![]() ![]() This “greaser” would ultimately become a nostalgic parody of the archetypal cool, edgy, bad boy. In the case of greasers, these films and shows sparked a trademark uniform of cuffed jeans, a white T-shirt, slick hair, and a dark leather jacket. In many ways, our mainstream idea of “The Fifties” today is much closer to that ’50s revival in the 1970s, rather than the actual 1950s. That 70s-80s boundary was the first 1950s revival, and it was huge. Directors who spent their formative years in the ’50s went on to make Happy Days, Grease, The Outsiders, American Graffiti, The Wanderers, American Bandstand, and much more cinema that was heaped with nostalgia and fondness of their childhoods. Unsurprisingly, the modern greaser was a product of late ’70s and early ’80s media. Isn’t that a mouthful? And just like its predecessors, it’s also its own thing. This set the stage for a revival of 1990s bohemianism, inspired by 1970s bohemianism, in the late 2010s. Just how you felt about the 70s, teens and young adults who grew up in that 1990s hippie retro-revival saw that as a part of their childhood. Time, rose tinted lenses, and even 1990s culture all had an influence on this ’70s revival, and they modified it into something that was similar enough that you could relate to it, but different enough to appeal to others as well. Blousy bohemian shirts and tie dye prints reminded you of simpler times and That 70s Show took you back to the good old days, but these new things were derivative. If you were a teenager or young adult in the 1970s, odds are you were grown up and well off enough in the 90s to be able to revisit those years - and you (along with many others of your generation) probably wanted to. But why did they come back to begin with? The answer is quite simple: nostalgia. Each time they came back, they changed a little bit. ![]() Take bell-bottoms for example: Cool in the 70s, cool in the 90s, cool today. Clothing (and culture in general) tends to go in and out of fashion in about a 25 year cycle. If you are a regular reader of VintageDancer’s fashion history articles, you know that fashion is cyclical. Cultural Telephone and the Power of Nostalgia In another decade, your loose associations with this idea of “greaserhood” will be enough to make you see yourself as an former greaser - even though that poster was the first time you had even heard of such a term. ![]() You certainly rebelled against your parents and liked rock n’ roll, at least. Perhaps you were an outcast, or a wannabe cool kid, or you got a job just so you could buy one of those motorcycle jackets after Marlon Brando wore it in The Wild One. Were you actually a greaser? Well, maybe not, but you can relate to them quite a bit. It’s over the top, but it calls for people just like you: rock n’ roll freaks, hoods, and former greaseballs - or, perhaps, greasers. One day, you pass a poster advertising a ’50s rock and roll party. You grew up in the ’50s, but you’re a college student now, and at least a semi-responsible adult. Picture this: It’s a small town of the mid-late 1960s. ![]()
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