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Saturday, August 17, 2013

The post-war times of the Teddy Girls

night shift
at the factory
days posing
on bomb sites
we've had
two wars
since
Edward VII
will there never
be peace?





we Teddy Girls could win a war
against Teddy Boys but there are
fewer of us than them
what then?


swagger,
braggart,
let them
fight
over us
let them
make
all the fuss
cap-pistols
a mock duel
which we, 
not they,
inevitably
win

I remember hearing about Teddy Boys in England in the 1950s, but today Kerry has introduced Teddy Girls to the Imaginary Garden with Real Toads. Young women who worked in factories and offices, they wore pseudo-Edwardian clothing similar to that worn by their male counterparts: drape jackets, or tailored jackets with velvet collars, shirts with large white collars. As in the second photo, they often carried long, elegant clutch bags.


Photographs by Ken Russell in a series he titled, The Last of the Teddy Girls.



7 comments:

Joyful said...

Yes, these girls were so important to the employment force during the war. Funny how women became relegated again to the shadows after the war. Great photos.

Susan said...

Neat. I can almost here it in a british dialect ...

Grace said...

They can make all the fuss they like but we win at the end ~ Good one Kay ~ Happy weekend ~

SquirrelQueen said...

I vaguely remember hearing the term, Teddy Girls, but I had no idea what it really meant. Their attire is fascinating.

Susie Clevenger said...

What a great capture of Teddy Girls...Love how you ended it with the girls winning. :) Thanks for taking part in the challenge!

Anonymous said...

LOVE the notion of Teddy Girls. Knew all about Teddy Boys from the early days of the Beatles. I imagine these women were lesbians, free to cross-dress and have the attitude. Eventually, they were forced out of the limelight, into hiding... Amy

Kerry O'Connor said...

Your reading of the last picture is spot on.