CLOBBER

If you have read the bit on how it all started, you might have already got an idea of how important clothing was and still is for the modernist.

In this little chapter I’m not going to elaborate on how smart clothing evolved in the mod scene and changed over the years- although it didn’t change that much. I’d rather stick to a few items of clothing and describe them in more detail. In addition we would like to kick off some sort of discussion since there are a lot of arguments going on about the correct style and whether true mods are actually ‘allowed’ to blend in styles like for instance casual gear as worn on the terraces since the late 70’s/ early 80’s. But first of all, let’s take a look at the classic design.

The classic piece of clothing still is the suit. There are, of course, various styles and colours around, but the one which survived all the years is the typical neat-fitting, tailor-made suit of the 60’s. They were in general two-breasted, with tick pockets and rather small lapels. The trousers were straight legged, mostly sta-press, with one or to rear pockets and drop-down frogmouth pockets. The colour range was huge: from rather moderate colours such as plain black or grey to tonic and even very bright ones such as yellow or pink.

 One bit which, as far as I’m concerned, heavily cramped the style were those trousers at half-mast. The idea was to get a good glimpse of the white or coloured socks underneath. The material also made the difference, with mohair and other excellent wool being used. To top off this smart style you either wore a plain or chequered button-down shirt with or without a tie or cravat, or a smart woollen top or jumper with either a polo or a turtle neck. V-necks, crew necks and simple round necks were also highly fashionable.

But how about your feet and rainy days? Well, some of the classic mod shoes, from my perspective, were and still are simply awful. You had bowling shoes, neat Italian leather shoes, the Chelsea boot, all kinds of loafers and, of course, desert boots or classic Wallabees by Clarks. The latter are the only ones I really like and still wear with pride and confidence. They look smart with both formal and casual style and are quite a robust piece of footwear. Later, especially in the Seventies, trainers became more fashionable, particularly in the ever-growing northern soul scene and, later on, due to football lads who often had connections to the mod scene or even used to be mods themselves.

As far as coats and jackets are concerned, there is, above all, the classic US navy fishtail parka, which became the must-have item during the early Sixties. Before that, smart Italian or French designer coats in plain colours such as beige were the order of the day. They were still hotly pursued then, but since scootering became more and more the core of mod style, a water-resistant but stylish piece of clothing had to be found. The fishtail parka just did the job and proved to be the perfect overcoat for ride-outs. I still have a fishtail and a plain parka and wouldn’t want to part with them.

Other popular jackets were, and chiefly in the skinhead and rude boy scene still are, the Harrington jacket or the Monkey jacket, which the mods were quick to adopt from the American Ivy League college style.

But those items were rather associated with the more casual look which gathered pace in the mid-Sixties. Combined with sta-pressLevisJeans and a button down Ben Sherman shirt, aFred Perrypolo orJohn Smedleyjummper, this look became widely accepted and was highly popular with the skinheads and rude boys who began separating themselves from the mods in the late sixties. Some fashionable accessories were dark Italian sunglasses, pork pies and bowler hats and very often flight attendant bags which came in handy during ride-outs or soul nighters.

Not much has changed since then -  at least on the Continent I’m afraid. There are still very traditional mods in Britain who stick to a very strict clothing regime. However, it is especially the continental mods who simply refuse to accept different styles. In the UK people seem to be much more open-minded as far as clothing is concerned. In addition, many Brits take the mod movement for what it is – a youth movement. There’s no denying that it holds fond memories for all of us, but isn’t it about time to widen our horizons in terms of clobber?

I, for my part, can claim to have quite successfully  been able to embrace and blend styles and still feel like a mod/skinhead deep down inside. If you go to a scooter rally in the UK these days, you meet all kinds of people – traditional mods and skinheads, football casuals and rather indifferent looking types – all of which get on reasonably well most of the time. And that’s how it should be.

Keep the spirit alive, but in a modern vein. Otherwise the avant-garde attitude gets completely lost…

what's your view on clothing?

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