Dres Information & Dres Links at HealthHaven.com

For other uses, see Dres (disambiguation).

Dres or dresiarz (plural dresy or dresiarze) is used in Poland to describe a certain subculture. Dresiarze are stereotypically found mostly in urban towerblocks, but can be found anywhere in Poland, and are portrayed as being unemployed. The term itself refers to the wearing of the tracksuit, which in Polish is known as the dres and according to the stereotype is a piece of clothing commonly worn by the dresiarze. The dresiarz subculture was first observed^{[citation needed]} in the 1990s. It would later partially merge with the hooligan subcultures. Karks (Polish: 'karki' - "necks" and blokers (Polish: 'blokersi' "block-people") are related but not synonymous terms.

[edit] Appearance and habits

The following traits are typically attributed to the dresiarz stereotype: The dresiarz is manly and automobile-oriented. Documented^{[citation needed]} habits include:

Wearing tracksuits.
Trainers, usually Adidas. True brand-name shoes and clothing are found primarily among the rich dresiarze, while poorer ones wear imitations.
Crew cuts, excessive use of hair gel, undercuts on a central parting.
Weight lifting and/or strength training in gyms.
Affection for automobiles, especially older versions of the BMW 3 or BMW 5, or VW Golf (most likely Mk2, recently also newer generations), and the Opel Calibra but also other older German cars (such as eg. Mercedes W124 or Audi 80), or in the case of the poorer dresiarze before accession to the European Union - a modded Polish Fiat 126p. Rich dresiarze buys new cars, but most of them are poor.
Keeping aggressive dog breeds, such as the Pit Bull or American Staffordshire Terrier as pets (sometimes kept to participate in dog fights).
Their female counterparts are known^{[citation needed]} as szmule, suczki, blachary or niunie, with all these terms having a pejorative connotation. They often have bleached platinum blonde or pitch black dyed hair and wear artificial nails, mini-skirts, and crop tops.

[edit] Research and cultural influences

Dorota Masłowska's (Nike audience award) literary novel White and Red^[1] is one of the first books published featuring the dresiarz phenomenon.

In popular culture, dresy have been a theme of (usually critical) songs by Dezerter and Big Cyc. They are also popular negative characters in comic Jeż Jerzy.

[edit] 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 behaviour. The term may also refer to lower-ranked members of gangster groups.
Blokers - a term for a young person exhibiting anti-social behaviour, living in condominiums (blok in Polish). This term was used first time circa 1995 by Robert Leszczyński, a Polish music critic and journalist.
ABS shortened form from Absolutny Brak Szyi, means "absolute lack of neck", see "kark" (ABS derives from Antilock Braking System)

[edit] See also

Other youth subcultures that resemble Dres:

[edit] External links

(Polish) Wojciech Orliński, MUZEUM NARODOWE KULTURY MASOWEJ: Dresiarze
(Polish) Cyber: 3/98: Dola dresiarza. Note the commentary at the bottom, by Polish sociologist Anna Mikołejko
(Polish) Jakub Dąbrowski, Dialogi Polityczne, 5–6 — październik 2005 r. O tym, dlaczego dresiarze noszą dresy. Rozważania nad antropologią odzieży sportowej w subkulturach chuligańskich

[edit] References

^ Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną. Warsaw 2002: Lampa i Iskra Boża, ISBN 83-86735-87-2 (UK edition: White and Red, Atlantic Books, ISBN 1-84354-423-7; US edition: Snow White and Russian Red, Grove Press, ISBN 0-8021-7001-3)

[0] Wojna polsko-ruska pod flagą biało-czerwoną. Warsaw 2002: Lampa i Iskra Boża, ISBN 83-86735-87-2 (UK edition: White and Red, Atlantic Books, ISBN 1-84354-423-7; US edition: Snow White and Russian Red, Grove Press, ISBN 0-8021-7001-3)

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