Sharp Stylings #49: Ronnie Lane

We can learn so much from yesterday’s fashion icons.  And living in a post-Mad Men world means we can even enjoy aspects of current male fashions! Every Friday, I’d like to start your weekend off right with a little style inspiration from either then or now. Hopefully, my fellow Mod enthusiasts will find the whole or some detail of the whole to appreciate and maybe even adopt. 

Let's get straight to the point today. This is Ronnie Lane, of the Small Faces, in an awesome window-pane jacket with a breast-pocket flap:

Photo from the Magic Mac blog which always has the best photos.

Lane's hair is styled perfectly with sides that aren't TOO long and bangs slightly above his eyebrows. A nice pink-toned button-down which goes great with the brown of the jacket. And that jacket... whoa! You ever wonder if any of these clothes still exist out there in the world? Is this particular jacket hidden away in someone's closet, being unappreciated? Or is it in a trash heap somewhere? Just dig on how slick, yet comfortable, it looks!

Yeah, I used to be a Steve Marriott devotee. I dug it all, from his immense voice, to his sharp outfits, to his mannerisms on stage. When I was younger, I used to backcomb my hair, hoping to reach Marriott heights. Heck, I used to jokingly call myself 'Esteban Marriott.' And I still do really dig Steve Marriott, don't get me wrong, but these days, I'm much more of a Ronnie Lane devotee.

A few years back, our friends Mike and Sarah lent us a DVD on Lane's life (see bottom of this post) and it totally changed our perspective on his contribution to music. Soon after watching the biography, we hunted down his solo material and played it every day for months. I dug even further into The Faces output for every song Lane either wrote or sang on.

I know I should be writing more about how awesome Lane's Mod style was, but his music trumps all of that. If you're already hip to this stuff, you know where I'm coming from. If you're starting out with this Mod thing and haven't moved beyond the Small Faces yet, give Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance a... chance. You really won't be disappointed! The following are just 5 songs to open you up to the beauty of Ronnie Lane.

1. Debris

2. Kuschty Rye

3. Glad and Sorry

4. Barcelona

5. The Poacher

And here's just Part One of the documentary I referred to earlier. Enjoy!

Ronnie Lane... a Small Face with a sweet soul.

Sharp Stylings #38: Keith Richards

We can learn so much from yesterday’s fashion icons.  And living in a post-Mad Men world means we can even enjoy aspects of current male fashions! Every Friday, I’d like to start your weekend off right with a little style inspiration from either then or now. Hopefully, my fellow Mod enthusiasts will find the whole or some detail of the whole to appreciate and maybe even adopt.

Friends, sorry about lack of posting this week. Hard time recuperating from a weekend in Palm Springs and a weekday DJ gig. (I don't bounce back as easily from fun nights as I used to!)

But enough of my complaining about my rickity ol' bones. Let's move on to some slick stylin'!

Found this photo from a recent Mirror article. Now before I move forward, the article pegs this as a photo from 1962, which I would have to dispute. The hair, lapels, and tie width and pattern seem way past 1962! But that's neither here nor there. What's important is that photographer Philip Townsend captured a fantastic shot here. (And please, please, please, visit Townend's site for more amazing 1960s shots and a chance to purchase prints!)

I know, I know, Richards was a good lookin' guy. Get over it already and let's move on to his hip threads. I'm sure many Mod types veer away from wide, paisley ties, seeing that it's a later 1960s look. But this tie is right up my alley, personally. In fact, I have a few similar styles like this: wide and colorful. Trust me, they look great contrasted up against a dark jacket!

And speaking of jackets, man, that is some wild detailing going on there! First off, the jacket's button stance is nice and high, the way I like it. Secondly, the lapels are thin with a high notch. Actually, they could be peaked lapels... hard to tell, though, in this photo. And third, that bric-a-brac edging along the lapel! Now where have I seen this look before?  Hmm... oh yeah, that's right:

Ronnie Lane rockin' the bric-a-brac!

Sure, this is probably a hard look to pull off these days on a regular daily basis. But, it could work well for evening club attire!

That's it for today... have a stylish weekend!