The Classic Black Leather Jacket

Julie Conlon
Julie.conlon@carestreamhealth.com
April 15, 2012
585-709-8948

In today’s fashion world the black leather jacket is a must with fashion designers, and comes in countless styles. Everyone, men, woman and child are known to wear the black leather jacket; you can dress it up or dress it down. That was not always the case with the black leather jacket; at one time in history the black leather jacket reflected a statement of the bad boy, the rebel, the greaser, and gangs.
The black leather jacket stemmed from the original World War II Brown Bomber Jacket. Pilots were issued a standardized brown bomber jackets also know as the A-2 flight jackets. These jackets were made out of horsehide and lined with a heavy fleece, designed to keep the pilots warm due an open cockpit and changing climate conditions experienced while flying. Another flight jacket that was issued in the service was the B3 Bomber Jacket made out of sheepskin. These bomber jackets became poplar with not only the pilots, but all different divisions of the US Military. Military men could have patches stitched on they jacket representing their rank and your division. Wearing theses bomber jackets not only represented a strong military man, it represented power and prestige. Of course the bomber jacket became even more popular with a 1957 movie “Night Passage”, staring Jimmy Stewart, wearing a brown bomber jacket.

But when the movie “The Wild One” hit the movie screens in 1953 staring Marlin Brando wearing a white t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a Black Leather Jacket, this was when the black leather jacket made it day beau! Marlin Brando played a character named Johnny who was the leader of a motorcycle club. In the movie Johnny and his gang ride along the open highway, free as birds, they decided to stop in a quiet little town were their rebellious attitudes far from fit in, but they are so intimidating the towns people, including the Sherriff, put up with it at first. A few times in the movie Johnny was asked “What are you rebelling against?” and Johnny would say ‘Whaddya got?’ meaning just about anything. Another famous question in the movie is what the B.R.M.C initials on the back of their leather jackets stand for? The answer - ‘The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club’, right there, in the initials of the jacket, it came right out and said rebel. The gang ends having to stay in the town longer then thought because a gang member was hurt when he fell off his motorcycle. A rival gang then shows up to start a fight, a local man has had with the gangs, so he tries to drive through and brake up the fight, both gangs go after him overturning his car. Now the gang members seem unstoppable causing all sorts of ruckus and harassing the Sherriff daughter. Johnny rescues her taking her for a long motorcycle ride, she wants to ride off with him, he says no, she runs off crying, he runs after her. Town’s people believed that he was chasing her to hurt her, so they finally had enough and put the beat down on Johnny. Beat up, he tries to get away on his motorcycle, but is hit with a tire iron in the chase, he falls off his motorcycle and the uncontrolled motorcycle hits a little old man killing him. Johnny is arrested, but finally witnesses came forward with the correct story of what happened. Jonny is such a rebel that he can’t even thank the witnesses for coming forward. The gangs are ordered to leave and never come back.

Back in the 1950’s the youth was expected to go with the grain of society and not rebel against it, or encourage bad behavior. This movie was far from a typical Hollywood movie, it crossed social barriers, and reflected the culture changes that were happening, but were very much unacceptable. What kind of movie would make the rebel the star, with gangs invading small towns, causing conflict, this kind of movie really stuck to those who were trying to maintain morals and social rules in our society. The fear of Hollywood influence was so great that England ban the movie until 1969. But when it came to the black leather jacket seen in “The Wild One”, Hollywood’s influence immediately and had a very big part in associating or stereotyping the black leather jacket as worn by the rebel or the bad boys in our culture.

To coincide with the movie and The Black Leather Jacket stereotype, back in the late 1940’s a motorcycle gang was forming and growing fast in California called the Hells Angles. Today they are one of the largest motorcycle clubs worldwide, and known to ride mostly Harley Davidson Motorcycles. The Hells Angles were known to reflect the same kind of social status and behavior that the movie The Wild One portrayed. As in the movie Hells Angle members often wear a black leather jackets with patches that display their membership to the club. These patches have a white background with red lettering, because of the colors of the patch; they have also been referred to as “The Red and White”. For any motorcycle rebel, membership into the Hells Angles Club is considered a very prestigious status within that social circle; membership is a very lengthy process and is not easy to get in. They travel in packs and are feared when they ride into small towns just like in the movie and they have a history of causing extensive damage and trouble. Hollywood is still today making movies like Wild Hogs in 2007 that reflect the lifestyle of a Hell’s Angle, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Hogs. The Hells Angles club is considered by the US Department of Justice to be a club of organized crime, dealing in drugs, theft, violence and extortion. From the early years of the 1950’s till today, the Hells Angels have reeked havoc through out the world and are identified as members by the patches on their black leather jackets.

Within the rebellious community, in the 1950’s and 1960’ was another group that society called the Greasers. Greasers got their name from greasing their hair back, wearing the same kind of clothing as in the movie The Wild One, jeans, t-shirt and the Black Leather Jacket, again with names or initials representing belonging to a gang or a group. Greasers were mostly made up of American Italians and Hispanic descent. They were big into motorcycles, fast cars, racing on the back roads, smoking cigarettes and drinking. Greasers were know for gang and rebel behavior.

In the TV hit show Happy Day’s that aired in the 1950’s Fonzie (Arthur Fonzarelli), a good looking greaser, was the star of the show, always wore his black leather jacket, rode a motorcycle and when he thought something was cool, he would put up two thumbs up, lean back and say Eyyyy.. Fonzie was your typical Italian decent; he lived in apartment that was on the side of a suburban household, owned by the Cunningham’s, a white catholic family. On the show the Cunningham’s were always challenged somehow with the rebellious Fonzie, but they knew that deep down he was a good person. By the end of the ½ hour show Fonzie always came out the hero in the end.

Another famous Movie that betrayed the Greasers lifestyle from the 1950’s/60’s and their culture was the movie Grease that came out in 1978, with John Travolta and Olivia Newton John. The movie was actually a musical that reflect the rebellious teen age kids in high school times, racing fast cars, girls dressing provocatively, smoking, drinking, and sex John Travolta (Danny) falls for a good girl Olivia Newton John (Sandy) the summer before their senior high school year, they never thought they would see each other again, until Sandy’s family decides not to go to back to Australia and she is enrolled in the same high school as Danny. Immediately there becomes a social conflict between the two, Sandy the good girl, is shocked to find out that Danny is a greaser, back then good girls didn’t associate with greasers let alone date them. Danny is happy to see her but has to play it cool in front of his gang the T-Birds. Again the T-Birds patch was represented on their Black Leather Jackets, it was white with a big letter T, Birds spelled out underneath and had a symbol of a bird. http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=chr-yie8&va=t-birds+leather+jacket+movie+grease. Though out the musical Sandy and Danny struggle with each other’s social status and their love for each other. Danny tries to become a jock to win Sandy’s love and Sandy tries to become part of the Pink Ladies, which is the gang that hangs with the T-Birds. Finally at the end of the movie Danny shows up at the yearend carnival as a jock and Sandy shows up as a Greaser, with a lot of singing songs “like rama lama lama ka dinga da dong” and of course they end up together.

The movie Grease made a clear distinction between the two cultures of the times. Danny’s and his friends wearing the black leather jacket rebelling against society. The Pink Ladies gang, wearing their leather pants, low cut shirts, drinking and having sex with the T-Birds, snubbing their noses to the good girl image, having fun. Then there is Sandra D in the good girl dress with her pony tail, trying to live up to her parents and societies expectations. All the jocks with their sweaters that represent the school logo and what sports they are in, getting good grades, you would never catch them wearing a black leather jacket, because it would not portray the right image they were trying to reflect.

Per my opening paragraph the black leather jacket today is worn by everyone of any social status. Even today our society is still influenced by the black leather jacket, it can be designed to look classy, punk, warm, light, warn out, colorful, and whatever the look in the fashion industry the designer is trying to reflect. It has been designed in thousands of styles, but there still is the biker style black leather jacket that represents the bad boy or the motorcycle image in the movie The Wild One, the movie Grease and the in hit TV show Happy Days. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=biker+black+leather+jacke&id=4988C9CC194366404B9BD6DEC3BCD4B5404E07D4&FORM=IQFRBA#x0y0. During the 1950’s, 1960’s and even into the 1970’s the black leather jacket made its statement and express a certain image in our culture.

References:

Author Unknown (n.d), From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Retrieved on April 8, 2012

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_One

Author Unknown (n.d) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Retrieved on April 10, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hells_Angels Author Unknown (n.d) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Retrieved on April 10, 2012 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leather_jacket Author Unknown (n.d) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greaser_(subculture)

McComick, Melissa, (2012, March 12) What Did Greasers Wear in the 1950s & 1960s

ReRetrieved on April 8, 2012 http://www.ehow.com/list_7739655_did-greasers-wear-1950s-1960s.html Morgan, Kim. (n.d). Shiny Leather in the Dark, The Wild One
Retrieved on April 7, 2012 http://sunsetgun.typepad.com/sunsetgun/2011/03/shiny-leather-in-the-dark-the-wild-one.html Steele, Valerie. (1997). Fifty Years Of Fashion: New Look To Now. Yale University Press