The rockabilly style at Mondo Kaos

Have you ever seen the term rockabilly used in connection with some clothing, for example a swing dress , that you like? What is rockabilly and how does it influence the vintage style clothing we have at Mondo Kaos and which you may have at home in your vintage wardrobe, that is what we look at a little in this blog post.

Do you also think that it is difficult to define, and find head and tail in it? Then it is quite simple because it is a style that embraces widely.

But first of all, Rockabilly is the name of the earliest rock and roll music.

It is a style of music that arose in the connection between country music and 'rhythm and blues' in the USA in the 40s and 50s. The word Rockabilly itself is also a mixture of the two, namely 'Rock'n'Roll' and Hillbilly.

Hillbilly is the word used for fans of classic country and western music.

If you're still a little bit at a loss, then the forerunners are musicians like; Bill Haley, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley.

Hear tracks for you such as Rock Around the Clock, Be-Bob-A-Lula, Blue Suedes Shoes and Hello Mary Lou.

The music originated in a meeting between white working-class musicians and African-American musicians, where they mixed the black style of music with country music.

Since the music in particular belonged in the 50s and swing dancing belonged in the environment, the 50s style of clothing also became an expression of Rockabilly.

Throughout the history of fashion, clothes and music often go hand in hand, and Rockabilly is no exception! Inspired by the music of the 50s, Rockabilly fashion took on a life of its own as it used recognizable fashion elements from both music genres and combined them to form something new and exciting. For example, it is the typical 50's swing dresses and skirts that are the epitome of Rockabilly, but it does not have the neatness of the 50's. Often the combination is somewhat cruder. A leather jacket, a retro print T-shirt ...

Rockabilly also became the expression for the young and wild, in 50's Britain the English Teddy boys became associated with this style. The music was new and wild, one must remember that Elvis Presley was not allowed to be shown on TV from the hips down. The look thus became an expression of this young and raw style.

Although the roots of Rockabilly fashion are planted well in the 50s, the influence it has had on music, film and fashion can be seen in every decade since. Rockabilly, for example, became big again when the swing style and swing dance gained prominence again in the 70s and 80s. In particular, it was taken up with an element of the raw and rocked, later even punk, to create a distance to the neatness of the 50s.

The story of Danny and Sandy - the film that we may all have seen and know the songs from, is a well-known and loved film that describes precisely the environment surrounding youth and rock music in the USA in the 50s.

The film is from 1978, and you can clearly see that it is the 50s seen through the eyes of the 70s. The film helped cement John Travolta's super star status as well as making rockabilly culture more mainstream popular again. While many of the numbers were written for the musical, there is also plenty of original rockabilly music in the film's soundtrack, giving it a deliciously authentic 50s feel.

If you need inspiration to watch other rockabilly inspired movies, you can watch the movie Cry Baby with Johnny Depp and Ricki Lake. It takes place in 50's Baltimore and is a musical romantic comedy. The plot is the classic "bad boy, meets and falls in love with good girl". If you loved Grease and want more, but with a real 'bad boy'.

Or at the more serious end, you can watch 'Walk the Line', the film about Johnny Cash's life from his childhood in poverty to the times of fame. It follows both the beautiful love story and his battle with addiction and stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. A wonderful film about a great artist that is clearly worth seeing.

Today, the rockabilly environment is not just 50s style but a development of the style over time from the 50s onwards. Still rooted in the original music, rockabilly today combines influences from rock music, country music, 50s fashion and a bit of a raw attitude. It is a fashion that has seen decades of transformation and slow transformation, culminating in the unique genre that it is today.

Here is a small guide to follow if you want an authentic Rockabilly look

Tops and blouses : Tight-fitting tops that emphasize the figure. Beautiful cuts such as sweetheart or off-shoulder tops are perfect for this look.

Pencil skirts & pencil dresses: Classic length around the knee or below. They must of course fit well and the skirts must be high-waisted so that they highlight the waist and hips.

Swing dresses and swing skirts : Lovely waisted dresses and skirts, with the right swing when you spin around, and possibly with a petticoat underneath.

Pants : High-waisted jeans and cigarette pants in red or black. They can be full length or 3/4 length, and please use upskirts.

Swimwear & lingerie : High waist and beautiful vintage cut, preferably with a little support underneath to support the body.

Colors and patterns: In contrast to the nice pastel colors of the 50s, the focus here is on the strong colors and especially red, white and black is a classic rockabilly combo. The most common ones here are dots, cherries and stripes.

To complete your Rockabilly look, we always recommend styling and accessories. It can be in the form of the small bandanas for the neck that we carry in the store, or it can be the beautiful hair flowers or bracelets.

The sexy stockings with seams from What Katie Did in e.g. red or green are also an obvious choice for styling, just as we have leopard and fishnet stockings from Swedish Stockings which also give your Rockabilly look a twist.

And of course the right shoes also belong to your look, and we always have a lot of beautiful shoes in vintage 50's style.

We look forward to seeing you and helping you style your personal Rockabilly look.

Best wishes,

Team Mondo Kaos ❤