Weekly Blog Roundup - 4/27/2012

Friday is here so let's get your weekend started with some cool blog reads this morning:

• Check out this nice photographic tour of Soho, concentrating on the roots of the Swinging Sixties.
• I just can't keep up with the great posts coming out of the Voices of East Anglia, such as this piece on Push Pin Studios and this one on music columnist Michael Oberman (with lots of great '60s music photos).
• I may not be a Suede fan, but I am a fan of sharp suit styling no matter who's wearing it... like this item found on David Reeves's blog.
• The Anorak Thing blog stumbles upon one of the most mind-boggling things I've ever seen: The Rodnees!
• The Jab continues his tour of Parisian restaurants, further making me hungry for that cuisine! 
• The Syllabus blog shows us a protest with style!
• ModCulture finds video of tailor Mr. Holland discussing the changing look of young men's dress in 1960. Seriously worth watching!
• Hot darn! Derek's Daily 45 hits you with a double-sided soul attack from the Casanova Two!
• The Parka Avenue tries its hand at learning how to play a musical instrument for the first time. (Heck, the only musical instrument I know how to play is a turntable.)
• Need info on Blow Up's tour of California starting tonight? Here ya go! (Hope to see you Tuesday!)

That's it for today! Have a great weekend!

Sharp Stylings #37: Keith Mansfield

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.

Still trying to get my mind off of certain, lame t-shirts. This image of 1960s composer and arranger, Keith Mansfield, should do the trick!

This scan taken from the Blow Up A Go-Go! blog. Check it out for other great LP scans!

Many of you know Mansfield though his work with bands like The Marmalade and the UK's KPM library music series which was popularized by the UK dance club, Blow Up and their compilation series. Along with other composers like Alan Hawkshaw and James Clarke, Mansfield became a big name amongst record collectors thanks to songs like 'Boogaloo' and 'Soul Thing' (aka 'Funky Fanfare'), which lit up dance floors from Europe to the US. 

However, did you also realize Keith Mansfield knew how to pump up the style? Dig him up there, just leaning up loose against that magical tree of musical instruments. He ain't bothered by the weirdness of that tree... he's too busy lookin' sussed.

I wish we could zoom in on the photo a little more, because that paisley tie is just waiting to be admired more. Contrasts perfectly with the broadly-striped suit Mansfield's wearing. This guy doesn't just funk up a dancefloor... he also funks up his style with these patterns! And check out the cut of that suit! Nice overall drape, three-button jacket with a high button stance, and a tight peak lapel that adds to the overall sharpness of the suit.

Y'know what? Keith Mansfield's outfit needs its own soundtrack. Hm... I think this'll do nicely:

So, did you dig what you just heard? Well, if you're in San Francisco this Tuesday, guess what? You can hear more of it! The legendary Blow Up club which introduced many of us to music like this will be returning to San Francisco on Tuesday night! And I'm honored to say that I've been asked to be one of four guest DJs that night!! So please, if you're in the area and don't mind risking going to work late the next morning, come on out and dig on some good dancefloor music with us! (And if you can't make it in San Francisco, maybe you can catch them tonight in Los Angeles at Club Underground or on Saturday in Sacramento with live act The Cellar Doors!)

If you're in town, check out the details and RSVP here!

Hope to see you then!

Mod Gone Wrong: "I'm A Mod" Tee

Oh boy, here we go.

Over on the Mod Generation forums, member Kai A. posted this little item:

Geez, the lack of design and imagination with this shirt is draining my ability to write...

I'm going to come right out and say it. There is no reason on Earth why anyone should be wearing a shirt like this. First off, if you're not a Mod, why would you wear it? Secondly, if you are a Mod, are you really that desperate for people to know that you are? If you need a shirt like this to let the whole wide world know what you're about, well friend, you're probably not gettin' it right to begin with.

And I just can't imagine wearing something like this and ever getting a thrill off of some stranger approaching me on the street saying, "Um, yeah, so I see by your t-shirt there that you're a Mod. Cool!" Oh yeah, there's a conversation really worth getting into...

Then there's this piece of typographic assault, from Ben Sherman (posted by Bobby C. on the forums):

The Mdd Life (?)

What a 'Mdd' is, I couldn't tell you, but if we are to assume that this shirt says 'The Mod Life,' again, why? And what's 'The Mod Life'? Being lazy and wearing a t-shirt to display your interest instead of actually, y'know, dressing moddishly dapper to begin with? This shirt's just covering up a falsehood. It's like ordering a McDonald's Big Mac and getting it in a wrapper that says, "I'm A Filet Mignon" or "The Healthy Life." No, it's not.

Now, as you can probably guess, t-shirts as a 'Mod' look really aren't my thing to begin with. Yes, I know Mods in the 1960s wore them and all, but as this blog has shown, I try promoting the suit jacket, tie, and pocket square look as often as possible. I believe in trying to look your best as often as you can. To me, that's part of 'The Mod Life.' Target t-shirts and shirts like those above are just plain lazy and unimaginative to me.

HOWEVER, I'm not a militant person about it. I understand that, on occasion, you need to wear a t-shirt. And yes, I do have a small batch collecting dust in my closet. Believe it or not, contrary to what Mark Twain said, sometimes even the San Francisco Bay Area does get hot... so hot that a t-shirt is recommended. It's true. Also, t-shirts are good for when you're cleaning around the house or apartment. Who wants to get their good shirts all dusted up? And hey, if you're at the beach, you're probably not going to be walking around in a suit jacket or nice shirt... but a t-shirt can come in handy!

That said, skip the target tees and definitely, positively, adamantly avoid the two t-shirts shown above! There are plenty of cool tees out there can make you look good without being plain obvious about what you're into. Check some examples here:

Show off one of the coolest band logos from one of the coolest bands around!

Clean design from one of the best record labels around.

Classic look from a classic soul label.

Show off your love of good jazz with some of these Blue Note tees.

Impress your intellectual friends with this (over-priced) t-shirt using the logo from the famed late '60s magazine.

Or, even better, get a bunch of these classic 1960s t-shirts (from the Smashingbird blog) silkscreened for you and your friends!

Alright friends, I've had enough of t-shirts for today! I'm sittin' here, late in the evening, in my pajamas and now I need to find a pocket square to put in my chest pocket to make me feel better.

Weekly Blog Roundup - 4/22/2012

Enjoy your Sunday afternoon with some nice blog reading:

• Nice little interview with original Modernist (as well as John Stephen employee and manager of 1960s band The Carnaby), Robert Orbach.
• Remember last week's post on scalloped hems? The Annimal House blog shows the hems in action!
• The It Sparkles blog counts down the Top 10 Style Council songs.
• The Funky Sole blog offers up a nice farewell to the Band's Levon Helms, who passed away this week at age 71.
• Need some design inspiration? Then have a gander at some great record advertisements from the 1960s.
• Enjoy some French ambiance with the Jab as he visits L'Escargot Montorgueil in Paris.
• Hip your kids to a game with style: an Alexander Girard Memory Card game!
• Get clued in to some of the new jazz sounds out there today with the Filthy Six on Acid Jazz Records!

That's it for today. Have a great one!

Sharp Stylings #36: Suggs

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.

You guys, I. Am. Beat. Trying to recover from last night's Madness show at the Warfield in San Francisco and the Madness after-party, and I'm having a bit of a hard time. (Why did I have that last whiskey and soda?)

Anyways, on with this post. Okay, so yeah, Madness. I totally dig them. They were my gateway drug into ska music. However, as much as I like them, they kind of set up some bad examples for me. For one thing, I blame them for my horrible running-in-place skanking moves I did back in high school. (Thank you, Hepcat and '60s ska videos for showing me the right way to skank!) And sure, some of the Madness guys often wore suits, but they weren't necessarily the most styling. I mean, I get the fun of baggy trousers and all, but many times, their suits were also kinda ill-fitting.

But after a long search, I found a photo worth talking about. Here's an early Madness shot, back when they still had a slightly 'rude' look to them.

I know, I know, nothing really sharp going on here too much. But let's focus in a little bit more, shall we?

There we go, much better! Now check out Suggs up front there. He's looking much more slick now! Thin tie, well-fitted suit, pull-over v-neck sweater vest (to add a casual touch), nice narrow trousers, and clean-looking shoes. Here, Suggs looks styling and comfortable. Perfect way to dress on an overcast, cool day.

And yes, as we learned last night, the guy still likes wearing his suit on stage. Unfortunately, not as sharp as this one right here and, as my wife pointed out last night, "Oh no... he buttoned his bottom button!"

Now, I'm off to recover. Have a great weekend!

Mod Gone Wrong: Mod Mouse Pad

Hey, look everyone... it's a Mod mousepad set.

Found on the Retro To Go blog.

Alright, let's get the obvious out of the way. Yes, yes... army parka, target/roundel, cliche, mod gone wrong, reinforcing tired Mod stereotypes... yadda yadda, blah blah blah. You already know where I stand on this.

But let's stand back for a bit and ignore the cliches. From a Mod my perspective, this falls into the realm of things that bore the heck out of me. But from a design perspective... this is actually pretty cool! Whoever came up with this created the complete Mod 'uniform' look, just by turning a computer mouse into a target badge! It's goofy, but it's also a pretty neat idea.

Unfortunately, this set is sold out. Too bad... could have been the perfect tool for all the Internet Mods out there!

Weekly Blog Roundup - 4/14/2012

Saturday, lazy morning. Type of morning for some early reading... reading blog posts that is!

• Absolutely beautiful mid-century graphic design from Neil Fujita!
• If you appreciate good type design, here are some nice choices to dig on.
• (Okay, not a blog.) Mod crafting just got way hipper with these clutch purse bags using imagery from a 1960s "Mod's Monthly" magazine cover.
• There's always time for more Kinks in your life!
• I may not read Portuguese, but Google Translate does (though, not very well). Use it to catch up on a blog that shows some pretty great taste. 
• Mod Gone Wrong hits you from the Canadian side of the continent! 
• An older link, but one really worth sharing. When love is found between two style-oriented Mods in the 1960s.
• Oh man, howzabout some rollickin' soul from Oakland, CA? Always great to get turned on to 'new' 1960s sounds from the town you live in!
• Googie postcards, courtesty of the Voices of East Anglia.
• I don't care much for the idea of a "Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame," but it's still pretty cool they're finally recognizing The Small Faces. And if you don't know what all the hubbub about them is, well, then some reading's in order. 

That's it for this weekend!