Dres or dresiarz (plural ''dresy'' or ''dresiarze'' ) is a term used in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

to describe a specific

subculture A subculture is a group of people within a culture that differentiates itself from the parent culture to which it belongs, often maintaining some of its founding principles. Subcultures develop their own norms and values regarding cultural, poli ...

class Class or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used differentl ...

of young males. Dresiarze

stereotypically In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

live in urban

tower block A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently ...

s or tenement houses. They are usually portrayed as undereducated, unemployed, aggressive, and anti-social. Dialogi polityczne, ''O tym, dlaczego dresiarze noszą dresy. Rozważania nad antropologią odzieży sportowej w subkulturach chuligańskich''
The ''dresiarz'' phenomenon was first observed in the 1990s and is sometimes compared to the British

chav "Chav" (), also "charver", "scally" and "roadman" in parts of England, is a British term, usually used in a pejorative way. The term is used to describe an anti-social lower-class youth dressed in sportswear. * * * * "Chavette" is a related te ...

s, Scottish neds, Australian

bogan Bogan ( ) is Australian slang for a person whose speech, clothing, attitude and behaviour are considered unrefined or unsophisticated. Depending on the context, the term can be pejorative or self-deprecating. The prevalence of the term bogan ...

s or Russian

gopnik A gopnik (russian: гопник, gopnik, ; uk, гопник, hopnyk; be, гопнік, hopnik) is a member of a Juvenile delinquency, delinquent subculture in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and in other Post-Soviet states, former Soviet republics � ...

s. It would later partially merge with the

hooligan Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, usually in connection with crowds at sporting events. Etymology There are several theories regarding the origin of the word ''hooliganism,'' which is a d ...

subcultures and sometimes attributed to

football hooligans Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviours perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism normally involves ...

. The term refers to

tracksuit A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly for athletes to wear over competition clothing (such as running shirt and shorts ...

s, which in

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

is ''dres''. ''Kark'' (pl. pl, karki – napes) and ''blocker'' (pl. pl, blokersi – block-people) are related but not synonymous terms; see below. The term has a pejorative connotation in Polish

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...

Dorota Masłowska Dorota Masłowska (Polish pronunciation:; born 3 July 1983) is a Polish writer, playwright, columnist and journalist. Life and work Masłowska was born in Wejherowo, and grew up there. She applied for the University of Gdańsk's faculty of psy ...

's novel ''White and Red''''Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną''. Warsaw 2002: Lampa i Iskra Boża, (UK edition: ''White and Red'', Atlantic Books, ; US edition: ''Snow White and Russian Red'', Grove Press, ) is one of the first books published featuring the ''dresiarz'' phenomenon. ''Dresy'' have been a theme of (usually critical) songs by

Dezerter Dezerter, founded as SS-20 in May 1981 in Warsaw, is one of the most popular punk bands from Poland. The band was founded by three students of Warsaw's vocational high school ( technikum) - Robert "Robal" Matera (guitar), Krzysztof Grabowski (dr ...

and

Big Cyc Big Cyc ("Cyc" is Polish for " Tit") is a Polish rock band formed in March 1988. The band is well known in Poland for their controversial behaviour. The cover of their first album, ''Z partyjnym pozdrowieniem'' (Polish for ''With a Party Greeting ...

. They are also popular negative characters in the comic strip ''

Jeż Jerzy ''Jeż Jerzy'' (''George the Hedgehog'') is a popular Polish comic book title created by two young artists, (script) and (drawings). The comic strip first appeared as part of a children's magazine called '' Świerszczyk''. Originally, the stri ...

''.

Characteristics

The following traits are typically attributed to the ''dresiarz'' stereotype: * Taste in music usually encompassing Polish

disco polo Disco polo is a music genre, genre of popular music, popular dance music, created in Poland in the 1980s, it was initially known as "sidewalk music" ()Anna KowalczyKrótka historia disco polo"Wiedza i Życie". Nr 9/1997. (Polish language, Polis ...

and

rap Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, rarely

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

, house genres or

hardbass Hardbass or hard bass ( rus, хардбас(с), khardbas(s), xɐrdˈbas) is a subgenre of pumping house that originated in Saint Petersburg, Russia during the late 1990s, drawing inspiration from bouncy techno, hardstyle, as well as local Rus ...

. * Wearing

tracksuits A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with front zipper. It was originally intended for use in sports, mainly for athletes to wear over competition clothing (such as running shirt and shorts ...

along with a

hoodie A hoodie (in some cases spelled hoody and alternatively known as a hooded sweatshirt) is a sweatshirt with a hood. Hoodies with zippers usually include two pockets on the lower front, one on either side of the zipper, while "pullover" hoodies ...

and

trainers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used f ...

; usually cheap counterfeit imitations of popular brands. *

Shaved head Head shaving is a form of body modification which involves shaving the hair from a person's head. People throughout history have shaved all or part of their heads for diverse reasons including aesthetics, convenience, culture, fashion, practicality ...

. *

Weight lifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

and/or

strength training Strength training or resistance training involves the performance of physical exercises that are designed to improve strength and endurance. It is often associated with the lifting of weights. It can also incorporate a variety of training te ...

in gyms. * Affection for automobiles — at first they were stereotypically associated with heavily modified

Fiat 126p The Fiat 126 (Type 126) is a four-passenger, rear-engine, city car manufactured and marketed by Fiat over a twenty-eight year production run from 1972 until 2000, over a single generation. Introduced by Fiat in October 1972 at the Turin Auto Show ...

cars (often with iconic

Pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

sticker covering the rear window), but recently they switched to older versions of

BMW 3 The BMW 3 Series is a line of compact executive cars manufactured by the German automaker BMW since May 1975. It is the successor to the 02 Series and has been produced in seven generations. The first generation of the 3 Series was only avail ...

and BMW 5 as well as

Volkswagen Golf Mk2 The Volkswagen Golf Mk2 is a hatchback, the second generation of the Volkswagen Golf and the successor to the Volkswagen Golf Mk1. It was Volkswagen's highest volume seller from 1983 and ended in (German) production in late 1992, to be replaced ...

and

Opel Calibra The Opel Calibra is a coupé, engineered and produced by the Germany, German automaker Opel between 1989 and 1997. In the United Kingdom, where it remained on sale until 1999, it was marketed under the Vauxhall Motors, Vauxhall brand as the Vaux ...

, and recently their taste switched to

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. The company designs, manufactures and distributes passenger and commercial ...

automobiles, especially

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

. Apart from German cars, Japanese and East-Asian made cars such as the

Honda Civic The is a series of automobiles manufactured by Honda since 1972. Since 2000, the Civic has been categorized as a compact car, while previously it occupied the subcompact class. , the Civic is positioned between the Honda Fit/City and Honda Acc ...

gained popularity due to the influence of the ''

Fast & Furious ''Fast & Furious'' (also known as ''The Fast and the Furious'') is a media franchise centered on a series of action films that are largely concerned with street racing, heists, spies, and family. The franchise also includes short films, a t ...

'' franchise. * Keeping aggressive

dog breeds This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties, landraces, and dog types. A research article on genomics, dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines m ...

, such as the

Pit Bull Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...

American Staffordshire Terrier The American Staffordshire Terrier, also known as the AmStaff or American Staffy is a medium-sized, short-coated American dog breed. The height of an American Staffordshire Bull Terrier is tall and weighs between . The American Kennel Club (AKC) ...

as pets (sometimes used in dog fights). * Their female counterparts often have excessive solarium tans, bleached platinum

blonde Blond (male) or blonde (female), also referred to as fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some yellowish color. The color can ...

or pitch black dyed hair and wear

artificial nails Artificial nails, also known as fake nails, false nails, acrylic nails, nail extensions or nail enhancements, are extensions placed over fingernails as fashion accessories. Many artificial nail designs attempt to mimic the appearance of real fi ...

mini-skirt A miniskirt (sometimes hyphenated as mini-skirt, separated as mini skirt, or sometimes shortened to simply mini) is a skirt with its hemline well above the knees, generally at mid-thigh level, normally no longer than below the buttocks; and a ...

s, and

crop top A crop is a plant that can be grown and harvested extensively for profit or subsistence. When the plants of the same kind are cultivated at one place on a large scale, it is called a crop. Most crops are cultivated in agriculture or hydroponics ...

s.Wprost.pl: ''Blachary atakują''
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Related terms

*''Kark'', meaning "neck" and a short for ''byczy kark'' ("bull neck"), is most used in connection with weight lifting; a person perceived as a ''kark'' may be wearing neither trainers nor a tracksuit, but shares most other elements of stereotypical ''dres'' behavior. The term may also refer to lower-ranked members of gangster groups, i.e. "thugs". *''Blokers'' – a term for a young person exhibiting anti-social behavior, living in

towerblock A tower block, high-rise, apartment tower, residential tower, apartment block, block of flats, or office tower is a tall building, as opposed to a low-rise building and is defined differently in terms of height depending on the jurisdictio ...

s (''blok'' in

). This term was used first time circa 1995 by Robert Leszczyński, a Polish music critic and journalist. *''ABS'' – an acronym for Absolutny Brak Szyi ("Total Lack of Neck"). See ''Kark''. Often used pejoratively for heavily "pumped up" thugs and hooligans. The implied characteristic is anabolic steroid use.

External links

Wojciech Orliński Wojciech Orliński (born 24 January 1969 in Warsaw) is a Polish journalist, writer, and blogger. Between 1997 and 2021 he was a regular columnist for Gazeta Wyborcza. He has written several books, including an alternate history novel, an encyclo ...

MUZEUM NARODOWE KULTURY MASOWEJ: Dresiarze

References

{{reflist Class-related slurs Crime in Poland Stereotypes of working-class men Working class in Europe Youth culture in Poland

Characteristics

Related terms

See also

External links

References