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Grits were a social group that inhabited Prince Georges, Charles, and St. Marys counties, Maryland, back in the 60s and 70s. They were greasers that had the tough guy look, and the bad a** attitude with it. Really, they were probably more common back then due to portions of those counties still having rural enclaves (Clinton, Waldorf, etc.), and the Redneck mentality. The real hard core Grits I remember were truly dudes you did not want to mess with. One of the last things you wanted to hear one of these true Grits tell you was something like, “Meet me after school”, or, “You breakin’ bad with me?” Early on in elementary school, I became familiar with Grits, who were then known as “Blocks” (as opposed to “Preps” and “Mods”).
Whatever their true origin, Grits had a look all their own. They wore slicked back, greased hair, and the pants were known as “Macs”, which were actually construction worker type trousers. The most common colors were tan/khaki, navy blue, and forest green. Later, when the movie, “American Graffiti, became popular, some Grits started wearing straight leg blue jeans, mimicking the style of toughs in the film. Grits also usually wore Banlon shirts, which were a short sleeve, polo type, made of “100% Monsanto Nylon”. They also wore short sleeve T-shirts known as “Silk Shirts”, which were nylon in garish colors (lime green for example, although yellow was a popular color). For shoes, what else but Chuck Taylor All Stars, or Chucks. These were worn with colored shoe strings, not tied but with the laces dangling out the sides. With this, a Grit would wear two or three pairs of basketball or hockey socks. For full effect, they would cuff their pants up, and cuff/fold the socks down to show the “colors”. To top it all off, a Grit wouldn’t be a Grit if he didn’t have a “Peters” jacket. This was a wind breaker and the preferred color was navy blue. A lot of Grits also had embroidery on the breast pocket area, usually two hearts (with something like, “Louie & Marlene”, under it), or a pair of dice. I think I also remember dress Grit socks, something like “silk” socks”
The pictures you see are my personal collection of Chucks, Banlons, and Peters jackets, which, except for the Chucks, I purchased off of eBay. I would really like to get a navy blue Peters jacket, so if any of you have one between sizes 40-46, in good condition, let me know if you’d like to sell it. I haven’t been able to find “Macs” anyway, and nothing comes up in my web searches. Also, Grits had their own dress wear, which were trousers known as “Daks”, and I had a pair once. I believe they were actually just shark skin pants. Worn with these were long sleeve Banlon shirts, usually with some sort of fancy stitching on it.
Eventually Grits became almost mainstream, given the wide availability of the clothing in the area at the time. I recall once being in Montgomery Wards (Iverson Mall), and an announcement over the PA system that told us, “Shoppers, we have Macs available in the Boys Department!” These new Grits were paper ones really (myself included), because it was more a fad than a way of life for the “real” Grits. By becoming a Grit, a boy could adopt a “bad” attitude and get some perceived respect from the neighborhood or school. But if you talked the talk but didn’t walk the walk, eventually somebody would put you in your place. I know, because I thought I was a “bad dude”, getting into fights and such, until one day a classmate picked a fight with me before school, right in front of everyone. Got the crap beat out of me! But I also remember the “head” Grit at Stoddert then, Bill Arnold, turned around and knocked the other boy silly. I guess by me being a former Grit, Bill took some pity on me and did something to give me some “get back”. Thanks, Bill!
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