60s Mod Fashions and the music that goes with them!
The classic Sixties "mod" scene is usually considered a cultural phenomenon, not a musical one, but the original genre did have certain parameters, although it's easier to determine what Mod music was by looking at what it wasn't. First, unlike Merseybeat, which was influenced by skiffle and '50s rock, or the second wave of British Invasion bands focused on traditional American blues (The Animals, The Rolling Stones), Mod was the first true English R&B phenomenon.
The most crucial Mod fixation was on what came to be known as "Tamla/Motown" (the label Motown singles were released on in the UK). The mods, generally more middle-class folk who dressed in a collegiate style and preferred the new R&B to traditional rock, clashed openly in the streets of London with the more working-class "rockers" who wore leather jackets and clung to the obsolete sounds of rockabilly; the war between the two in 1964 was the American public's first introduction to the trend.
The typical Mod song fused the harder, earlier Motown R&B sound with traditional British pop virtues; as a result, the songs were slick, uptempo, yet soulful, featuring hard guitars and drums but also pop harmonies and, typically, sporting a cynical attitude about romance. As the phenomenon died around 1966, the "hard mods" gravitated toward the British garage-psychedelia that would come to be known as Freakbeat; the poppier mods (that is, those who hadn't had the vision to break free from the fad, like the Kinks, Small Faces and the Who) went full hippie, and the fixation with American R&B turned insetad to Jamaican ska and bluebeat. As with so many UK movements, this one came back around -- first in the punk movement, spawning bands like the Jam, and then more recently, complete with a revival of '60s mod clothing and the mod's favorite form of transport, Vespa and Lambretta scooters!
Early 60s
In the first half of the 60s, for women's fashion, the look of the late fifties remained. It was all about the glamour of American movies. By 1963, when this photograph, right, was taken, the wide skirts of the 50s had disappeared, but the look was still formal. The two girls in this picture look very grown up. The look was adult and glamorous, there was no real attempt to look that different from the older generation. This style can be seen in films such as 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning' (1960).
The young man in this picture is in Mod gear: a smart suit with narrow lapels and tapered trousers, a slim tie and winklepickers. Fashion was very regional in the 60s. Styles adopted in the Capital took some time to reach the whole country. In the film 'Kes' (1969), about Billy, a boy growing up in Barnsley in Yorkshire, his older brother, Jud, still wears this style, right down to the winklepickers. In the early sixties, in some towns, the Teddy Boy style was still in vogue, whereas in London the Mod movement was beginning.
The photograph, above, from 1962, shows a selection of more casual styles. They range from a sports jacket and tie complete with hat for the man on the left, to open necks for the two in the middle. The hat was on its way out in the sixties and was mainly worn by older men.
Slim fitting trousers were also popular casual wear for women in the early sixties. This shot, right, is also from 1962.
For most men over thirty the smart suit remained the only way to dress for going out. Many went to tailors, such as Burton or John Collier to be fitted out at least one a year. Burton's suits were good value for money and lasted reasonably well.
See also 60s mens suit
The young man in this picture is in Mod gear: a smart suit with narrow lapels and tapered trousers, a slim tie and winklepickers. Fashion was very regional in the 60s. Styles adopted in the Capital took some time to reach the whole country. In the film 'Kes' (1969), about Billy, a boy growing up in Barnsley in Yorkshire, his older brother, Jud, still wears this style, right down to the winklepickers. In the early sixties, in some towns, the Teddy Boy style was still in vogue, whereas in London the Mod movement was beginning.
The photograph, above, from 1962, shows a selection of more casual styles. They range from a sports jacket and tie complete with hat for the man on the left, to open necks for the two in the middle. The hat was on its way out in the sixties and was mainly worn by older men.
Slim fitting trousers were also popular casual wear for women in the early sixties. This shot, right, is also from 1962.
For most men over thirty the smart suit remained the only way to dress for going out. Many went to tailors, such as Burton or John Collier to be fitted out at least one a year. Burton's suits were good value for money and lasted reasonably well.
See also 60s mens suit
Mid 60s fashion
By the middle of the decade little had changed in women's fashion. The Chanel suit, left, a hangover from the 50s was still very popular in the 60s. Hemlines might have been slightly higher. The bouffant hairdo (as worn right) dated from the middle years of the sixties. It needed a considerable amount of back combing and hair lacquer.
The smart suit and fairly formal look remained popular, certainly for women over thirty.
The smart suit and fairly formal look remained popular, certainly for women over thirty.
Hair styles
Below are some more popular hairstyles from the 60s. The flip was a classic 60s look that remained 'in' for most of the decade. The beehive was popular in the early to mid 60s; this girl has a typical 'Audrey Hepburn look'. The pixie was a short hairstyle, which was popular in the mid 60s, before long hair came back in the hippy era.
The Mod style
The Mods of the early sixties took the suit to new levels of style. The tapered trousers and thin lapels of the Italian style, became a new youth cult in the early to mid sixties. To this look they added striped blazers, Fred Perry shirts and the Mod scooter, a Lambretta if possible.
Carnaby Street was their fashion centre. John Stephen had several shops there. His male boutiques became the equivalent of Mary Quant's Bazaar.
In the mid 60s, the London Mods congregated inCarnaby Street for a regular fashion parade. Pop music poured from the boutiques and men's shops along the small, narrow street. By the mid 60s, boutiques catering for girls as well as boys were common on Carnaby Street; the Mods usually brought their girlfriends along with them. Shops on Carnaby Street often came and went. Shops that were on Carnaby Street in the 60s included:
reference links:
http://oldies.about.com/od/britishinvasion/g/modmusic.htm
http://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_style/60s/60s_fashion.html
http://www.modrevival.net/Classicmod.html
Carnaby Street was their fashion centre. John Stephen had several shops there. His male boutiques became the equivalent of Mary Quant's Bazaar.
In the mid 60s, the London Mods congregated inCarnaby Street for a regular fashion parade. Pop music poured from the boutiques and men's shops along the small, narrow street. By the mid 60s, boutiques catering for girls as well as boys were common on Carnaby Street; the Mods usually brought their girlfriends along with them. Shops on Carnaby Street often came and went. Shops that were on Carnaby Street in the 60s included:
reference links:
http://oldies.about.com/od/britishinvasion/g/modmusic.htm
http://www.retrowow.co.uk/retro_style/60s/60s_fashion.html
http://www.modrevival.net/Classicmod.html
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