Chelsea girl (culture)

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An example of a punk-influenced Chelsea haircut, without the traditional fringe at the back of the neck.

For the album by Nico, see Chelsea Girl.

A Chelsea girl (AKA Chelsea, skinhead girl, skingirl, skinbird, or Renee) is a girl or woman who is part of the skinhead subculture.

The term refers to her hairstyle, which involves shaving the crown and occiput of her head and leaving the front, back and sides as fringes. The hairstyle is more commonly called feather cut in the United Kingdom. Females involved in the suedehead subculture (a skinhead offshoot) were called sorts.

Although the name Chelsea is more common in North America than in the UK, the term originates from the fact that the style was first commonly seen on the Kings Road, in Chelsea, London, England. From the 1960s until the mid-1980s, the Kings Road was known as a haunt for youths from subcultures such as mod, skinhead and punk.

Skinhead