FASHION,

GENDER AND
THE PURSUIT
OF EXPRES-
SIVE FREEDOM:
A TEDDY GIRL
REBELLION?
Katie Bearcroft
N0876448
XXFTK10001: Design, Culture and
Context 202122
BA (Hons) Fashion Design
Fig. 1- Teddy Girl (1955) by Ken Russell Vanessa Brown
3
 CONT
INTRODUCTION ................................
CHAPTER 1- AT THE BOMBSITE......
CHAPTER 2- A MANIFESTATION OF
CHAPTER 3-IT’S IN THE DETAILS...
CHAPTER 4-WHERE DID THEY GO?
CONCLUSION......................................
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS..................
REFERENCE LIST...............................
BIBLIOGRAPHY..................................
APPENDIX...........................................

4
TENTS
................................. 6
................................. 10
F REBELLION.......... 20
................................. 26
?............................... 35
................................. 40
................................. 42
................................. 43
................................. 45
................................. 50

5
 INTRODUCTION

From a young age I experienced social pressures to dress in a certain

way. The phrase “cover-up” is one I became used to, causing me
to ask the question: what was it we were covering up? For whom?
I distinctly remember a moment in school when our new headmistress
told us that our skirts were too short and “improper”. Our response?
We rolled them up even further. These small acts of rebellion,
demonstrated through our clothing, helped us feel like we still
had some autonomy despite the arbitrary restraints we encountered.

Following my desire to question been internalised and could not

social boundaries, I am interested be expunged from personality. It
to understand why people feel expressed a form of ego-related
the need to rebel, particularly defensive adaptation (adjustive
pertaining to the circumstances response) that emerged in response
that led to the emergence of to the ensuing status-frustration.
“delinquent subcultures”. These It denigrated conventional,
are groups of people, whom, with middle-class methods of gaining
a common constituent to rebel status and, instead, promoted
against, affiliate with one another. deviant means” (Barmaki, 2016,
Defined in an essay entitled p.797).
Deviant Behaviour a “delinquent
subculture” is explained as: The quote alludes to the fact that
social conventions are often the
“The result of failing to live impetus for emerging subcultures.
up to conventional, middle-class I am interested in investigating
criteria of personal achievement rebellion against social conventions
and worth that, nevertheless, had regarding class and gender such as

Fig. 3- Outl

6
 tensions between the upper and
working classes as well as the
expectations of members of society
based on gender. Since members of
subcultures are often recognisable
by the unity of what they wear
like the mods wearing mini dresses
(Fig. 2), or bikers wearing head
bands and sunglasses (Fig. 3). I
want to explore how fashion is
used by members of a subculture
as a tool to express discontent
against social correctness.

MODS
Fig. 2- Linda Keith, Chrissie Shrimpton, Suki Poitier in
the “winter” collection (April 1967) by Ossie Clark
and Alice Pollock, London.

law motorcycle club, Hell’s Angels (1965) By Bill Ray

BIKERS
7
 THE TEDDY GIRLS

Through my research into fashion and gender history, I became fascinated

by a group of teenagers from post-war Britain known as the Teddy Girls.
The Teddy Girls were the lesser-known female counterpart of the male-
dominated subculture, the Teddy Boys (Fig 4). The name “Teddy Boy”
was coined in September 1953 when a Daily Mail newspaper headline
shortened “Edwardian” to “Teddy”, and later shortened to the “Teds”.
They have been described as “Britain’s first teenage youth cult of the
modern, mass-media-dominated era” (Ferris & Lord, 2012, pp.5) making
them a noteworthy turning point for the youth in the post-war era.

Fig. 4- Teddy Boys with Teddy Girl (Jan 1955) by Ken Russell

8
“No one paid much
attention to theTeddy
Girls before I did”
At a time after the war, when women on Teddy Boys. They were tough,
would “express their independence these kids, they’d been born in
through fashion” by fighting against the war years and food rationing
the “constraints of clothing in only ended in about 1954 - a year
the fifties” (Mason, 2011, p.63), before I took these pictures. They
I want to understand how and why knew their worth. They just wore
fashion was used by the Teddy what they wore” (O’Hagan, 2010).
Girls to rebel against post-war
social convention whilst asking: I will also question why the Teddy
what were they rebelling against? Girls were not better documented,
especially since, conversely, the
I will analyse the Teddy Girls Teddy Boys were documented often, and
through photographs taken by Ken this was done much more meticulously.
Russell, a British film director
and photographer. Russell is the In what ways did the girls have
only photographer to have studied their own identity and agenda
Teddy Girl culture and taken apart from the Teddy Boys? Through
pictures of them, as he was taken my investigation into the Teddy
by their striking and unorthodox Girls, I intend to ascertain the
style. During an interview with answers to the questions raised.
The Guardian, Russell said:

“No one paid much attention to

the Teddy Girls before I did
them, though there was plenty

9
 1. AT THE BOMBSITE
POST WAR BRITAIN

In Stripe’s 2014 essay about the

post-war social climate, she
paints a picture of the society
that the Teddy Girls are likely
to have lived through. She writes
that after the Second World War,
society had hit a time of “political
austerity” (Stripe, 2014, pp.94-95
b39). Britain was still recovering
from the two World Wars, and its
inhabitants were still faced with
social and economic restrictions
such as rationing. Ferguson supports
this when he explains that by the
end of the war, Britain had amassed
an “immense debt burden [of £21
billion]” (Ferguson, 1973, p.148)
Fig. 5- View of London after the German Blitz (1940) by H. Mason.

Fig. 6- WWI London Blitz, East London (Sep 1940)

10
 opposing groups of people. This is
a reminder of why the Teddy Girl
subculture, which rebelled against
these austere social expectations
concerning variation, was such a
pivotal moment for fashion and
gender in the 1950s. Furthermore,
Stripe illustrates that during this
time there was an evident “mean-
spiritedness” and “oppressive
blandness” amongst the nation.
This depicts the bleak (Fig. 5 & 6)
and frugal society that followed
the war and indicates the common
desire to conform by not bringing
attention to oneself. Similarly,
Stripe highlights the fear and
uncertainty amongst the youth
which suggests that there was an when she writes that the “energy
acute economic pressure which is and courage” had been taken away
likely to have impacted on how from them. With nothing left to
people acted and dressed, leading lose, this suggests a turning
to a more frugal lifestyle, as point for the youth in which they
people could not afford much else. wanted to regain their identity
Stripe observes that at this time and diverge from the oppressive
there was a “fear of any changes in social expectations they faced.
the status quo, fear of deviation Therefore, it was no surprise that
or difference”. Anyone who was a rebellious subculture, which
“different” might have put others in subverted these social norms, fought
society at unease, as they weren’t for their expressive freedom, which
afraid to stand out, leading to they did overtly through fashion.
possible tension between the Some of the Teds’ choice of location

11
 to socialise was also controversial individuals, placing them amongst
and could be considered rebellious. the working-class population of
The Teds spent their time in urban Britain. Bombsites and estates were
London, hanging out on “estates, back considered poverty-stricken and
alleys, and bomb sites” (Osgerby, dangerous areas, and therefore not
2017). By spending their time away a place that the upper class would
from general society, in areas of be associated with. For examplem
damaged and deprived London, it the Teddy Girls can be seen in
suggests that they were not well-off the rubble of a building (Fig.7)
likely to have been
bombed during the
Second World War
as the photo was
taken in 1954. Iris
Thornton (Fig.8)
said “we grew up
playing on these
bomb sites”, whilst
Rosie Hendon (Fig.7
second from the
right) “lived in
the house directly
ppbon the right of
this bomb site”.
(Baker, 2016)

Fig. 7- Elsie, Jean, Rosie, Mary, Teddy Girls (Jan 1955) Ken Russell

“estates, back alleys, and

bomb sites”

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 Fig. 8- Iris Thornton posing with an umbrella (Jan 1955) by Ken Russell
IRIS THORNTON
The image is striking as there is In a 2006 interview conducted by
a clear contradiction between the The Guardian with Iris Thornton
suave fashion of the confident- (Fig.8), she informs us that she and
looking girls against the rough the girls were “instructed not to
backdrop of the bomb site. The smile” by Ken Russell. She pointed
girls look well put together in out that in some of the images this
Fig. 7, with a visually united caused the girls to “look really
front consisting of blazers, hard-faced”, insinuating that the
neckties, and rolled-up trousers. girls were not naturally this
This gives the appearance of them serious, and that the expression
being uniform, suggesting that they are holding is exaggerated.
there was a bond between these She emphasises this point when she
girls due to their co-ordination mentions that Russell might have
as well as the relaxed yet confident directed these photos in such a way
stance, hinting that they were to “make [the girls] appear scary
both comfortable together and felt and intimidating” (Baker, 2016).
that they had strength in numbers.

13
 SMILE FOR THE CAMERA

The account from Iris Thornton gives a new meaning to the photos, as
it causes us to experience the girls through a harsher lens, curated
by Russell, rather than the reality. This means that the girls might
not have been as intimidating as their expressions imply and this
rough portrayal of the Teddy Girls might therefore be misplaced.

During an interview with Judy

who was a Teddy Girl in the
1950s, and her son Dave who was
a Teddy Boy during the 1970s
revival, a first-hand account of
the subculture could be gained.
Whilst it is possible that
experiences in the subculture
were different due to location
and economic background, Dave
says about the images that:

“They are a little bit

realistic, but there aren’t
that many people who would
have had those clothes because
they were expensive, and they
didn’t have very much money.
In them pictures, I think
they are a bit more staged
and a bit more “gangstery”.
Nevertheless, they are Teddy fig. 9- Elsie Hendon and Jean Rayner outside the Seven Feathers Club (Jan 1955) by Ken Russell

Girls and Teddy Boys for sure. It is interesting that images such
There was that image of the as Fig. 9 & 10 could have had staged
Teddy Boys and gangs, and some elements, as it suggests that Russell
of it was just, but not all of wanted them to look more tough
it”. (Dave, 2021) and well-dressed than they were.

14
Fig. 10- 14 year old Jean Rayner dressed as a Teddy Girl (Jan 1955) by Ken Russell

“In them
pictures, I think
they are a bit
more staged
and a bit more
gangstery”

15
 In fact, Teddy Girl Judy found herself spending less time in bomb sites
and more on the dance floor and bars around “The West End and in Soho”
(Judy, 2021). She mentions that she enjoyed spending time at the 2i’s
(Fig 13) a popular coffee bar in Soho that some even call the “birthplace
of British rock and roll” (Johnson, 2020). This is due to the number of
famous rock and roll musicians to have been discovered there including
Cliff Richard, Tommy Steel, and Adam Faith, all of which Teddy Girls
like Judy enjoyed. The Teddy Girl style was greatly influenced by
this popular music genre which emerged in Britain in the 1950s and
it is undeniable that rock and roll was a key part of Teddy unison.

Fig 12- Site of the 2i’s coffee bar birthplace of

‘n roll and the popular music industry (1956

Fig. 11- 2i’s Coffee Bar Neon Sign (no date)

However, it was not only the Teds who

enjoyed the music. Mitchell claims
that “rock n’ roll is frequently
perceived as one of the most tangible
symbols of teenage identity during
the 1950s” (Mitchell, 2013, p.574).

2I’S COFFEE
Fig. 13- 2is Coffee Bar in Old Compton Street Soho (1963)

16
 At this time young girls often of the Education Act or “Butler Act”
dropped out of school and begin which was introduced by Rab Butler
work. Interviewee Mary, who was in 1944, which raised the school
14 years old in 1954 and lived in leaving age from 14 years old to 15.
the East End of London, revealed
that dropping out of school was The reason for the increase in age
common due to the lack of money and is implied in an essay about the
the need to support parents. She Act, where historian Sundermann
disclosed that at 15 she “started explains that “1940 war-time chaos
working at a hairdresser so I had a and destruction such as the bombing
bit more money.” She said that “we of London led to a creeping general
didn’t have much money, we lived in malaise” as well as reports of
a council flat, and all my friends “increased juvenile delinquency”
were the same”. This assertion is (Sundermann, 2015, P.21). This
repeated in articles about the Teddy would explain the effort to keep
Girls, showing how common it was at children in education longer
the time. Shaw gives us an insight since it is suggested that there
into the age and education level was unrest and signs of rebellion
of the Teddy Girls when she writes amongst the youth due to poverty
that they “often dropped out of and hardship caused by the war.
school and got jobs” (Shaw, 2019). However, the fact that girls were
f British rock This is likely to have been a result leaving school young, as well as the
6 - 1970)
reports of increases in juvenile
delinquency, might have led to
the assumption that it was this
group of youths that were causing
trouble. Teddy Girl Judy emphasised
this in the interview saying that
“people thought maybe the Teddy
Boys were a bit of bother, but it
wasn’t so. Perhaps the way they
dressed, but I don’t really know.
It was just a bit of stigma”. From
her perspective there was no real
cause for the intolerance towards
the Teds, and she questioned why

E BAR SOHO
people took issue with them.

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