Teen+Fashion+and+Lifestyle

Important facts: During the 1950s, the teenager clothing style changed tremendously from the early 1900s. New trends and hairstyles were brought about during this time period. Teenage girls wore preppy type clothing; cashmere sweaters, scarves, and puffy poodle skirts. They also wore pedal pushers which were cuffed up calf length trousers and many teens wore saddle shoes. Greasers were boys who wore denim jeans and leather jackets and rode motorcycles, as seen in the movie __Grease__. Many of the girls wore ponytails and the boys greased their hair back. "Teddy Boys", originating in England wearing drapes, a long knee length jacket, became popular in the US in a more rock and roll style. These were the people who danced the jives. Rock and roll became a big hit during the time period and was a basis of teen's lifestyles. Since teenagers had money, they bought rock and roll records as a way of having fun. Also, socializing with friends became more popular and an easy thing to do and also many girls wore varsity jackets of their boyfriends. Girls had crushes on the latest teen idols such as Frankie Avalon, Bobby Darin, Ricky Nelson, Paul Anka. This was also the time period where "hip", "groovy", and "cool" came into being.

Historical analysis: The 1950s coined the term “teenagers”, since before there were mainly categorizes of either children or adults. Teenagers made their big debut during this time period, clearly distinguishing themselves from the other age groups. They helped create a new market for the time period since they were very big consumers. The markets created clothing especially for teens which helped added to the "boom" of the economy. Their new style of music also set them apart from the adults. Teenagers were living their own life during these years and it truely brought about their independence that is seen later years. The 1950s showed the first signs of teenagers starting to rebel. They got past their "prudishness" and went on dates and such. With their rebellion came rock and roll, where teenagers really started to live a different lifestyle.

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