Return of the Rudeboy

By Dean Chalkley & Harris Elliott

Originating from the streets of Kingston, Jamaica in the late 1950s, Rudeboy or Rudie came to represent the young rebels who wore distinctively sharp sartorial styles such as Mohair suits, thin ties and pork pie hats.  The style was closely connected to the music movements of the time; their initial inspiration derived from American Jazz and R&B musicians as well as some notorious gangsters.  As is prevalent in the Rudeboy culture, the origins were appropriated and then twisted. The Rudeboy has travelled through time since then and evolved; in the 1980s, Two-Tone brought it right back into the frame.  Now today’s young men and women have adopted the swagger and adapted the essence of the original Rudeboy but for a 21st Century generation.

We found a box of these from the original launch of this must have book. We can’t believe it has been 7 years since the amazing Somerset House exhibition created and curated by Dean Chalkley and Harris Elliott.