Out of the Underground

Okay, y'all have to bear with me a little. I'm a tad rusty with this blogging business, it's been so long. Gotta brush up on these keyboard skills.

Anyways, a lot's happened since last time I posted: Woody Allen released a new film that's supposed to be fantastic... and not just because it's based in San Francisco; Breaking Bad, one of the best shows ever, ended its run; Phyllis Diller died... again; Mod became so mainstream in the UK that insurance agencies are using it to sell insurance; and, oh yeah, this happened:

But never fear.   I don't plan on using this blog to talk about the trials of being a new parent while trying to maintain a certain Mod-centric aesthetic. Okay, some of that may bleed into these posts... it's only natural.

Just know that having a child hasn't changed my perspective on the Mod thing. Pleated khakis, 'comfortable' flip-flops, and Barney DVDs still don't appeal to me.

However, I understand that pursuing this aesthetic may become a bit more difficult to achieve. Hey, that's life. But I do promise you this: You will never hear or read me say, "It's still in my heart" as I don the clothing of Joe Normal. (Gag.)

That's not what I want to talk about today, though. Let's get back to that mainstream thing. In case you haven't seen it, here's the commercial Modculture posted about recently:

http://www.modculture.co.uk/watch-insurance-company-does-a-mod-themed-advert/

Oh... well, looks like it's been taken down. Let me give you a quick synopsis:

Young '80s mod couple frolicking along the shore of Brighton Beach. They're in love. They laugh together, shop for records together, scooter-ride together. (Now, if you saw the commercial, let's be honest... this couple was a tad too slick to be an early '80s Mod couple, am I right?) Anyways, you know they're '80s Mods because of the punk rockers record-shopping next to them. Well, this couple is so in love and so mod that they buy MATCHING TARGET RINGS. Yes, you read that right. Matching target rings.

Fast-forward 30 years and this couple is still together and still way mod. (Again, let's be honest... you can probably count on your fingers the '80s Mod couples who stayed together for 20 years still looking slick today.) They come home to find they've been burglarized and (gasp!) their target rings stolen. So, they call up the insurance company and by the end of the commercial, they're back to moddin' up the road on a scooter with the rings back on their fingers.

Look, it's a sweet commercial. Couple in love after all these years have their special mementos stolen and then returned to them thanks to the heroic insurance company. And yes, for the first time in who-knows-when, Mods are presented without going overboard on cliches... except for those target rings. (But seriously, these are supposed to be early '80s Mods... I didn't see any Cavern-quality clothing on them!)

Now here's the big question: Should Mod types be happy that Mods are featured in (I assume) a nation-wide commercial for a practical product? Isn't insurance the most mundane, responsible, adult item one can purchase? And an insurance company is using Mods to sell itself?

Once you get past the novelty of "Yay! Mods on TV!" you're stuck with the fact that the idea of Mods really has become mainstream and (gasp, again!) part of the fiber of 'the establishment.' I hear the term 'iconic' used often in discussions of Mods these days. I'm under the impression that many British Mods are pleased that their subculture is a part of the iconography of their mainstream culture nowadays. (Thanks, Olympics!) Mods are so accepted these days that the imagery is used to sell everything from insurance to soft drinks to smart phones.

And maybe that's cool, I don't know. But it does remind me of what I've read often on social media sites from original 1960s Mods. While many of us eat up the imagary of Carnaby Street, Rave magazine, and The Small Faces as 'mods,' many originals might disagree with that viewpoint having experienced that era first-hand. What I've read shows that many disliked the commercial side of the culture and dislike how it's interpreted these days. And Mod did get pretty commercial:

Taken from the Advertising Is Good For You blog.

Me, I didn't grow up in the 1960s so I have a lack of contemporary context and the benefit of accumulated history upon which to draw. And, probably to the chagrin of some 1960s originals, I'd kill for an actual pair of Lord John hipsters!

But let's get back to happenings today. Mod isn't being used to sell records, acne cream, or cheese. It's being used to sell insurance. That says something about their demographic. In the U.S., 'hipster' imagery is what ad men use to sell things like insurance and soap. That says something about the demographic out here. What it says is that these images are so well-known and mainstream that they'll be acceptable to a mass audience that still thinks it's unique and special.

Now, okay, big deal, right? Get over it... in 5 years, people will forget about the Mod thing and things will go back to 'normal'. Well, maybe. But here's why I've spent so much time writing about this. See, Mods are a funny folk. They will shout out, until they're blue in the face, their most treasured Quadrophenia quote:

Look, I don't wanna be the same as everybody else. That's why I'm a Mod, see?

(Man, if I had a nickel for every time someone posted that in a Facebook comment...) But, as much as they don't want to be the same as everybody else, they love seeing Mod in the media, creating a potential for a world-wide Mod revival. They want to be surrounded by hundreds of other people not being the same as everybody else in the same way that they're not being the same as everybody else. Heck, they want to be part of a MOD ARMY. An army... y'know, a group of organized soldiers whose main purpose is to conform to the will of their superior officers. Conform... conformity... the thing I, personally, was trying to get away from when I first discovered Mods.

And now, it seems like that's what Mods today are into. They want to be mainstream. They want the whole world to go Mod(!).

Oh wait... I get it now. I understand the appeal for the mainstreaming of Mod. Pretty clever.

You all are waiting for the day when Walmart goes Mod(!) so that you can walk in and sing at the top of your lungs:

I hear you loud and clear.

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Mod Gone Wrong: Mad Men? (You Decide!)

Hey, I'm as big a fan of Mad Men as the next guy, really. Sadly, my wife and I have fallen really on the show, leaving off somewhere mid-third season. But we are planning on catching up real soon, because it is an amazing show.

Sure, there's the great set design, the beautiful early '60s costuming, the solid writing, and, of course, all those great characters.  But, heck, I was sold by the first episode when they referenced the famous Volkswagen 'lemon' ad, which is generally credited for shifting the tone of advertising to a more 'hip' sensibility in the early '60s. (If interested in this subject, look up Thomas Frank's Conquest of Cool book... yes, I'm a nerd for this stuff.) Over 50 years later, advertisements have pushed the idea of 'hip' way past its breaking point.

And, what's hip these days? Yup, you guessed it: Mod! (To paraphrase my wife, "'Mod' is this season's black.") And what show is delving into the American 'Mod' era of the 1960s? Yup, you know it: Mad Men! So, it makes perfect sense to sell people a hip new line of clothing inspired by 'mod' as filtered through Mad Men.

Want a chance to live the "Mod life" in NYC? Here you go!

It really is weird, if you think about it, though. One of my first posts, way back in 2011, gave slight mention of the influence Mad Men was having on men's fashion. It wasn't the only influence, but it was a good one! Finally, suits were more fitted, lapels were slimmer, trousers were more narrow. No, Mad Men wasn't having a direct major influence on men's style, but it was contributing to a changing approach to a 'new' look for men. Words like 'retro,' European fit,' and 'slim fit' were tossed around to describe this look.

My guess is that, in time, people are just going to refer to this look as (the catch-all) 'mod.'  And you'll probably be able to thank Mad Men and Banana Republic for that. You see, the big news all around is that Banana Republic has released an official Mad Men-licensed 'mod' line of clothing! Yup, Mad Men is about to have a very direct influence on men's style.

People are going to be walking around in clothing inspired by the clothing worn on a television show inspired by the clothing worn by real people in the 1960s. Talk about 'life imitating art imitating life!'

Another Mod revival?

Now the weird thing is how the whole 'mod' thing plays into this. You know the basic history of the culture that developed with English youth in the 1960s and remained relatively 'underground' until the media exploitation of "Modsversusrockers." This, of course, led to a commercial bonanza with 'Swinging London,' the 'Swinging Sixties,' and a whole world gone 'MOD'!

Soon, 'mod' found its way to the United States, no longer really used as a noun to describe those English kids, but rather as an adjective used to describe pretty much anything new and 'hip.' And the the American youth ate it up! Feeding them all the 'mod' they wanted were companies mastering all those new hip techniques of advertising.

The Mod acne solution! Image from Belly Buzz.

Stuffy old adults just looked upon this as another teenage craze. In time, though, even those adults fell into the Mod pool. After a few years, their uptight clothing choices became more free, youthful and, yup, mod!

Modnick slacks & shirts for the older man.
(And remember, in the 1960s, 'older man' probably meant anyone older than 25!)

And this is where Mad Men comes in. Think about it. The characters on Mad Men aren't young (by 1960s standards). The 'mod' look they're about to be wearing in this new season is what people their age would have been wearing in the 1960s, a look that was no longer that cool with 'hip' American youth. If you were an American kid in the 1960s, would you have wanted your parents dressing like you?

Now, don't get me wrong... you all know I LOVE the Mod look! But let's be real here. Banana Republic is releasing a 'mod' line of clothing based on what un-hip adults would have been wearing in the United States in the late 1960s.

I know, Pete Campbell, right?

And, boy, is Banana Republic going for it! "Mad For Mod" is the tagline for the ad campaign. But mad for what kind of 'mod'? This type of 'mod'? 

Dean Martin, the guy who didn't "get" The Rolling Stones.

Hey, look, the clothing isn't bad, really. For new clothing, it's quite nice. You wouldn't expect anything less from Banana Republic, which has developed a well-earned reputation over the years. But when it comes to "Mad For Mod," I'm not sold. Other than a slim fit, the men's line doesn't do a whole lot for me. The women's line looks a bit nicer, of course, what with the geometric shapes and bright colors and all. But what all this does is make me wonder what this means for those of us already into this Mod thing. Are you going to walk around in Banana Republic Mad Men® (yes, all rights reserved) attire? 

My wife pointed out a key reason why she'd avoid the women's selections of this new 'mod' line: "Are you kidding? The minute you show up in one of those pieces, everyone will know. 'Hey, she's wearing a Mad Men dress!'" Heck, imagine showing up to a party in your new chic Mad Men-approved dress and finding one or two other women in the same exact dress? Quelle horreur!

Plus, for me, it'd be a little weird buying clothes based on a fashion designer's interpretation of 1960s styles found on a television show taking place in an era I've been interpreting on my own all this time. It'd be like rockabilly people buying a line of clothing based on Happy Days. Steampunk people buying a line of clothing based on Wild, Wild West. Or, I don't know, gothic people buying a line of clothing based on Twilight (don't know if this analogy makes sense, but I like it). 

But hey, always look on the bright side, right? When you're walking down the street you'll be hearing a lot less "Hey, it's a Beatle!" Instead, that'll be replaced with "Hey, it's a Mad Men!" And, you won't have to bother explaining what you're about to strangers anymore. "Oh, I know what a Mod is. Mad Men, right?" 

The flip side of that is that in a few years time, when mainstream fashion has moved away from the "Mad For Mod" look, you'll get to hear comments like, "Hey! 2013 called. It wants its Mad Men clothes back!"

But in the end, if I'm being honest with myself... yeah, I'll probably be looking for one of those Mad Men ties in the sales bins.

Besides, somehow we survived The Nanny going 'Mod' in the '90s. We'll survive this too.

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