Ever noticed how often things become out of style? A band you thought had the best music ever made becomes awful and the very spawn of Satan himself in the space of about two weeks. Turns out that polo shirt with a popped collar makes you look arrogant and stupid rather than fashionable and articulate. What's cool and what is not varies more often than celebrity marriages. Narratives of the past are a near-perfect way to document those who at the time were the pinnacle of social situations. The 50s in New York City may not have had the same birth of culture that the Renaissance inspired, but it sure had a lot of kids dawning the greaser gang look. Note the use of sunglasses despite being inside a building. These kids probably felt like the coolest things since Marlon Brando, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Marlboro brand cigarettes . Regrettably however, Marlon Brando is dead, Jerry Lee Lewis made lame songs, and Marlboro brand cigarettes cause Marlboro brand lung cancer, which is actually just as bad as any other lung cancer. The picture above is from a narrative by Bruce Davidson in which he followed around with a group of the cool kids of the time. This example of the 50s is more shining than the gleam emitted from their hair styles, and offers two fantastic features: a perspective into the life during the 50s, as well as an opportunity to laugh at those who considered themselves so popular and emulated. To anyone who lived through the 50s, or perhaps "Survived the 50s" is more fitting, they were merely going somewhere new with their sense of style, albeit it, it was a fairly short ride, which lasted only long enough for the intelligent to realize that wearing leather jackets during the summer is a bit too much. It is a reoccurring theme that happens every decade or so; a new style emerges, and those from the past are mocked into oblivion. With perspectives into the center of social circles, those who come later may better understand those from years past, but will likely still mock them for their seemingly age-old sense of pop-culture.
