Back in the USA in the late Sixties, teenagers learned what was cool and the latest clothing styles  from dozens of magazines and the relentless ads on television. In Germany, there was only German TV. Our sense of what was " in" came from magazines, Time, U.S.News and World Report, Newsweek, ( we each had subscriptions to one of these issues in Contemporary Problems), Life, Esquire and occationally a smuggled copy of  Playboy.

Clothes took the place of what teenagers in Germany did NOT own ...a car. While the guys in America had their heads buried under the hood, we used the public transportation (see The Magic Bus).

From stateside catalogs and magazines and at the PX we chose only the best. The shoes you wore, brand of shirt, type of pants, belt, how you smelled and even the wallet you carried took on special significance...that is, if you wanted to be accepted by your peers and popular with the ladies. You better shape up and "get with the program". Wear cotton,  make sure your shoes shine and your socks match the color of your shirt ...and let it be freshly pressed! Or spend Saturday night with a white ten cent bag of popcorn... at the Skyline Theatre...alone.

Clean was Cool.

Weejuns

Shirts

Cologne

Magazines