Chav

tʃav/

noun

Britishinformalderogatory

noun: chav; plural noun: chavs

a young lower-class person typified by brash and loutish behaviour and the wearing of (real or

imitation) designer clothes.

Key Chav influences are:

Chavs are stereotyped with being brought up in a working/ under class family where money and quality of life is deemed as low.
Due to low family income, Chav's are brought up in a lower class area, possibly on a council estate where there are other families who are in similar circumstances. Socialising with each other on these estates will lead to a change of appearance and attitude into a Chav stereotype.
Peer Pressure becomes an issue in a Chav environment. Chav's become mates with people who can peer pressure them into certain activities the public expect chavs to partake in, such as vandalism and there crimes. This gives 'Chav' as a subculture a negative label.

Chav Interests

When researching Chav's i decided to read the book Owen Jones 'CHAVS- The Demonization of The Working Class'. It suggested Chavs 'tend to live in England but would probably pronounce it 'Enger-land'. They have trouble articulating themselves and have little ability to spell or write. They love their pit bull dogs as well as their blades. And would happily 'shank' you if you accidentally brush past them or look at them in the wrong way. They tend to breed by the age of fifteen and spend most of their days trying to score 'super-skunk' or whatever 'gear' they can get their sweaty teenage hands on' If they are not institutionalized by twenty-one they are considered pillars of strength in the community or get 'much respect' for being lucky'.

Chav Culture

The Burberry check is something that really interested me in terms of Chav. To me the Burberry check is the father 'print' of Chav. When researching Chav culture I found out that many men and women wore Burberry print caps and tops during the day and even in the evening to clubs. Richard Hilton in Owen Jone's 'CHAVS-The demonisation of the working class' defined Chavs as 'young Burberry-crad street kids'.

The way I worked out that people wore the Burberry Check to clubs was when i saw that many men were photographed in the Burberry Check in fights. When reading 'Chavs the demonization of the working class' by Owen Jones i found out that 'Chav Fighting' is part of chav culture. In the book it says 'Welcome to Chav Fighting, a place where the punch bags gather dust and the world is put to right'. This started with the introduction of the 'Gymbox' which covered a range of classes including 'Boob Aerobics, Pole Dancing and Bitch Boxing'. Leaflets that advertised the 'Gymbox' suggest 'why hone your skills on punch bags and planks of wood when you can deck some Chavs'.

Click here for THE MIRRORS guide on how to spot a CHAV

Chav Jewellery

When researching Chav culture, i was also fascinated by the extravagant and excessive use of gold chains, rings and earrings worn by chavs. This can also be seen on icons such as singer Cheryl Cole, actor Vicky Pollard and guests on Jeremy Kyle. The fact that current celebrities and icons are now photographed wearing chav jewellery etc suggests that Chav fashion hasn't changed over time and that recurrent themes such as the burberry check and heavy gold jewellery are still present now.

Chav Hairstyle

The typical girls 'chav' hair is called the 'pineapple' hair style which people now refer back to Vicky Pollard wearing her hair in such a high straightened ponytail. Other typical hair styles of 'Chav' girls are high bunches and braids (as seen on singer Cheryl Cole).

For Men the hairstyle reminds me of a rake. They gelled down strands of individual bits of hair. However, even some women gelled their hair and baby hair to their faces, like a worm hanging from their hair.

Chav Makeup

Common chav makeup includes heavy eye makeup and different eyebrow shapes and thicknesses. Eye makeup focuses on thick wonky winged eyeliner, thin eyebrows and extended length eyelashes. The most common chav makeup look is wearing a lot of foundation that is usually darker than their skin tone and is usually pasted over their lips. In terms of blush and eyeshadow dark pink is rather common among chavs.

Click here for a demonstration on how to do 'Chav Makeup'

Chav Fashion

Both men and women wore the burberry check. Whether it was a two piece cap and top mix, or just a shirt.

The typical 'Male Chav' would be seen in any highly recognised branded sportswear items. These include tracksuit top/ jogger bottoms, branded typography and logo tops, branded trainers- nike and reebok are the most popular and the famous branded cap. More recently Chavs are seen wearing not just caps but 'bucket hats' to. These in my eyes are like hats which men wear to fish in. Many recent styled photoshoots of chavs feature the bucket hat style rather than the traditional 'cap'.

The typical 'Female Chav' will also wear a baseball cap, and your typical branded tracksuit. But the females prefer slogan and typography tops with 'rude girl' comments like 'F**** Off''. The girls wear their skirts like a belt, showing a lot of skin and tummy, many with a gold piercing in it. A more recent chav loves a bit of denim.

Chav Music

Chavs listent to a mix of music, but the main genres are Rap, Hip Hop, R 'n' B, Dubstep and Drum and Bass.

Chav music artists icons include N-Dubz, 50 Cent and Chipmunk.

Chavs played in Films/ Programmes

The most well known character played as a Chav is 'Vicky Pollard' from the TV series 'Little Britain'.

The film 'The Football Factory' from 2004 is about rowdy soccer fans, (Danny Dyer, Frank Harper, Tamer Hassan) celebrating their favourite sport involving drugs, alcohol and violence.

Chav Icons/ Celebs

Chav Icons include Vicky Pollard from 'Little Britain'.

Amy Winehouse was captured styled like a Chav.

Chav connotations I receive from this image are:

Makeup: wonky winged eyeliner
Jewellery: heavy gold earrings
Midriff hanging out
Tracksuit- rolled up
Branded trainers
Check print

Chav styled photoshoots/ fashion collections

Here Britney Spears is photographed as a Chav. Connotations from this photograph in relation to chav are- a high, straight ponytail. Gold bold earrings, branded pin stripe adidas jacket.

Here is a guy photographed as a Chav. We can tell this is a Chav inspired photoshoot as the guy is photographed wearing a rolled up tracksuit, hanging off railings, which looks like outside a council estate. The guy is also photographed wearing a gold chain around his neck.

Adidas Originals Rita Ora FW16

Colour and silhouette to me stood out and reminded me of Chav culture. This collection is playful and bold, featuring the colour combinations of black, red and yellow. There is also a slogan printed across the garment and is alongside a striking tiger print. Rita is photographed wearing gold earrings, winged eyeliner and a striking red lipstick.

Chav inspired Fashion Collection

ASTRID ANDERSEN MENSWEAR FALL WINTER 2014 LONDON

Connotations of Chav in Andersen's 2014 fall collection are baggy tracksuits, gold chains and puffy jackets.

Click here for everything you ever wanted to know about the word chav