What Is Rockabilly?

What is Rockabilly?

Rockabilly is a subculture that consists of the revival of the 1950s era. The term comes about from the fusion of 1950’s “rock and roll” and “hillbilly” cultures. The rise of rock-and-roll with the influence from country music style is what gave way to the term “rockabilly”. While the name didn’t initially take to the subculture, it was in the late ’70s that the term applied to a general grouping of people with this cultural phenomenon. Many may think that those who dress rockabilly are inspired from the 1950’s, however, this isn’t so. Most of the youth who took to this trend were rebelling against their parents, and society in general. Teen guys would cuff their jeans, and wear leather jackets. Teen girls would wear tight fitting clothing or shorter shorts than their peers. Rockabilly at its finest grabbed hold of what America’s early core values were centered around: freedom. However, over the course of time, this subculture has gone through many changes to arrive at wear it is today. The stages of rockabilly can be broken down into three major periods/types:

1. Authentic Rockabilly – 1950’s-60’s

2. Revival of Rockabilly, called “Neo-Billy” from the influence of punk-1970’s into the 1980’s. Women started to get tattoos, and there was a fusion of the punk rebellion with the 1950’s rebellion. Eye-liner, lipstick, earrings, and torn-up bowling shirts were not uncommon.

3. Second Revival, called “Authentic Rockabilly Movement”-1990’s. This was a time period when rockabilly revivalists went back to the roots of the movement, without all the glam or punk attributes. At this time, vintage pieces were too high for just anyone to join, so the rockabilly movement was just a core set of people within the world. There was an obsession with hairstyles, clothing, and actually living as though they were in the 1950’s.

When the Internet came to be, the exclusivity sought out by the last revivialists came to an end, and the ability for rockabilly fans to become part of the subculture was feasable. Now, in 2015, a fusion of all three types of rockabilly can be seen. Women can be authentic or neo-billy (tattooed or not), and men can wear bowling shirts or plaid. While Rockabilly has withstood time, it has definitely become more mainstream, influencing fashion in today’s world as well.

The image above depicts the modern day take on rockabilly, as you can see, it is a fusion of all the movements throughout the decades. Pretty interesting.

How to dress Rockabilly?

Women: Red lips, floral dresses, “wiggle” dresses, pencil skirts, heels, and wavy hair.

Men: Plaid button downs, flipped hair, gel, leather, and denim.