If you’re looking for a 1950s costume for Halloween, costume or theme party, then why not consider dressing up as a Teddy Boy? Girls were, fairly logically, known as Teddy Girls, or sometimes Judies.
Teddy Boys were a British subculture that originated in the 1950s, and which saw a resurgence in popularity in the 1970s, although they were initially called Cosh Boys, and which were strongly associated with rock and roll, even though they first listened to jazz and skiffle.
Teddy Boys were inspired by the dress of the dandies during Edwardian era some 40 years previously under Edward VII who ruled from 1901-10. One of the abbreviations of Edward is Teddy, hence Teddy Boys. The attire was inspired by, rather than true to, Edwardian dress. Teddy Boys would later partly inspire the Mods.
The Body
One of the primary parts of the Teddy Boy outfit is the drape jacket, or frock coat, a fitted coat with a knee length skirt and long sleeves. For the Teddy Boy, these would usually be in dark shades (unlike the 70s glam rock group Showaddywaddy who tend to wear brighter colours), with a velvet trim collar and pocket flaps.
Under the jacket would be worn a waistcoat (or vest, for Americans) and a shirt. The shirt would be white, high necked and loose collared, and worn with either a “Slim Jim” tie or a Western, or bolo tie. The waistcoat would be brocade.
The trousers would be “drainpipe” which were slim fitting, high-waisted and often exposed the socks. Footwear favoured crepe soled shoes such as brothel creepers, a type of suede shoe, polished Oxfords, which are black or brown shoes, often made of leather, or Brogues, a similar type of shoe to the Oxford but patterned.
The outfit itself was usually tailor made, and therefore expensive.
The Head
The hairstyle was often very noticeable. Extensive use of grease resulted in a hairstyle with a quiff at the front with the sides and back combed to form what is called a “duck’s arse” at the rear. Hair was worn long in order to achieve this.