I didn't want to withhold this information and pictures from an
article of the Life magazine of September 1942 from you. It shows
the American counterpart to the German swing youth.
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"SOLID" |
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In the late thirties a new youth culture arised in the USA called themselves
"Solid Diggers". These teenagers which obviously originate from more elevated
social circles had a striking appearance and provoked the conservative
American society with their behavior. They loved fast, hot swing and danced
a "wild" Jitterbug. The strongholds of her dance clubs were Washington
DC, Harlem and Hollywood. Their wasteful, lively craving for pleasure contradicted
the American war politics. The convention age was set down to 18, not at
last to stop the "shrill hustle and bustle" of these teens.
The Outfit:
"Hepcats " (boys) and "Hepchicks" (girls) loved the decadent, chic
lives. Their clothing consisted in mostly shrill colors of high-quality
substances, always made individually.
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The "Hepchicks":
The girls usually wore their shoulder-length hair open. Contrary
to the general fashion they tried to provoke by wearing a flared skirt
that didn't cover the knees . The "Juke-Coat", a long jacket similar to
a men's lounge jacket, covered the hips. This outfit was oblige as well
as the seamless stockings, which were almost exorbitant at that time. |
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The "Hepcats":
The boys wore their long hair casual - and a "Zoot-Suit". This Suit
had a waisted sports jacket with slot bags and shoulder pads and a breadth
of the shoulders which was up to 7 inches. The always different colored
pants with a protruding area around the knee ended in tight-fitted (unusual
in the 40s) trouser legs. Sometimes the Hepcats" wore extremely long key
or watch chains. |
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