Punk is an anti-establishment movement that emerged in the mid 1970s in America. It became very popular in the UK during the late 1970s and remained popular in the 1980s.
The clothes suited the lifestyle of those with limited cash due to unemployment and the general low income of young people. Old clothes from charity shops were purchased. Whilst torn fabrics, frayed edges and defaced prints are now considered normal in the 21st century, in the 1970s it shocked many people, because it had never been seen before.
Trousers were deliberately torn to reveal laddered tights and dirty legs. They were worn with heavy Doc Martens boots by both young men and women. Safety pins and chains held bits of fabric together. Neck chains were made from padlocks and chain and even razor blades were used as pendants.
Body piercing in the 1980s became fashionable for punks. The punks had studs and pins in facial body parts such as eyebrows and cheeks, noses or lips. Tattoos were added to the body deliberately to cause offence.
A major part of the punk look was the hair which was often spiked into a
Mohican hairstyle by a variety of means including sugar and water solutions, pva glue, hair sprays and hair gel.
Hair was coloured with food dyes (just don't get caught in the rain!). It was intended to startle the onlooker and attract attention.
An alternative look was to shave areas of the scalp. Both sexes did this. They intended to make themselves look intimidating. Hair was sometimes dyed jet black or bleached white blonde. Eyes were emphasised with black make up and vampire like lips drew more attention to the face.
