|
Change The Currency:
Your shopping basket
Your shopping basket is empty
|
|
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning:
Atom Retro's Guide To Mod Clothing
The Knack And How To Get It: The Roots Of Mod Clothing And Style
The roots of the Mod movement began in the late fifties, evolving from The Beatnik and Teddy Boy subcultures that had grown across the USA and Europe since the end of the Second World War. The affluent youth of the late fifties and early sixties found themselves in a unique position. The traditional victorian values were changing, the permissive society of the sixties had started and free from the finacial problems the war had created, now young people had spare cash to spend on luxury items - records, cars and clothes.
The Teddy Boys, or Teds, were the forerunners to The Mods - a movement that used style as identity in the same way The Mods came to. For the first time it became socially acceptable for young, hetrosexual men to be fashion concious and concerned about their appearence. Women's fashion would experiment in equally radical ways; skirt hemlines crept up and up, resulting in the Mini Skirt, while other clothing became androgenous, not so frilly or femine as before.
Saville Row of London, the world famous tailors and suit makers, quickly took advantage of the changing trends. They recreated the 'Dandy' image for The Teds and later, The Mods, with garments such as Drape Jackets and Drainpipe Jeans in the fifties and early sixties, and later the classical Mod Suit.
Drainpipe Jeans:
Drainpipe Jeans - extreamly tightly cut trousers, tight to the ankle and tight around the waist, became the must-have article in the late fifties. Already controversial, parents would often disapprove of the look and the 'beat scene' culture that drainpipes had already come to represent. To remedy this, thier sons, unable - or forbidden, to have the real drainpipe trousers, would secretly gradually alter thier regular cut trousers to narrow the leg and make them fit tight to the ankle.
Drainpipes - often now refered to as Skinny or Skinnyfit Jeans in contemporary clothing circles, are a mod staple. Arguably the first icon of the Mod wardrobe, no budding Mod gentleman or lady can be without a pair or two. Atom Retro's range, pictured above, include the classic fifties and sixties designs and more recent indie-mod popular designs - but all are styled after the vintage Mod drainpipes - unisex, very tight fitting to the waist and ankle, with a hipster waist.
The Mod Suit:
In 1958, a group of young men in East London began to adopt a new smooth, stylish, sophisticated new look, heavily influenced by contemporary late fifties French and Italian fashions. This was the emergence of the quintessential Mod Suit. Italian styled with narrow lapels, tailoring was the key.
Winklepicker Shoes and Chelsea Boots:
To finish the Mod Suit look, Winklepicker shoes and later in the sixties, Chelsea Boots were the Mod footwear of choice.
The defining aspect of the Winklepicker is the elongated toe which comes to a point and giving the shoes their name, by resembling the type of pin used to eat periwinkles. As the Winklepicker became a mod icon, so the designs and styles becames more daring, dashing and sharp. Pictured below are some of Atom Retro's range of Winklepickers - each carefully chosen for their authentic Sixties vintage design and style and made in England. They include the classic Black Winklepicker Shoes in either patent leather or crimped, patterned leather, Paul Weller - Jam -esque black and white 'Carnaby' Winklepicker and the ultimate Mod Winklepicker - White leather.
The Chelsea boot also usually sported a winklepicker toe. A slim, tightfitting ankle boot, usually with an elastic band to the side, they were originally made for horse riding with a flat, block heel. Later, the addition of the Cuban heel, a slanted stylish heel that was higher than usual for mens footwear, saw the boots become one of the defining fashion icons of the sixties, as they were adopted by The Beatles, Rolling Stones and many others, (Giving rise to thier nickname, 'Beatle Boots'). Traditionally in Black leather, black suede also became a staple for Mod Chelsea boots - the 'booted' in 'Suited and Booted'.
Atom Retro's bestselling range of Chelsea Boots includes all the iconic styles which are synonymous with Mod style and clothes. In black leather, either with the flat, block heel or the authentic slanted Cuban heel, or in Black Suede Cuban heel - the ultimate mod footwear and perfect to set off any Mod suit or mod look. The range also includes the striking and unforgettable 'Chelsea Dagger' Chelsea Boots - the fusion of the retro classic sixties Chelsea Boot with a modern indie twist - this pair of boots is perfect for the Mod who wants to create an impression - the footwear of choice for any 'Face'.
Baracuta and The Harrington Jacket:
Apart from the Mod suit, the other staple coats and jackets of the Mod wardobe include The Harrington, The Parka and The Crombie.
The Harrington Jacket was first made in Stockport, Cheshire by the Baracuta company. Known then as simply the Baracuta or Baracuta G9, it was designed by the Miller Brothers in 1937 who were seeking to make a lightweight short jacket that would be both wind and waterproof. The jacket they came up with was a slim fit blouson jacket with elasticated waist and cuffs. The iconic tartan lining was originally the famous Fraser Tartan, permission having been granted to the Miller Brothers by the decendant of the Fraser clan, Lord Lovat. In the sixties the Baracuta jacket found favour among Mods, as a warm, waterproof jacket and ideal scooter wear. It appealed with its fuctionality - but also its style - smart and dapper - it fit perfectly with the mod look.
It was also made fashionable by movie and rock stars such as Elvis Presley and Steve McQueen, but was its association with Ryan O'Neal that gave the jacket its new name. Named after O'Neal's character in the American soap opera, Peyton Place, the coat would be forever known as the Harrington Jacket.
The Parka:
Another functional jacket that has become synonymous with Mod Culture is the Parka. Again, it was the practicalities of the jacket as scooter wear coupled with the possiblity of getting a good looking one on a budget (as opposed to the tailored, made to measure suit or the designer Baracuta Harrington) that gave rise to its popularity. The Parka was further immortalised and inextricably made Mod by the 1979 film, Quadrophenia and the cover of the same titled 1973 album by The Who, depicting a Parka clad Mod on a scooter - but it was earlier, in the late fifties, that the Parka first became a Mod icon.
Ironically, considering the emphisis on need for the new, the tailor made and the impeccably neat for other items of mod clothing, the origninal Parka jackets came from an army surplus store. It had been designed with warmth and protection against the elements in mind, based on the design eskimos and innuits wore, for American soliders in cold climates. Usually fur lined, Parkas are hooded and zipper fastening, in contrast the the anoraks of the time, which were a whole piece, put on over the head. The optional fishtail back of the coat also became iconic of Mod clothing. Originally coming in regulation army green, many Mods of the sixties and seventies would dye their Parka to match the colour of their scooter, in contemporary fashion Parkas are now available in many colours.
Atom Retro's range of Parka jackets, pictured below, remain faithful to the sixties and seventies style Mod Parka. In army or olive green, or black they are big fitting, hooded and different lengths to suit the needs of the Mod who wants it to accompany their scooter, or for the Mod who wants it to complement their Mod wardrobe.
The Pretty Things: Mod Clothing In The Swinging Sixties
In the begining, Mod culture and Mod style was dominated by men. From 1960, women slowly started to become interested in Mod life and by 1963 were setting thier own Mod trends. One of the most important designers of womens Mod clothing was Mary Quant. She had opened her first boutique in 1955, in the Kings Road, Chelsea - another location that became famous for Mod clothing boutiques and designers. Her second was opened in Knightsbridge in 1961. Famous for designing many iconic Mod garments, it is probably the revolutionary Mini Skirt for which Mary Quant will be remembered. Hemlines had been creeping up since about 1958, and in 1963 were just above the knee. By 1965, a hemline five inches above the knee was not uncommon. Quant invented them, but it was the sixties boutique, Biba that put them on to the high street and into Mod fashion.
The Mod Shift Dress was also a staple of any Mod girls wardrobe. A straight dress without a waist, made of almost any pattern and colour, it was the op-art influenced, black and white designs that became the most iconic and perhaps the most Mod styles. This straight style dress removed much of the feminity from a traditional dress design, making it the quintessential Mod womans dress. Most Womens Mod clothing is androgenous in style, or masculinised as male fashions were feminised. Women wore flat shoes, trousers such as the drainpipe jeans that were previously only worn by men and shirts and sweaters that matched or in fact were mens.
John Stephen, often credited as the founder of Carnaby Street, is sometimes overlooked as a key figure in Mod fashion. Carnaby Street became the mecca for Mod clothing in the sixties and was dominated by John Stephen's shops, with 15 along the bredth of it. He began simply in the late fifties, with a boutique just off Carnaby Street, His Clothes in Beak Street. It was to revolutionise Mens clothing. His method was to provide what the male Mods wanted and kept his shops well stocked with the latest trends. His first significant contribution to Mod fashoion were hipster (low waist) trousers, designed for young hetrosexual men (and previously only associated with homosexual men), which were often made of thick 'elephant' corduroy. He also brought floral shirts, fitted velvet jackets and kilts to the fashion forefront. By 1967 he had added womens clothing to his Mod boutiques and had become one of the defining designers of the Swinging Sixties.
John Smedley is a clothing company that was originally founded in 1784, and is still going today. However, it is perhaps most reknowned for the sixties mod clothing it produced, namely italian polo knitted tops, polo shirts and turtle necks in cashmere or wool. Crew neck and V-Neck sweaters were also popular, but it is maybe the polo knit, with its button neck that is the most iconic. With its large collar, Mods would often wear it buttoned as close to the neck as possble, in long or short sleeves, and frequently with horizontal striped pattern.
We Are The Mods: The Mod Revival And Beyond
Two factions of male Mod culture had developed by the mid sixties; the mainstream slickly styled Mods and the Scooter Boys Mods. Both groups wore the John Smedley type polo knit (also copied and homaged by the Mod Revival Fred Perry Polos), but it was the Scooter Boys who would usually pair them with plaid or checked trousers, bringing plaid and checks in as iconic Mod styles. Later, in the Mod Revival period it would be these patterns and styles that became the staples of Mod clothing in every area, including footwear and accessories.
One artical of iconic Mod Revivalist footwear is the Dr Martens Boots, also known as Bovva Boots, 1460s or Beetle Crushers, although these were worn by the Scooter Mods of the sixties. Designed originally as an orthopedic shoe, when the infamous Dr Marten broke his foot during a skiing holiday, the first Dr Marten Boots were produced commercially on the 1st of April 1960 (hence the 1460s nickname). Available in black or cherry red leather, they were great footwear for scooter riding, and also useful in the legendary Mods versus Rockers Rumbles.
Another iconic garment of the Mod Revival was the striped Boating Blazer. Made famous by Mod revival bands such as The Jam, the jacket was also a mod icon in the sixties and worn then by icons such as The Who or Brian Jones. The Boating Blazer orginated as a Mod article of clothing from the classic Carnaby Street era, and continues now as a great rock and roll iconic jacket, worn by neuveau mods such as The Kaiser Cheifs.
The Harrington Jacket also came back in fashion during the Mod Revival period, along with a variation on the classic jacket style, the bomber jacket. Again, practical as a warm jacket for riding scooters, the bomber jacket also fitted in with the revivalist style. Retro, but hard-looking enough to pass.
|
