Working to look sharp for a rare evening out on the town can actually
be easy. The tough job is trying to look sharp on a daily, casual
basis. Yeah, you might have your Friday night suit at your beck and
call, but what does it matter if you spend the rest of your time in
target t-shirts and jeans? Every Friday, I'd like to offer up some style
inspiration for tightening up your casual look, because let's face
it... sometimes you just don't feel like wearing a tie, but still want
to keep it sharp.
Okay, first off, let's get over the loose fit of the jacket. I know you Mod types like your jackets nice and tight, but lay off of Ballard, who's just keepin' it loose'n'cool.
Besides, it's the color and individual ensemble pieces that make this such a great, casual style. This look actually reminds me of what some of the Berkeley Mods were dressing like when I first moved to the Bay Area: vintage slim trousers with a higher rise, 3-button pop-over shirts (which you could still find at thrift shops at the time), and late '50s/early '60s pointed shoes.
In fact, if I could take a closer look at Ballards shoes, I could almost swear they're exactly like the type I still wear these days for work (and play)! You can keep your desert boots... I'd rather stick with slick, leather dress shoes.
The slim fit of the trousers work well with the overall look as well. I don't really do high-rises on my trousers these days, but if I could find a pair that looked this great, I'd do it.
Now take a look at that shirt... man! Nice, Autumn-flavored bold stripes with that 3-button front and button-down collar. You just don't see shirts like this that often anymore and it's really too bad because they're perfect casual shirts that beat any ol' tennis polo shirt any day of the week.
Bam! This all gets topped off with a rust-colored coat that matches his shirt perfectly. His ascot is just icing on the whole cake.
Hank Ballard... casual by day, slicked-up by night, all in one outfit. All right, Hank, now show us how the funk is done:
You probably thought I gave this blog up, but the reality is that I've been way too busy with a miserable, overbearing task: moving.
Seriously. My wife and I just finished moving and the largest lesson I've learned from this whole thing is that this Mod thing sucks. I'm done with it.
I understand now why many 1960s Mods splintered off into more spartan, hippie lifestyles. I'm trading in my suits for target t-shirts and jeans, trading in all my shoes for a single pair of Adidas trainers, trading in all my vinyl for a single iPod, and trading in the books for a library card.
Of course, 18 years of accumulation is a hard thing to just pack up and move. We're dealing with boxes & boxes of shoes and bags & bags of clothing... and let's not get into my wife's collection of shoes and clothes! We couldn't have done it without the help of a moving company and our friends Jon Burchard, Karen Finlay, Syd Wayman, and Mari Corella. (Thanks guys!)
A few things I came across during our packing included an old pair of original 1960s Denson 'Chisel Poynters' I wore once long ago, before the tongue fell out. At the time that I got these, I didn't appreciate the fact that they were original Densons!
At the opposite end of the spectrum, I also found my old pair of Jam stage shoes.
A few other clothing pieces I came across included a beat-up pair of Cuban-heeled pointed boots...
some madras jackets...
my old houndstooth suit jacket...
and my paisley 2-button jacket (thanks Sean C.!).
Also came across some old paperbacks with great covers:
Oh yeah, and I found my old scooter!
Now, I lived in that last place for almost 18 years, believe it or not. I moved in, as a couch-surfing student, with my friends Susan and Mike Therieau. At the time, The Beatles were celebrating their Anthology and local brit-pop club, Popscene, had just debuted at the Cat Club.
A month later, I had my own apartment in that same building with my roommate DJ Sean Cavanaugh. 4 years or so after that, while riding high on the dot-com craze, I had enough money to rent my very own apartment with no roommate in the very same building. Unfortunately, a month later, the dot-com craze died, but I survived and held on to that apartment! About 6 years later, my future wife moved in with me and now, 7 years later, we're off to a bigger place. Sigh... sad leaving that place behind.
Many Mod friends passed through as residents of that building over the years including Mike Therieau, Sean Cavanaugh, Dennis (Denny) Winston, Jason Ringgold (New Untouchables), Jon Burchard (ex-The Idea), and more. Many good times of BBQs, parties, and late-night hangouts.
And now, it's over. Time to move on.
As we cleaned out the last bit and prepared to close the door for one last time, my wife wanted me to take photos of the old place.
And as we shut the door, I just had to play this last song (as I reminded myself to stop watching so many sitcoms):
Now it's time to give the spartan life a chance... a-a-a-and that's over. I feel like book-shopping.
Alright, alright, only my second monthly playlist and already I'm late. Hey, what can I say? Life.
Anyways, this is what I've been diggin' on this month. That Acid Jazz box set really got me on a hip-hop kick (*gasp*), but that's not all I've been listening to. Check it!
1. Ry Cooder & The Chicken Skin Band - Dark End of The Street - This version just floored me. A beautiful mix of tender, soft soulful vocals, slide guitar, and Tex-Mex accordian. I had this on repeat for almost an entire work day. For no reason whatsoever, I've never picked up any Ry Cooder albums, but have wanted to explore his records for a while. This song just might be the kick in the pants to get on that!
2. Three O'Clock - In My Own Time - This month was a big concert month in the Bay Area. The Specials (or did they play in March?), Peter Daltrey (see below), and The Three O'Clock. Gotta say, the Three O'Clock were pretty great! When I was younger, 'Canteloupe Girlfriend' was my jam. These days, it's this track.
3. Kaleidoscope - Standing/Diary Song: The Indian Head - Peter Daltrey made a return visit to San Francisco this month, so I spent time catching up on all my favorite Kaleidoscope/Fairfield Parlour recordings (i.e., all of them). I was super excited to catch him again, as he was so good last time he played. But what happened? I got sick and couldn't make the show! Although I missed him, I still have fantastic songs like this, probably my favorite off of the White Faced Lady album.
4. Ricky Fante - Let You Go - Man, talk about getting lost in the shuffle. There are all these great new soul acts playing today, but Ricky Fante was one of the first back in the mid-2000s. I don't know why he wasn't picked up on more or why he didn't continue on the path of this sound. (Maybe it was the out-of-place dancers all around him?) But listen to this and tell me this ain't some great 'new' soul!
5. Dave Pike - Big Schlepp - I'm always in the mood for some good, funky Dave Pike jams. This is perfect music for just hangin' at home and kickin' it easy. Thanks to YouTube, you can find some good live footage of him. But the song that was ticklin' me this month was 'Big Schlepp!'
6. The Pharcyde - Oh Sh**! - As mentioned above, I've been on a hip-hop kick thanks to the Acid Jazz 25th Anniversary box set. I was never much of a hip-hop guy when I was younger. I think the only tracks I liked back in high school were 'Express Yourself' (NWA), 'Fight The Power' (Public Enemy), and 'Me, Myself, and I' (De La Soul). These days, though, I have a much larger appreciation and have been diggin' on songs I missed out the first time around, like this.
7. The Velvet Underground - Oh! Sweet Nuthin' - Ah, you all know this one! I was at the gym the other day, and this came on my iPod. It had been a while, but a very welcome listen. Unfortunately, it made me want to get off the treadmill and just want to mellow down easy.
8. Guru - Le Bien, Le Mal - Here's an old hip-hop tune I was into back in the day. In fact, while Guru's Jazzmatazz was probably hipping hip-hop kids to jazz, it was actually hipping me to hip-hop. Plus, you just can't beat the sound of French rapping.
9. Caetano Veloso - Lost In Paradise - This album is always lying by the side of our turntable because we are often in a Veloso mood. This particular track kept floating around in my mind this month.
10. Hidden Jazz Quartet- High Heels (Lack of Afro remix) - It's been a while since I've bought new 45s, but I just recently picked this one up. I actually learned about it from the Sussed Facebook page (thanks guys!) A nice slice of new soul that totally makes me want to DJ again!
Alright, that's it for me this month. Hope you dig!
You know what I said up above about revival clothes? Well, something eventually clicked with '80s Mods, because they definitely came back with style! (Well... maybe not the white socks...)
Hey, I have a copy of this 1967 Gear Guide! After all, when I get my time machine working, I'll be needing a 'Hip Pocket Guide to Britain's Swinging Fashion Scene.'
David Walker, of the Modculture site, provides a great take on the state of 'Mod' bands. Like I said on my FB page, the last 3 paragraphs captured my feelings.
Great. Just great. Anorak Thing's April playlist just put 'Pleasant Valley Sunday' in my head on repeat. But that's not a bad thing!
Friends, don't be jealous of us Northern Californians who have closer access to the Mid-Century Modern exhibit going on at the Charles Schulz Museum. Snoopy + MCM = awesomeness.
And end the week with one of my all-time faves, "Take This Hurt Off Me," which always brings me back to those college days of no money, no clubs, but still able to explore good music in friends' living rooms without a giant 'scene' around us.
That's it for this week! Ahh... the mysteries of childhood:
Working to look sharp for a rare evening out on the town can actually be easy. The tough job is trying to look sharp on a daily, casual basis. Yeah, you might have your Friday night suit at your beck and call, but what does it matter if you spend the rest of your time in target t-shirts and jeans? Every Friday, I'd like to offer up some style inspiration for tightening up your casual look, because let's face it... sometimes you just don't feel like wearing a tie, but still want to keep it sharp.
Like my friend Susan (who sent me the photo) said, "Style over 70." And sure 'nuff, Charlie Watts, in his 70s, just kicks out the style even when he's not posing for photo shoots or playing with the band. Here he is just keeping it casual:
Seriously, how many guys from those mid-'60s bands still carry this kind of style in their older years? He's even got a pair of striped socks to throw in a splash of 'pow' to a grey color scheme. But everything in this photo, from the coat, scarf, and vest down to those striped socks and loafers, captures a warm, casual look for a cool day.
But no matter how cold it was that day, it doesn't come near Charlie Watt's cool hang. *
Do you know how rough it was growing up with parents who lived through the sixties? Parents who constantly had to rub it in your face just how great their youth was. My mom was more mellow about it, but my father would go on and on about the British Invasion, the Chicano movement, Bob Dylan, the socio-economic changes occurring at the time, blah, bleh, blah, bluh. Man, as a kid, all I wanted was to be left alone with my Transformers cartoons (which could never stand up to the cartoons they had growing up), my G.I. Joe action figures (not as cool as their G.I. Joe action figures), and my own music (my Top 40 could never match their Top 40).
And you know the worst part? They were totally right. Sure, it took me some time, and early on it did bother me to admit that, yes, The Who were totally amazing and that, yes, Bob Dylan was worth raving about. Heck, even my favorite Mad Magazine issues were from the 1960s!
But when I first got into the Mod thing, it wasn't necessarily built on an appreciation of 'the sixties'. That developed over time. For me, at first, it was just the general idea of 'rebelling' against 'society' by walking around in sharp suits no one else was wearing. But, in time, this began to center so much more around a 'sixties' look and lead to an obsession with sixties music, style, culture, and history.
In fact, there was a period when my friends and I were so obsessed with the sixties that we wanted to get all the details right in our clothing. "Well, they didn't really wear their trousers like that in the sixties, it was more like this." Or, "Hmm... that shirt's too 1968 for me. I think I'll pass." We were obsessive kids, but we were also learning the roots of our look (and the differences between what actual 'Mods' wore and what Carnaby Street shoppers wore). Truth be told, we were kinda more into the colorful, patterned Carnaby Street garb.
My crew and I, circa 1995-96. (Imagine the photo in 'Carnaby color'!)
Over time, we loosened up on trying to get our 'sixties' look just right, instead incorporating what we had learned into a growing, evolving look that we felt suited us (no pun intended) as we grew older. But for me, and a few of my friends, our look is still very much steeped in a sixties aesthetic, with a touch of modern elements thrown in... on occasion.
And that brings me to the big question people often throw around: "Isn't Mod about moving forward? Why are you still into all that retro sixties stuff? That's not modern."
And that's not a bad question. In fact, if you have a copy of the third issue of Sussed, Noel Kavanagh actually addresses this topic in the article, Post Modernist Mods. But here's my take on why so many of us still can't let 'the sixties' go.
First off, yes, from what I've heard, Mods in the sixties were definitely always 'moving forward.' Their styles changed rapidly, sometimes on a weekly basis. Their music was evolving and 'moving forward' with changing technologies in production. Mods did look forward, not backward.
But can you blame them?! Look what they were moving forward and away from:
England was finally escaping the lingering effects of a post-WWII society and economy. The people there were leaving behind food-rationing and starting to find more money in their pockets. Heck, I'd be looking forward, too, and trying to escape the recent past as quickly as possible! Plus, that post-WWII culture was starting to bring in so many new and fresh international influences and it was exciting. There was actually something to look forward to!
Here's the problem though. What happened in the 1960s (starting in the late '50s really) was revolutionary in terms of design, fashion, music, art, and literature. That post-World War II boom led to so many changes in how people viewed the world. Heck, not to bring it back to that, but look at the show Mad Men (which I am finally caught up on!). From season to season, you can see how the characters' attitudes change in response to their social environment as it evolves.
We really haven't seen a rapid cultural shift like that since then. You can spot the major differences in a person's dress from 1964 to 1968. I challenge you to spot as marked a difference in a person's dress from 2004 to 2008. Heck, if I was watching the 1990s show Friends today for the first time, I wouldn't see that much difference in many people's dress today. (Granted, it could just be an ironic hipster thing.)
Have mainstream styles really changed much in the last decade?
But it's not just those changes in the sixties that attract some of us. Nope, it's the fact that so much of those changes were amazing! Midcentury modern furniture, Vidal Sassoon hairstyles, David Bailey's photography, The Beatles' studio work, Stax and Motown soul, new wave cinema, Mary Quant miniskirts... do I need to go on?
The Sixties raised the bar on Western culture to a pretty high level. And it's why so many of us continue to look back to those designs, which have become timeless. Unlike original 1960s Mods who wanted to move away from an era of food rationing and grey hand-me-downs, many of us look back to an era of colorful styles and sleek, sharp designs that have stood the test of time. Some of us are obsessed with Eames, Saraarinen, and Noguchi furnishings or John Stephen, Mary Quant, and Courrèges stylings. And let's not get into the '50s-'60s music we can't get enough of. Yeah, it might be 'vintage' but I think most of us hunt that stuff down because of the beautiful designs, not so much its retro-ness.
Just a few designers who helped shape the mid-century look that remains coveted today.
Let's face it, what happened in the 1960s set a standard some of us don't need to move away from. And a majority of people have caught up to us. Once, you could find midcentury furniture for dirt-cheap at a thrift store. Good luck with that today! (But you can settle for mid-century-inspired pieces from companies like West Elm and EQ3) Men are walking around in slim-tailored suits and women are walking around in bold, patterned dresses. "Retro"-soul acts like Sharon Jones and Charles Bradley are selling out venues. Television networks were scurrying for their own Mad Men-style shows based in the 1960s. (Anyone remember Pan-Am or The Playboy Club?)
Look, I'm all about moving forward and all that, but it's hard to move forward from a look that was done so well the first time around. Sure, we can add a twist here and there to put a check mark in the 'modern' box, but nothing beats a vintage, slim-fitting, tailored 3-button suit; nothing beats a mid-century Tulip Chair; and nothing but nothing beats a tender 1960s Otis Redding vocal.
I'm pretty comfortable with where I'm at, aesthetic-wise. I mix in vintage with some modern and I'm okay with that. I like a lot of contemporary things including clothes from Ted Baker (a little out of my price range, granted) and Thomas Pink. I even like some contemporary (probably non-Mod-approved) songs, like that new Justin Timberlake track (after the 0:45 mark, that is), which ain't half bad.
But I'm not scrambling to find something 'modern' for the sake of its 'modern'-ness. I don't care to have any tattoos etched into my skin, even though everyone and their moms are doing it today. I don't need to like the new Daft Punk CD just because it's modern music. And if I was a scooter guy, you better believe I'd be hunting down a classic, vintage bike instead of a modern one (can't beat that design!).
After all, like Dobie Gray once sang, 'the originals are still the greatest.'
Friends, it's been a tough month with real life (y'know, work and all), so sorry for the lack of real posts lately. Going to try to spend some time at some point actually writing something instead of just commenting on awesome Modish stylings in photos.
In the meantime, go waste your time with other people who are taking the time to write real things:
First off, last weekend we saw a fantastic documentary on artist Wayne White called Beauty Is Embarrassing. Not only are the central figure and his wife highly engaging, but his work captures what I (and probably many others) really loved about the 1980s. (And if you don't know who Wayne White is, just know he had a big hand in designing Pee Wee's Playhouse!)
I came across this blog accidentally. There are no individual blog post links, but a lot of great stuff. But what really blew me away was the story which at first looks to be about a Carnaby St. tribute band, but turns out to be more about Roger Smith's experiences as a Mod in the sixties. You'll have to scroll near the bottom of the page to get there.
A funny, but all too true article on the increasing difficulty in finding mid-century furniture. (However, don't people realize that using the F-word in a web link is not only non-shocking but also really annoying if you want to read this at work?)
Oh hey, look, it's 4/20 today. Go ahead, get all the stoner jokes out.
