RETRO/VINTAGE/SIXTIES LOOK!

Have you ever asked yourself why your style of clothes,or your choice of music,or your preferred mode of transport is basically from an age gone by! Is it something we missed out on in our youth? Or in your mod world does the music from yesteryear tick your boxes,are the clothes your number 1 priority or is it the scooters that float your boat! For me these three critical points are and i suppose have always been in this order: 1/ Music. 2/Clothes. 3/ Scooters. Although i couldnt live without any of the three aforementioned. Whats your slant on your personal mod lifestyle?

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Harris on July 19, 2012 at 6:43

I think the 80's were so bad musically and fashion wise that I had to take influence from a time gone by. Influence being the key word because being up to date is also important. A foot in the past with an eye on the future. Living in the "NOW" is the most important of all, this is our time!

For me it has to be the vinyl that comes first, the music! this can be old sixties psych & Garage rock records , right through to bands of today such as Arctic Monkeys, The Enemy etc... but mostly collected on vinyl and played on a vintage player. Live bands is a must, not old men playing at Butlins to an audience of golden oldies , but young folks playing garage punk R&B and Surf to a young audience as well as a few old

My clothes are a mixture of top brands mixed with some vintage. I love my Pretty Green , Baracuta, Gabicci mixed up with vintage , a little bespoke and army surplus ,military jackets and various others bits which I convert and alter to make individual.

As for scoots, I no longer have one but am soon to buy a mini for my lady(she got to pass her test yet haha), so I'll see how important that is when the time comes!

I'm not implying to have a personal mod lifestyle, I'm not mod! but am similar :)

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Permalink Reply by Walter Ressmeyer on July 24, 2012 at 7:54

Andrew,

you nailed it, can't say it any better.

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Permalink Reply by Bettina Krause on July 19, 2012 at 9:01

I think it is all: clothes, desing, music, scooters, lifstyle.

I think a problem of today is that new ideas are missing, everything has been before at any time. You can just copy. At the end of the 50s everything started new, more and more inventions, ideas...everything was possible and the people were stylish and have rules to be with each other (of course not everything was the best and funny). Today you can go down the streets and wear a joggers, you didn't have a shower for some days, didn't shave, no make up for the girls Nothing is important anymore and I think that is a big problem of today. That is why I am missing the good sites of the past. The communication between men and women, today it is ignorance and worse. Everybody was styled on the street, today you can be naked and that ok. urghh, goose pimples.

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Permalink Reply by Brad on July 19, 2012 at 16:11

I'm 19 and I've been gradually pulled more and more towards the mod lifestyle since the age of 15 , I can't explain in any great terms why but I would say the it's because some of us view the era as one greater than are own and want to steal a part of it . The fashion still looks great today no doubt about it and I am hoping to own my first scooter later this year . With every new generation of mods there has been a new sound accosiated with it ie. jazz, rnb and the mod revival the jam , small faces ect. I've got love for the classics like a lot of people but us young mods need are own bands (I would recommend giving missing Andy a look ). In general I just think the culture is too cool for some of us younger generation to overlook.

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Permalink Reply by Steve Brown on July 19, 2012 at 21:58

Get over yerself John....Some people hav scooters some dont, just stating my personal choice U need to go to Specsavers stik yer attitude!

Just cos not everyone agrees wiv U dont cry bout it.

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Permalink Reply by John Paterson on July 22, 2012 at 15:31

Load of tosh...LOL...:-)

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Permalink Reply by Robert McAlister on July 19, 2012 at 22:27

I think Bettina is right - clothes first.

For me I want to know about real details....the width of a lapel, the vents, the suit colour - ice or petrol blue(?), the contrast lining, a great windcheater, a silk scarf, a madras button down, a made to measure tab collar, the best basket weave shoes, and a riviera look. That shop you saw in France/ Italy/ London which had it.

There are also quite a lot of female bloggers on here who feel te same not just on what we fellahs wear but on their own identity.

These are things I inherited, and in part stole, from so many things. (My dad was 6 ft 4 and had to get his suits made for example.) If that was influenced by the 60s then great. But it also expresses itself in todays high fashion so much of the time.

Taking pride in what you wear every day-and being seen to do so expresses what is mod. It changed everything, and yes many of us are still vain wee buggers to this day. And the beat goes on...

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Permalink Reply by Carlos Perez (Mod Male) on July 19, 2012 at 22:55

For me the order goes like this: 1. Clothes, 2. Music, 3. Films, 4. Books, 5. Friends, 6. Art, 7. Food, ...... oh yeah, and lastly, scooters. I kid, I kid, but really, I'm not much of a scooter guy. I think they're great, but I'm much more into clothes and music.

Why the sixties? I guess the fashions appealed most to my sensibilities, if that makes sense. Originally, when I was interested in Mods, I wasn't into it necessarily as a 'sixties' thing. In fact, I hated the 'idea' of the sixties to begin with. My father and uncles were always going on about how great the sixties were and how nothing will ever match them and how my generation basically sucked. So, for a long time, I hated the sixties.

Well... unfortunately, I came around to their way of thinking. Ugh. The fashions first, because I liked the narrow fit and attention to details. Hearing 'My Generation' for the first time made me realize there was more to the sixties than 'I Want to Hold Your Hand' (even though I liked that song). And that just led to an overall fascination and obsession with sixties Mod culture.

I think the difference between Mods and, say, rockabillies, swing kids, or Teddy Boys, is that over the years, we've adapted new bits into the culture. And, different types of Mods with different focuses have developed.

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Permalink Reply by Kai Ahland on July 20, 2012 at 13:01

I´d put the books before the films, but all in all... well said, Carlos! Good thing there´s so many different types of mods and not just a uniformed bunch of revivalists.

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Permalink Reply by John Paterson on July 22, 2012 at 15:32

Good comment kai,but not everyone is so understanding...:-(

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Permalink Reply by Kai Ahland on July 22, 2012 at 15:54

Well it´s that incredible variety mod has to offer that makes it so interresting. From ska to soul, to jazz, `79 or 60´s US garage punk, clothes, pop art and modes of transport... we should tolerate each others tastes and enjoy the rich and lavish cornucopia of M.O.D.!