Althouse: “The style and fashion of Mod will always be my favourite. It’s a timeless look that everyone from all over the world recognises."

July 20, 2017

“The style and fashion of Mod will always be my favourite. It’s a timeless look that everyone from all over the world recognises."

"Mod is something that stretches across generations; there are no age, class or race boundaries, which is so rare."

23 comments:

Gahrie said...: Ah the old dsys in the U.K.. The punks would beat up the mods, the rockers would beat up the punks, the mods would ride their mopeds.; 7/20/17, 9:01 AM
Bob Ellison said...: Ohmigoodness. That's the worst web page since before the Internet.; 7/20/17, 9:03 AM
rehajm said...: YEAH BABY!!!; 7/20/17, 9:08 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Ohmigoodness. That's the worst web page since before the Internet."

Yeah, hilariously tricky. They thought they were doing something cool...; 7/20/17, 9:18 AM
tcrosse said...: I miss the Teddy Boys.; 7/20/17, 9:19 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Fascinating article. This is the era that I grew up in. I vividly remember the "Mod" British scene and how it influenced almost everything. Music, clothes, jewelry, even language.

People were more groomed then, aware of their physical appearance and took care in how they presented themselves. Going outside of the house, going to a party, to work, shopping: you dressed and accessorized. Going out in a pair of baggy shorts, wearing flip flops, uncombed hair and no makeup.....ghastly!!! You also will notice in those photos that the majority of people were slim and trim. Active and healthy looking people.

Then came the Hippies.

Mid Century Modern furnishings, accessories and the general decoration styles are the hot item right now. Strange isn't it that people two or more generations from the Modern era are feeling the nostalgia for the era of their grandparents. Maybe they are yearning for structure in their lives?; 7/20/17, 9:21 AM
Bill said...: My parents dressed as Mods for a neighborhood Halloween party in 1966. I treasure the photo of them they had me take before they left.; 7/20/17, 9:28 AM
madAsHell said...: Surely, no one dresses like that. You're just asking for an atomic wedgie.; 7/20/17, 9:37 AM
dustbunny said...: Did Mary Quant influence the Mods or did she use their style for her brand? I always think of the Beatles and Quant when I see the Mods referenced but the Beatles were originally dirtier Rockers who Brian Epstein cleaned up to look like Mods.; 7/20/17, 9:39 AM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: @ dustbunny

I think that Mary Quant saw a trend developing, the British Mod style, and made it popular in the main stream public....aka non-mods. So it was probably a bit of both...influencing the trend and using their style to capitalize on it.

I wore my hair in that bob style, but was not able to wear the extreme Twiggy type of look, stick like and non curvy to be able to wear such clothing.

She did come up with some non faddish and very classic styles at the time. Things that are timeless...like this evening dress

I was never a fan of the Beatles....mainly because I detested the screaming ninnies who polluted the concerts. Bah. Why go to a concert if you can't hear it. Plus...their style of music just didn't appeal to me.; 7/20/17, 9:54 AM
Howard said...: The look is very dated.; 7/20/17, 10:32 AM
Rocketeer said...: None of those men appear to know how long their legs are.

Where's the "Men in Shorts" tag?; 7/20/17, 10:39 AM
Carter Wood said...: Revived by some of the British punk/new wave set in the late '70s. The Jam, Carnaby Street.; 7/20/17, 10:47 AM
Michael said...: There is a new "mod" developing which is a return to traditional attire, at least in men's attire. The old line names of Savile Row have been joined by a dozen or more high end tailors who are thriving. The U.S. has its own group of tailors who are fitting out young men in great suits.; 7/20/17, 11:06 AM
'TreHammer said...: ...jeez, if you're, as Cartman would say, "big-boned"...forget it...; 7/20/17, 11:58 AM
Scott said...: I thought the page design was clever, not bad.

Here are two British sources for Mod clothing:

Atom Retro

BeatWear, which sells a Beatle Boot replica that's a little pricy but much less than getting them custom made by Anello & Davide, which supplied the Beatles and Bob Dylan.

I miss my 1968 $8.99 John Hardy suede zip bots. :(; 7/20/17, 12:05 PM
Bob Loblaw said...: Revived by some of the British punk/new wave set in the late '70s. The Jam, Carnaby Street.

That's what hit my high school in the early '80s. Bunch of guys riding scooters with UK flags. They all had the same thick-rimmed sunglasses, short hair, and trench coats. They wore slacks when everyone else wore jeans and proper leather shoes instead of athletic shoes.; 7/20/17, 1:18 PM
Sigivald said...: Sure, but if you're a Mod you can't associate with Rockers, or there'll be a gang fight.; 7/20/17, 1:30 PM
wild chicken said...: The page worked great on my phone.

I had some carnaby type dresses and skirts. Nice stuff really.; 7/20/17, 1:39 PM
eddie willers said...: They asked Rigo if he was a Mod or a Rocker.

He said, "Neither...I'm a Mocker".; 7/20/17, 3:04 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Did Mary Quant influence the Mods or did she use their style for her brand?"

I had Mary Quant eyelashes when I was 16, pictured here.; 7/20/17, 4:41 PM
stlcdr said...: "Ohmigoodness. That's the worst web page since before the Internet."

Yeah, hilariously tricky. They thought they were doing something cool...

It is designed for a mobile device: tablet, phone, etc. and works quite well, since it's a 'picture story'. I can imagine it is quite annoying on a regular computer without touch.

A couple of the Mods look like Rockers in disguise.; 7/21/17, 4:19 AM
David said...: How can people maintain that level of self-consciousness and hold a pose for so long? It's an amazing and useless talent.; 7/21/17, 6:14 AM