Subculture, the meaning of style

Dick Hebdige

Dick Hebdige’s Subculture is one of the most influential books in cultural studies to have been published in the last fifty years. Acclaimed by Rolling Stone and The New York Times on its first publication, it is a classic study of youth subcultures and the story of style, from Reggae and Rastafarianism to glam rock and punk. Beginning with an explanation of such contested terms as culture, ideology, hegemony, style and subculture Hebidge also investigates the postwar styles of hipsters, beats, teds, mods, skinheads, rude boys, glam and glitter rockers, punks, and dreads. He also brilliantly analyses different facets of style, especially punk and working-class subculture and explores the commodification and diffusion of style by the media.