Bopper And Greaser Girls example essay topic

Greasers, at the same time dubbed Boppers, and were the ultimate rebels. They tried to behave as thus they were teenagers raised in broken, dysfunctional homes. They formed gangs in order to substitute the family that many of them lacked. Inspired by Marlon Brands biker style in the 1951 film The Wild One, their significant style became leather and denim. Leather was not a mere fashion statement, it protected them from knife wounds and falls from their motorcycles. Greasers and Boppers wore slim-fitted denim jeans that were cuffed to high ankle, white T-shirts with cuffed sleeves to show off biceps or hold cigarette packs, and carried a comb in the back pocket of their jeans to maintain the perfect coif.

They would slick back their hair with large amounts of Vaso line or Brylcreem hair grease, from which they were get their name. Greasers girls define themselves from the Peggy Sues by wearing short haircuts as opposed to flirty ponytails, neck scarves to hide hickeys, tight shirts, slim skirts or cigarette / capri pants, and stiletto heels. Bopper and Greaser girls gave freely what the angelic Peggy Sues kept sacred. Boppers and Greasers played bad because it was cool and was the trend of fashion, and not necessarily because they were bad. The good girls Peggy Sues, on the other hand, had a more flirtatious and feminine style.

The highlight of their wardrobe was the circle or poodle skirt. It was a huge circle of fabric with a center space for the waist. These skirts could be worn softly draped, or with layers of crinolines or petticoats underneath for a fuller look. They were mid-calf length and worn with a wide belt to display the smallness of the waist. Poodle skirts were circle skirts with the addition of felt or embroidered decorations. They turned the simplistic circle skirt into a work of art.

It was top of the fashion to have the fullest skirt possible so ones appliqu could be seen clearly. Peggy Sues competed in who has the keenest skirt. Not only were poodles commonly showcased on these skirts, but also cats, fish, dice, flamingos, and cars. Next to their poodle skirt, females wore the shirtwaist dress. It offered firm, clean style, as well as casual comfort and practicalness.

As the Victorian hourglass figure made a comeback in the 1950's, the shirtwaist dress reached this look through a pleated or full skirt and a nipped-in waist. The popular wasp waist brought back the use of waist corsets for women, or the more comfortable and modern rubberized girdle. Young girls get into the dress in competition to their graceful mothers, walking across the living room floor in shirtwaist dress, pearls, short-heeled stilettos, apron and martini salver. The shirtwaist was a grown-up style for mature girls, while younger girls imitated the dress with the softer styles of lace collar and puff sleeves. Undergarments were necessary for the slim waist effect of the shirtwaist, and a girls first girdle was a rite of passage into womanhood. If people werent rebellious, they had one option to be Squares and Peggy Sues the good kids.

Because of its conservative college preparatory influence, the Squares style was dubbed the Ivy League Look. Their wardrobe commonly consisted of neatly pressed chinos, button-front plaid shirts, cardigan sweaters, argyle sweater vests, and penny loafers or bucks. Hair was either neatly trimmed and side parted with the aid of Brylcreem, or cut into a flat top or crew cut. High achievements in the class, good manners, neat hair and conservative clothes guaranteed you an idyllic and wealthy life, with an obedient housewife by your side. The prospective wife would ideally be a Peggy Sue, a girl who was looking for the good life, and finding the perfect man was the surest way to fulfill the American dream. Thats the girl most of the parents were aiming for their offspring.

By being either a Greaser with a dark, rebellious look, or a Square with the more classic and sophisticated appearance, one would be in line with the style of the 1950's. The rebels were not rejecting conformity in general they were, in fact, conforming to their own style and way of life. Whether a housewife wearing a shirtwaist dress or a Bopper with a greasy coif, ones thoughts and ambitions were the same. In the 1950's, the mindset was to fulfill the American dream of wealth and success. Irregardless to social class or status, society desired to be normal, and if being normal meant wearing gigantic poodle skirts to the high school sock hop, or argyle sweater vests and chinos as leisurewear, then people was that much closer to being normal.