Skinhead
Skinhead is a subculture that started in Britain out of the intersection of Jamaican ska and reggae and working class youth. The skinhead look has been appropriated by 'white power' neo-Nazis, but is also used by those in the fetish and specifically gay fetish community as an image or character archetype.
The male skinhead image combines closely shaved or cropped hair with boots (lace-up Doc Martens style), tight jeans and Fred Perry polo shirts. This image has also crossed over into the leather culture and rubber fetish scenes, and latex versions of Fred Perry-style polo shirts are sold by a number of vendors. Rubber jeans are also often available in "skinhead" style, which are skinnier fit than standard and often designed to tuck into Doc Martens-style boots.
The skinhead image is not so prevalent outside the gay community, although there is a fetish for bald women.
Style
Hair
Late 2000s female skinhead with 1960s-style extensions Most first wave skinheads used a No. 2 or No. 3 grade clip guard cut (short, but not bald). From the late 1970s, male skinheads typically shaved their heads with a No. 2 grade clip or shorter. During that period, side partings were sometimes shaved into the hair. Since the 1980s, some skinheads have clipped their hair with no guard, or even shaved it with a razor. Some skinheads sport sideburns of various styles, usually neatly trimmed.
By the 1970s, most female skins had mod-style haircuts. During the 1980s skinhead revival, many female skinheads had feathercuts (Chelsea in North America). A feathercut is short on the crown, with fringes at the front, back and sides.
Clothing
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Male skinhead from the UK Skinheads wore long-sleeve or short-sleeve button-down shirts or polo shirts by brands such as Ben Sherman, Fred Perry, Brutus, Warrior or Jaytex; Lonsdale or Everlast shirts or sweatshirts; Grandfather shirts; V-neck sweaters; sleeveless sweaters (known in the UK as a tank top); cardigan sweaters or T-shirts (plain or with text or designs related to the skinhead subculture). They might wear fitted blazers, Harrington jackets, bomber jackets, denim jackets (usually blue, sometimes splattered with bleach), donkey jackets, Crombie-style overcoats, sheepskin ¾-length coats, short macs, monkey jackets or parkas. Traditional ("hard mod") skinheads sometimes wore suits, often of two-tone tonic fabric (shiny mohair-like material that changes color in different light and angles), or in a Prince of Wales or houndstooth check pattern.
Many skinheads wore Sta-Prest flat-fronted slacks or other dress trousers; jeans (normally Levi's, Lee or Wrangler); or combat trousers (plain or camouflage). Jeans and slacks were worn deliberately short (either hemmed, rolled or tucked) to show off boots, or to show off socks when wearing loafers or brogues. Jeans were often blue, with a parallel leg design, hemmed or with clean and thin rolled cuffs (turn-ups), and were sometimes splattered with bleach to resemble camouflage trousers (a style popular among Oi! skinheads).
Many traditionalist skinheads wore braces (suspenders), in various colors, usually no more than 1" in width, clipped to the trouser waistband. In some areas, braces much wider than that may identify a skinhead as either unfashionable or as a white power skinhead. Traditionally, braces were worn up in an X shape at the back, but some Oi!-oriented skinheads wore their braces hanging down. Patterned braces – often black and white check or vertical stripes – were sometimes worn by traditional skinheads. In a few cases, the color of braces or flight jackets were used to signify affiliations. The particular colors chosen have varied regionally and had totally different meanings in different areas and time periods. Only skinheads from the same area and time period are likely to interpret the color significations accurately. The practice of using the color of clothing items to indicate affiliations became less common, particularly among traditionalist skinheads, who were more likely to choose their colors simply for fashion.
Hats common among skinheads include Trilby hats; pork pie hats; flat caps (Scally caps or driver caps), and winter woolen hats (without a bobble). Less common have been bowler hats (mostly among suedeheads and those influenced by the film A Clockwork Orange).
Traditionalist skinheads sometimes wore a silk handkerchief in the breast pocket of a Crombie-style overcoat or tonic suit jacket, sometimes fastened with an ornate stud. Some wore pocket flashes instead. These are pieces of silk in contrasting colors, mounted on a piece of cardboard and designed to look like an elaborately folded handkerchief. It was common to choose the colors based on one's favorite football club. Some skinheads wore button badges or sewn-on fabric patches with designs related to affiliations, interests or beliefs. Also popular were woolen or printed rayon scarves in football club colors, worn knotted at the neck, wrist, or hanging from a belt loop at the waist. Silk or faux-silk scarves (especially Tootal brand) with paisley patterns were also sometimes worn. Some suedeheads carried closed umbrellas with sharpened tips or a handle with a pull-out blade. This led to the nickname brollie boys.
Female skinheads generally wore the same clothing items as men, with the addition of skirts, stockings, or dress suits composed of a three-quarter-length jacket and matching short skirt. Some skin girls wore fishnet stockings and mini-skirts, a style introduced during the punk-influenced skinhead revival.
Footwear
Most skinheads wear boots; in the 1960s, Army surplus or generic workboots, later Dr. Martens boots and shoes. In 1960s Britain, steel-toe boots worn by skinheads and hooligans were called bovver boots; skinheads have sometimes been called bovver boys. Skinheads have also been known to wear brogues, loafers or Dr. Martens (or similarly styled) low shoes.
In recent years, other brands of boots, such as Solovair, Tredair Grinders, and grip fast have become popular among skinheads, partly because most Dr. Martens are no longer made in England. Football-style athletic shoes, by brands such as Adidas or Gola have become popular with many skinheads. Female or child skinheads generally wear the same footwear as men, with the addition of monkey boots. The traditional brand for monkey boots was Grafters, but nowadays they are also made by Dr. Martens and Solovair.
In the early days of the skinhead subculture, some skinheads chose boot lace colors based on the football team they supported. Later, some skinheads (particularly highly political ones) began to use lace color to indicate beliefs or affiliations. The particular colors chosen have varied regionally and have had totally different meanings in different areas and time periods. Only skinheads from the same area and period will likely interpret the color significations accurately. This practice has become less common, particularly among traditionalist skinheads, who are more likely to choose their colors simply for fashion purposes.
Suedeheads sometimes wore colored socks (for example, red or blue rather than black or white).
See also
More information can be found at Latexwiki:Skinhead
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