Steps on becoming a greaser.

How to Become a Greaser

So after all the posts and blogs that have been made about greasers, one can concluded that there is no specific way to become a greaser. Since being a greaser can be a way of dress or a way of life (depending on the person), there simply can’t be a right or wrong to becoming a greaser.

The few suggestions I could give on becoming a greaser is to.

  1. READ or WATCH movies. What better way to see a greaser in action then seeing a movie about them.
  2. Talk to one. The 50’s might seem so long ago but the greasers at that time might actually still be alive. They just might be your grandparent, relative, or a friend’s grandparent/ relative. It never hurts to ask around.
  3. Or keep reading blogs about them. There are plenty of blogs on how to dress like a greaser. Being a greaser isn’t something that would be found in a science book or anything so looking around on the internet would really help a lot.

I found short video on YouTube that basically gives the best help there is to becoming a greaser. The video is very interesting because it touches points that I’ve previously mentioned in blogs before and it also touches points that have been mentioned on other blogs. Here is the video below.

Actually there are lots of other videos also about becoming a greaser on YouTube. Very interesting to watch if you have extra time on your hands, the videos might actually be more helpful or equivalent to reading  book or watching movies about greasers.


Next steps are to update your wardrobe.

  • Bright colors weren’t really apart of greasers wardrobe in the 50’s. More blacks, whites, grays. Very basic solid colors. Now It seems to be that guys can wear colors; more dark colors, plaids, etc. If you are a female than you have more options as far as colors. Red lipstick is popular. But keep in mind the goal is to still look fashionable.
  • Hair is essential for both males and females. Slick back hair for guys and big hair for girls.

I’ve found picture on Pinterest of an outfit that would fit into a greaser girl description and still be very fashionable. Here below is the picture of the outfit.

d1f54dce086541652aaeda1603b1ca68As one could see the color options for females is a lot more different for guys. Red is very popular. And the clothes are still form-fitting just how they were in the 50’s.

With all the tips and steps on becoming a greaser, always remember to be yourself. The fun part about clothes is self-expression.


ehow. (2009 May 19). Fashion trends & careers : how to become a greaser. Retrieved https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-xnajrwSPs

 

The “NEW” Greasers

Previously mentioned, the term greaser has been reinvented. And this time around the term is more favorable to those who wish to dress like greasers instead of those who chose to act like one. Here are some reasonings to why I believe this, as we know greasers have this “bad boy” act but who honestly calls “bad boys” greasers now? The answer is nobody.

As I was trying to search around online for examples of “modern-day greasers” I found a very interesting video that also proves my point that “greaser” is now more of a fashion statement than a way of being. I ran across this YouTube video that is very relevant to this blog post! As I was looking throughout YouTube, I found more “modern-day greaser” videos but this one fits this blog post the best. So here below is the YouTube video.


Funny video right? Very different from the reputation that greasers used to actually have. Maybe modern-day greasers see themselves totally different from how everyone else views them. Even though the 50s were way before my time, I can conclude that back then greasers were actually the tough guys around and now its just more of an imitation. “Greaser” is more of a term related to how one is dressed opposed to how they are acting. But that is just my opinion personally.

After I found the YouTube video, which I found funny, I continued my search to find more information about “modern-day greasers. I looked on the website Pinterest and found some very interesting pictures that also proved my point that “greaser” is now a fashion trend. For those who aren’t familiar with Pinterest, it is a website where people post pictures and blog their ideas. Very cool website. Below are a few picture from fellow bloggers on Pinterest.

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  • This is what a blogger from Pinterest called an “edgy greaser look”. I must admit very fashionable but not what a typical greaser girl would wear. But I guess this is the new greaser girl look.

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  • And this picture is also from Pinterest. More of a common greaser style especially with the hair. But honestly, I wouldn’t believe that he was a true greaser. He is very fashionable with the black leather jacket though.

But everyone has a different opinion. I’m not saying there aren’t any greasers left in the world. There just might be some true greasers at heart and I haven’t run across the right blogger to find them. I can only speak on what I see and that is a fashion trend. It also seems to me that the trend will not get old soon. So maybe if there aren’t any greasers right now than there might be soon after they get the right clothes.


Longson, R. (2012 June 29) Modern Day Greasers (Parody) Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z2_vXhC_BE

 

Greasers in Society.

  • Clothes are a form of expression. What a person wears usually shows the mood they’re in and sometimes it actually determines what type of person they are.

In the 1950s when greasers were first introduced society looked down upon them. And the reasoning for this was because they were known as “hoods” and dressed as such. At that time greasers were unpopular as we know. Fast forward to current days. Things have extremely changed. The norm is not dressing up everyday. The current look is very laid back, casual.


So the question is would greasers be accepted in society today? The answer is YES! Actually greasers would be considered the “cool kids”. No surprise that people do go out their way to learn how to dress more like greasers. In fact there are several online post that will actually guide you to “become a greaser“. These online post inform people on what to where and how to wear it. Very convenient if you’ve been watching or reading about greasers and want to change-up your look.

The way a greaser dressed in the 50s compared to now is similar but yet different. Of course everything wouldn’t be the same because we live in a different time and we’re basically imitating a look that was already done. Here below is how a “greaser” would look in today’s society..

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As you can see very different but still similar. Very much greaser inspired though. There are many differences in what society today would consider the “greaser look”.

  1. This style has more color to it. Even though the colors aren’t bright, greasers in the 50s basically wore black, grey, and white.
  2. The jackets are different. Back then the leather motorcycle jacket is considered the jacket for greasers. Now it’s also jean jackets.
  3. The young man in the middle barely has any leather on. The most that is leather is probably his shoes, if that.
  4. Also, notice the hair style of the young men in the picture above. Didn’t the name greaser have something to do with the whole hair process? In the 50s the men used to gel their hair into the middle of their heads unlike the three young men in the picture above.

Like mentioned, clothes is a form of self-expression, so why be exactly like another generation? That can explain why we put a twist to the whole “dress like a greaser” trend. In today’s society vintage is popular but being yourself is just as popular.  Celebrities such as Rihanna does this a lot. She wears her leather clothing, big hair, shape fitting clothing and still expresses her own style at the same time. She is the prime example of a greaser in today’s society.

Greasers in the Media.

The style greasers had were imitated throughout the years.  Greasers have appeared in the media probably more than we have realized. Sometimes it may be hard to recognize the greaser theme in a movie because they might have the time period confused with another one.

The common greaser based movie that most people know of is Grease. Grease is a musical film that was released in 1978. The sequel, Grease 2, was later made in 1982.

220px-Grease_ver2This is the movie poster for Grease. As you can see John Travoita, who plays Danny Zuko in this film is wearing a black shirt with his hair pushed back. Typical to how greasers were looking in the 50s. Of course greasers weren’t as cleaned up as he is because this is a movie poster but nevertheless this is generally the look.

A few other movies about greasers are…

  • Rebel Without a Cause
  • The Outsiders
  • The Wild One
  •  Cry Baby

And this list is only just some of the movies. There are plenty more about greasers that weren’t listed. Movies weren’t the only form of acknowledgement to greasers. For the person who is always on the go and just wants to enjoy a good 1950s book about greasers had options also.

Here is a list of a few books about greasers

  • The Outsiders
  •  Crash Club
  • That Was Then, This Is Now

Not as many books as there is movies but the books are equally entertaining. Also, the book The Outsiders is a movie. After a while a lot of books become movies or vice versa.


Dressing like a greaser has become very popular also. Now that style is way more popular compared to the 50s when people looked at greaser as the people with little fashion sense.  Plenty of celebrities and everyday people imitate this style.

  • One famous celebrity most people should know or at least know of is Elvis Presley. He often that often dressed similar to how a greaser would dress.

imagesCAJ0Y97IAs you can see very common to how they dressed with the hair and leather jacket. One thing that is slightly different is that he doesn’t have a white undershirt on. Well at least it’s not visible in this picture.

  • Another celebrity who is very well-known is Rihanna. She has many different styles.

imagesCA2X6Z9QNot a typical greaser girl but every much influenced by how the style of greasers in the 1950s. especially with the color black, big hair, leather, and red lipstick. She wears black a lot actually. Her style is very different to us now but very similar to the style in the 1950s.

  • Many other celebrities have moments when they choose the classic greaser look. Movies like Grease actually made the style seem “cool” and with the help of celebrities the look seems “cooler” which draws people to want to dress that way also.

 

How Do Greasers Dress?

At this time in history, greasers did not dress how everyone else did. They were actually known by their rebellious ways.

Normal people in the 1950s…

  • The style of dress in the 1950s mostly focuses on women.
  •  In the 1950’s women were wearing A line skirts and dresses that came to the bottom of the knee and their clothes were very form-fitting and form flattering.
  • At this time everyone dressed very polished.
  • Women were always dressed nicely, they also always had their hair done, and their pearls on.
  • Women were very into the puddle skirts also.
  • Men had their hair slicked back with gel and they wore what we would probably call today a very preppy style.
  • Men usually focused on the “business man” look.
  • A lot of people were actually starting to look-alike but thought they looked different because they had different patterns to their clothing.

Here’s how a male and a female who was not a greaser typically looked..

fifties-fashionThis look was very classy and sophisticated. People who were in high school was dressing like this. Which is not common now because everyone loves to be comfortable.

Greasers at the time were probably pretty comfortable because they dressed nothing like this picture above.

Greasers on the other hand had a different style.

Hair..

  • Usually hair was combed through with gel.
  • The bangs of their hair are elevated off of the forehead and the hair is slicked back.
  • The duck’s tail was very common. This is where the hair was combed toward the back of the head and a seam was formed where the hair from the sides met in the back.

Clothing and actual dress..

  • They were Converse Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers, motorcycle boots, cowboy boots or black leather engineer boots with steel toes.
  • They wore Aviator style sunglasses.
  • Tattoos were very common amongst greasers.
  • Blue jeans or black pants were the standard pants worn by most greasers. The legs of the pants were straight and tailored.
  • Most men would wear plain white or black t-shirts, undershirts or ringer t-shirts.
  • Greasers often wore leather motorcycle-style jackets.

Here’s how a typical male greaser would have looked in the 1950s..

220px-MHBgreaserAs you can see this look was completely opposite to how everyone else was dressing. This is one of the greasers rebellious actions. At that time schools really weren’t allowing people to dress like this but they did it anyway.


Greaser girls dressed typically like the males. Only things they did different was they didn’t gel their hair back. The girls were into the big hair. Also, the greaser girls wore form-fitting clothes and the circle cut shirts were a popular thing for them to wear.They also wore bold make up that was really attention catching.


Sources:

Skooldays Greasers. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3 2014, from http://www.skooldays.com/categories/fashion/fa1408.htm

Hambrin, M. (n.d). Guys’ greaser clothes of the ’50s. ehow. Retrieved April 3 2014, from http://www.ehow.com/info_8119269_guys-greaser-clothes-50s.html

What is a “Greaser”?


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A greaser is a youth subculture that originated in the 1950s among teenagers in northeastern and southern United States. Rock n Roll music was a major part of the culture and styles were influenced different singers such as Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bill Haley, and Richie Valens.


  • The name greaser came from their greased-back hairstyle, which involved combing back hair. Greasers from other races would have different hairstyles if they had curly hair like Latinos or African-Americans.
  • “Greaser” soon became a label for those young adults that rebelled.
  • The term “Greaser”  reappeared in later decades as part of a revival of 1950s popular culture.
  • The greaser subculture was largely a North American youth phenomenon. There were similar subcultures in
  1. United Kingdom
  2. Australia
  3. Italy
  4. Japan
  5. Sweden
  6. Germany
  7. South Africa

Here below is a picture of how a typical male greaser dressed.

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Typical North American greaser.
  • In the 1950s, 1960s, and 1980s, greasers were known as “hoods” (street punks). This is because the “greaser” look was more popular in working class neighborhoods that had higher crime rates than the upper class neighborhoods.

    Although males typically come to mind when mentioning greasers, males were not the only greasers at the time. Females greaser at the time were simply called “Greaser Girls”. They were just as relevant as the males.

Here below is a picture of a typical “Greaser Girl” .

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Greaser girls were also very popular in the working class for the same reasons as the male. The greaser girls were known for having very big hair opposed to the males with slick back hair. Greaser girls were also very popular in the North America region and had many of the same characteristics as the males.


  • Greasers were not known for having the best and most positive attitude. Their attitudes were not the best. They did not really put up with people’s “crap”. Since greasers had more of a “bad boy” image, one might conclude that others in the community could have been afraid of them.
  • People have their own ideas and opinions about Greasers. Today greasers have this cool, bad boy image. This was the complete opposite in the 1950s though. With all the  more current remakes of how the 1950s were, one might not know this about greasers.
  • In the high school settings, greasers were very unpopular people. Just like many current high schools, high schools are divided by the social class. There are the people who are “cool” or very popular, nerds,  jocks, cheerleaders, etc. In high school, greasers fell into the category of being unpopular.  Nobody really wanted to associate with greasers. They were looked down upon because they skipped class, smoked cigarettes, things of this sort.


Citation:

greaser (subculture). (2009). Retrieved March 24, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser_(subculture)