I wasn't alive back then, so this might just be a product of the movies I've watched, but I get the impression that the "leather jacket" was almost universally considered cool by the youth of that era (whether or not they were willing to risk presenting that "deviant" image themselves). compared to that time (or at least my impression of it), culture is much more fragmented today. I don't think anything exists that is universally considered cool by today's youth. although being in my late twenties, I am rapidly approaching the point where I don't know what's "cool" anyway.