or a wanna-be.

Hair:

• Men: Originally, between a 2 and 4 grade clipguard (short, but not bald!); beginning in the late '70s, typically shaved close with no greater than a number "2" guard. Now some skinheads clip their hair with no guard, and some even shave it with a razor. This started with the introduction of the Oi! scene.

• Women: Skinhead girls commonly wear a "Chelsea" shaved on top with fringes grown out in the back and front. Also known as a feathercut.

Skinhead - Laces and braces

Some skinheads, particularly highly political ones, attach significance to the color of their laces, braces, and (less commonly) flight jackets, using them to advertise their beliefs and affiliations. The particular colors used vary regionally and locally, however, so only skinheads in the same area are likely to interpret them accurately.

The "braces and laces game" has largely fallen into disuse, particularly among Traditionalist skinheads, who are more likely to choose their colors for fashion purposes. Additionally, in many areas laces must be 'laddered'—arranged with the outside laces horizontal and parallel, resembling a ladder—to be considered of any significance.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Style", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki