Some Wore Bobby Sox: The Emergence of Teenage Girls' Culture, 1920-1945

by Kelly Schrum

Images of teenage girls in poodle skirts dominated American popular culture on the 1950's. But as Kelly Schrum shows, teenage girls were swooning over pop idols and using their allowances to buy the latest fashions well beforehand. After World War I, a teenage identity arose in the US, as well as a consumer culture geared toward it. From fashion and beauty to music and movies, high school girls both consumed and influenced what manufacturers, marketers, and retailers offered to them. Examining both national trends and individual lives, Schrum looks at the relationship between the power of consumer culture and the ability of girls to selectively accept, reject, and appropriate consumer goods. Lavishly illustrated with images from advertisements, catalogs, and high school year books, Some Wore Bobby Sox is a unique and fascinating cultural history of teenage girl culture in the middle of the century.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Historical, Gender

224 pages, Hardcover

First published June 26, 2004

Reviews

[Nitrorockets · Rating 3 out of 5]

Society has been set on images of teenage girls in poodle skirts during the 1950's as being the beginning of teenage girl-dom. Author Kelly Schrum focuses on the economic power of teenage American girls beginning after WW I. Through her research she discovered that teenage girls have been swooning over movie stars and using their allowances to buy the latest make-up and fashions for years.

It wasn't until after WW I that a teenage identity arose in America and that's when the consumer culture became geared toward teens, focusing on females. Fashion, beauty, music and movies became the high school girl's fixation and both consumed and influenced what manufacturers, marketers, and retailers offered to them. She examined national trends and individual teen lives and compared the relationship between consumer culture and the teenage girl's ability to select, accept, reject and appropriate consumer goods.

I enjoyed looking at all the illustrations. There were wonderful ads from catalogs and high school year books. Some of the products are still around!

[Katie Blakesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting history of the creation of teen culture, specifically teen girl culture between the world wars. A few interesting tidbits: during this time, teen = girls and youth = boys. When youth meant both genders, typically it meant college age ish (18-25). Discusses how increasing high school attendance (both in the number of days, and the number of students who attended) led to an adult-free place where teenage girls and boys created a teen culture. Included interactions between teens and fashion, music, movies, beauty culture, etc. fashion was the earliest industry to recognize the power of the teen girl market; girls shaped and were shaped by their surrounding culture. I found the fashion and beauty chapters to be the most interesting. And depressing, as diet culture especially, starting in 1930, has shaped an entire century of American women. This book focused on white, middle/upper class girls, with a small nod to African American girls. Could have done so much more/included more information on girls of color and immigrants.

[Christopher Dalla Riva · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book establishes an interesting body of research around the emergence of teenage culture. The tone is very academic, so it’s not a page turner, but it helped me get a firm grasp about how people between the ages of 13 and 19 came to be viewed as their own demographic group.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was utterly fascinating. Turns out we really have our grandmothers and great-grandmothers to blame for the current teen/tween market going on. They were 12-17 in the 20s and 30s, paying attention to the women's ads and making themselves into the best little untapped consumer market ever. They pushed for the marketing.

Best parts were the teen diary entries - Beth Twiggar was my favorite. Also cool were the results from the 1920s and 30s teen market group. The teens would participate for years and the adults would comment on their trends and changes. Back then, they loved seeing 12 years with lipstick, powder, etc because it meant they were growing up and accepting their feminine roles and beauty needs, for example. But all the fights we see now with TV, clothes, etc exactly mirror the fights with movies and clothes seen in the 20s especially. Nothing ever really changes. *g*

[Donnell · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit too academic for me, so--I must confess--I did not read every word.

My favorite is the chapter on the movies called "A Guiding Factor in My Life." Another remind that those silent films we tend to disparage today were--in their day--life changing. With the entrance of the movies, parental influence on their children's lives (especially their teenage daughters) got its first, major, competition.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

a topic that completely fascinated me, however written a bit textbook-y and dry.

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to-the-point history of American girls of these decades. It transported me to another world and was very matter of fact. I highly recommend it.