Teddy Boys [Ted] Subculture

The Teddy Boy subculture was typified by young men wearing clothes that were partly inspired by the styles worn by the styles which Savile Row tailors had attempted to re-introduce in Britain after World War II. 

The subculture started in London in the 1950s, and spread across the UK, soon becoming strongly associated with American rock and roll. 

Collective Identity

Wealthy young men adopted the style of the Edwardian era (where the inspiration for the trends originated from) featuring tapered trousers (aka drainpipe) often exposing socks,draped and long jackets and fancy waist coats. Footwear also consisted on polished 'oxfords' , crepe-soled shoes, a lot of suede and chunky brogues (creepers)

Around the time of the 'Teds', there were other groups with their own dress codes called 'scuttlers' in 19th century Manchester and Liverpool, but it is said that the Teddy Boys were the first youth group in England to differentiate themselves as teenagers, helping create a youth market. 

Teddy Boys mainly listened and danced to jazz and skiffle music, but rock and roll was a major part of the Ted lifestyle. There was even a dance that (could be said to have been adopted by them) they had which was the 'The Creep' (a slow shuffle) This lead to their nickname, Creepers (which is now also associated with the chunky shoes). The song "The Creep" came out in 1953, and was written and recorded for HMV by Ken Mackintosh. Although this was not a rock and roll record, it was widely taken on by the Teddy Boys of the time. 

Media Representation Identity

The US film Blackboard Jungle marked a watershed in the United Kingdom. When shown in Elephant and Castle, south London in 1956, the teenage Teddy boy audience began to riot, tearing up seats and dancing in the cinema's aisles. After that, riots took place around the country wherever the film was shown.

Some Teds formed gangs and gained notoriety following violent clashes with rival gangs which were often exaggerated by the popular press. The most notable were the 1958 Notting Hill race riots, in which Teddy Boys were present in large numbers and were implicated in attacks on the West Indian community.The violent lifestyle was sensationalised in the pulp novel Teddy Boy by Ernest Ryman, first published in England in 1958.

Here, is a  clip of 1950's Teddy Boy being interviewed by a News Reporter about an attack on a Vicar.

It seemed as if, people that weren't a part of the 'teddy boy' society judged them as troublesome people who only came out to harm others (or disturb) at a particular time, they seem to be able to pin-point s ted by their attire [BUT , it is actually said from research, ONLY about 15% of Ted's were actually dressed in the typical Saville Row attire, due to the fact that most Ted's were from the working class, and could not afford the suede and the draped ensembles ... so how was it easy for the media to ...lets say- spot the difference between the Ted and the Mod ?]