Bootcut jeans, a white t-shirt, worker boots, leather jacket, a shit ton of gel in the hair and a cigarette in the mouth – your grandpa looked exactly like this when he was young? Then he may have been a so-called Rockabilly. They loved motorcycles and were known to do all kinds of mischief. They defined an entire decade.
The term Rockabilly initially described a music genre that emerged in the 50ies in the USA as a fusion of country music and black blues music. Nowadays, it refers to a lifestyle that is heavily inspired by the fashion and the appearance of that time. In the USA and in Japan, the rockabilly look is still very popular. There you can spot entire rockabilly cliques meeting up on a regular base and showing off their vintage motorcycles. Rockabilly describes a lifestyle revolving around music, loud engines and the right appearance. Of course, 50ies inspired hairdos with lots of grease in the hair are absolutely obligatory for a male rockabilly.
It’s a subculture. However, compared to many other subcultures, it has been existing for much longer. As all the other scenes and subcultures, the Rockabilly scene nevertheless underlies changes as well. But the iconic greasy hairdo will never be out of fashion in the Rockabilly scene.
