Dressing like a skinhead?

[seven.homme]

like how they dress up...

[mr fluffernutter]

my ex girlfriend dyed her hair too much and it was damaged, so she decided to shave her head and start over.

some kids at her high school thought she was a skinhead chick and keye'd "skinhead" on her car door in huge letters and she had to get it repainted.

gotta watch out for that shit.

kids these days.

[hommeetfemme]

I recently realized that I'm starting to look dangerously like a skinhead. I wear Levis almost all the time. I just shaved my head to a number 1 guard. I wear black combat boots most days. And, I tend to wear lots of military surplus. I've also been lifting weights.

Is this is bad taste? I don't look like a white white person (closest to Robert DeNiro in Taxi Driver - but with bigger eyes), and don't act like a skinhead. Still, I wouldn't want to be sending out the wrong message.

Is the way I dress in poor taste, or is it okay to look kind of like a skinhead? I'm about to buy a black Fred Perry polo, but I don't want to make it worse if I'm already sending out the wrong message.

Just to clear it up, I'm not trying to look like a skinhead, it's just sort of happened.

Honestly, if that's where you're at right now, be there now. Don't let other people dictate what you should or shouldn't be wearing. As long as your not flashing a swastika tatt on the back of your shaved noggin who the fuck cares?

Be you now and no other.

Your tastes will defintely evolve and this is a stepping stone. Embrace it brother.

[London]

that being said, people are going to judge you based on your "skin-like" attire. You may have to deal with the negative repercussions that come with that style

[sohoADDICT]

Random observation on racism...whenever you have a person saying Black Power...hey its ok. White Power? Nah its super racist.

Anyway...its just clothing. As long as you don't think and act like a racist, it's not really a problem

when black people say black power, its more like black empowerment, as in blacks rising up, working hard, and being proud of their heritage, not black power as in blacks taking over or whatever lol.

in general, the majority of power positions in the world are held by white people, so when someone says "white power".... well, we all know what that means

[airportlobbytx]

While I like a lot of skinhead and mod style, deep down, I have little but contempt for the people who bought into these youth groups. It takes a sort of cowardice and laziness to be totally governed by external tastes. Really, I don't see how skins are any different from todays hypebeasts or wiggers - total acceptance of one lifestyle and set of (often misguided) aethetics as somehow better than others. I'm pleased that Sharps pretty much seem to have disappeared from my town.

The early Mike Leigh movies have some memorable skin characters as well, check out Meantime - Gary Oldman is a skin, and Tim Roth is his borderline retarded acolyte.

[mspark]

when black people say black power, its more like black empowerment, as in blacks rising up, working hard, and being proud of their heritage, not black power as in blacks taking over or whatever lol.

in general, the majority of power positions in the world are held by white people, so when someone says "white power".... well, we all know what that means

Couldnt have said it better myself.

I used to go to the Hardcore showcases on Sunday afternoon at CBGBs during the 80s. I dressed like a skinhead (basically) and Im black. Never ran into any racist skinheads but i knew alot of black,latino and jewish skins. Thats New York for you.

[mlproject]

^^ @ airport:

I can't disagree with that more. At the core, a lot of these early youth movements stood for something and had something to represent (working class, etc). Moving away from that, I can see your parallel once fashion transcends beyond its ideals, and turns into a trend like hypebeasts who have nothing to celebrate other than sneakers.

I do see a lot of people throwing everything but skinhead style out the window when becoming a freshcut (most humorous was a few guys i knew that did it at 29), but at least skinhead, mod, suede, whatever has some heritage to it and is based in traditional menswear. I wouldn't call that misguided – they all have deep roots. Now, people jumping all over this and that i'll-suck-your-dick-for-that-colorway dunks is only backed up by hype, not almost 40 years of music, culture, style and smart wardrobe staples.

[poly800rock]

I also hardly doubt the OP actually resembles a skinhead. thousands wear levis, cropped hair, and black military boots all the time. But that doesn't mean you look like a skinhead.

[ktothe]

Post more links with mods/suedheads.

Thanks.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

THIS site looks like it was a decent resource once upon a time but sadly many of the pics are 404ing on me and some links are dead

[denimdestroyedmylife]

found a site with plenty of pics of 70s and 80s skins

[denimdestroyedmylife]

am i crazy for wanting to splash my jeans with bleach?

[poly800rock]

my one buddy did that back in the day. he was riding the r5 and some little girl called him cow pants

[polishmike]

am i crazy for wanting to splash my jeans with bleach?

not at all. i wore my bleached jeans with my docs to most of my college interviews back in the day. few women almost shit themselves when they saw me

the best method was to just throw them in a bucket and pour bleach on top of them.

[mlproject]

bleachies always fell apart rather quickly in the knees and shit because of the bleach fucking up the fabric... we'd always lay them flat and pour it over the fronts with a cup then do the back, then rinse.

i just might have to make a new pair.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

a brief history of skinheads (plus merchandise [they also have an eBay store])

[airportlobbytx]

I can't disagree with that more. At the core, a lot of these early youth movements stood for something and had something to represent (working class, etc). Moving away from that, I can see your parallel once fashion transcends beyond its ideals, and turns into a trend like hypebeasts who have nothing to celebrate other than sneakers.

I'm just suspicious of so-called youth or street culture. Just like hype beasting, while there is a lot of lip service paid to vague, often stupid, political ideas, 99% of the energy went into going to shows, getting drunk, trying to get laid, and getting into fights, just like all the other dudes. I'm not saying skin culture is bad - I'm just saying it is wrongheaded to celebrate it, nostalgically, as some great thing. Most middle aged English people will tell you that skins were just better dressed soccer hooligans or chavs. Like those poxes, skin style was marked by a deeply conformist attitude.

I like a lot of skin head style and music, too. But I can't say it is any better, objectively, than American street style of hip hop style. The fact that it is slightly older (perhaps) does not mean it is more valuable.

[poly800rock]

i agree completely here. and it's not like kids today are really getting a good sense of what the whole thing is. I loved so many bands that spawned out of the early 80's oi! scene and also a lot of the ska stuff from the 60's. But I've seen skins bash the shit out of people in philly. These guys were seriously out for blood. And the whole right wing nationalist thing always rubbed me the wrong way.

[hawkeye]

H0jkv2bRFgQ

Cant wait.

[poly800rock]

don't get your hopes up, its not as amazing as it looks

[mlproject]

apparently you missed my point. at the core, a lot of these youth movements stood for a lot, but just like anything else, things always get diluted once the media gets ahold of it and trends start to spread. at that point you're going to get the same composition of any group of people.. you'll have the meatheads looking for fights, people that solely bite the fashion, girls that are only into it because their boyfriends are, whatever.

if anything you could say hypebeast culture rose out of hip hop, or even more distantly from football casuals, from the love of sneakers, but you've got a lot of twisted roots to trace. most of these other subcultures were original and unheard of when they emerged. everything today still jumps back and pulls influence from those originators. hypebeast culture to me is more rooted as a fashion movement more than anything, without any social issues necessarily backing it up. then again, you have brands like rockers who bring in idealism surrounding punk and reggae, taking on racism, etc. it's just another spin off the "original" - whatever that is.

now don't get me wrong, the history of skinhead is totally marred by violence, but i still feel that goes back to my same point - it typically comes from groups that adopted the style after initial the initial sects developed the original ideas. most prolifically when the skins of the mid 70s saw supporters wearing the style and towards the late 70s, national front took on the style, sharps, and then a lot of today's skins, whether nazis from BFE, drunks, whatever behaving as they please.

at the heart of most youth movements is a sense of rebellion, which i'm sure we can all relate to, and that's ultimately what i'll always celebrate. what's created within the subcultures is what defines them. that's why i'll celebrate these movements - for their style, music and attitudes in an original sense.

edit -- this is england was an entertaining bit, but after the fun 1st half, it got way depressing toward the end. recommended, though!

[PAID VACATION]

i really enjoyed THIS IS ENGLAND, i thought it was great. growing up in the punk/hardcore scene, i felt like the film just was straight foward in the oddity of adolescent groups of friends regardless of its music and skin frame.

best line "do you want to suck my tits" i was on the floor laughing.

[denimdestroyedmylife]

^ i cant wait to see that picture, i guess i gotta wait until next week though

Warp Films - This Is England US Screenings

AUGUST

10 Music Box - Chicago, IL

10 Tivoli Theatre - University City, MO

10 Kendall Square - Cambridge, MA

10 Claridge - New Jersey, NY

10 Shattuck Cinemas - Berkeley, CA

10 Lumiere Theatre - San Francisco, CA

17 Ritz 5 - Philadelphia, PA

17 E Street Cinema - Washington DC, DC

17 The Plaza Theatre - Atlanta, GA

17 Zeitgeist - New Orleans, LA

24 Grand Theatre - Ellsworth, ME

24 Harris Theatre - Pittsburgh, PA

24 Belcourt Theatre - Nashville, TN

24 Hollywood Theatre - Portland, OR

31 Keystone - Indianapolis, IN

31 Main Art - Detroit, MI

31 Inwood Theatre - Dallas, TX

SEPTEMBER

07 Lagoon Theatre - Minneapolis, MN

07 Dobie Theatre - Austin, TX

07 Tower Theatre - Salt Lake City, UT

07 Varsity - Seattle, WA

OCTOBER

21 Guild - Albuquerque, NM

[jayrock]

On a hilariously unrelated sidenote:

I was playing Tiger Woods 07 on Xbox this weekend with a person who was new to the game. When explaining the controls I said something along the lines of, "black spin! white power!" The black button puts spin on the ball whereas the white button is to power up. Pun was recognized, hilarity ensued. Mostly because there weren't any black people around.

[poly800rock]

my buddy always said velvet underground should have named their album "white light, white heat, white power" that always cracked me up

[PAID VACATION]

i know its not the same, but THIS IS ENGLAND is on tvlinks in 5 parts. i watched it bored at work. its not a theatre dub but just ripped from a uk review copy

[jpgm]

great movie, i loved it.

[azad]

was rocking docs, levis, and a harrington earlier today lol.

there really is nothing wrong with 'looking like' a skin. most likely no one on the street will notice what you wear and associate you with the subculture anyway. if anyone does, they probably are well informed enough to know the difference between a skinhead and a bonehead.

[pentangrams]

http://cgi.ebay.com/2072-SKINHEADS-AGAINST-SHARP-Embroidered-Sew-On-Patch_W0QQitemZ160145305585QQihZ006QQcategoryZ53250QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem

Sew that on any shirt you wear and you're set!