Mod to Suedehead

an article about mainstream fashion mixing with skinhead style

anyone else catch This is England 86 yet? Pretty dark, much moreso than the original movie. Especially by episode 3, but i suppose you can see it coming tho I thought it'd be with a different character involved.

Originally Posted by Man-of-Mystery

Click to expand...

At the risk of this becoming the Strat-as-a-fashion-item thread, I have an '83 American. Or it could be! It is neither a two-pot model nor is it a Dan Smith (I established that by looking inside the "works"). My guess it is a hybrid - an '83 neck on a different body.

I also have a '95 reissue '52 Tele...

Okay guys, back on topic quick!

Hoo-wee, '83, older than me. If only I could age as gracefully!

I'd hestitate to call guitars a fashion item, but what guitar a man plays definitely says a lot about him, much as the car he drives or the clothes he wears. Either way, they're awesome and I'd definitely like to spy your tele if you've got a pic.

Can "the look" apply to instruments?

Originally Posted by Get Smart

Click to expand...

anyone else catch This is England 86 yet? Pretty dark, much moreso than the original movie. Especially by episode 3, but i suppose you can see it coming tho I thought it'd be with a different character involved.

I picked it up from Amazon UK. Towards the end it became so bleak that it became hard to watch. Especially in the last confrontation between the girl and her father. If what was about to happen would have it would have been almost too devastating. I suppose I shouldn't say too much about the show for those who haven't seen it, but the one actual **** scene in the series was one of the most emotionally brutal I have ever seen.

I guess I should add that I thought it was pretty well done though I can imagine someone saying they really enjoyed it because of how gutwrenching some of it was.

******* hell, just watched the first 4 episodes..i don't think i can watch the rest it makes me feel downright violated, but i am glad that guy got what he had comin'

Originally Posted by Black Cherry

Click to expand...

Can "the look" apply to instruments?

I've sent you a PM with a link to where you can see my guitars.

Certainly a look can apply to instruments - just think of Curt Cobain's Jag-Stang, or the all-Fender line-up of the Beach Boys. But if you're talking about a Telecaster "look" being cool, check out the young Steve Cropper (Booker T and the MGs). Mohair suit and a Tele!

Originally Posted by il ciclista

Click to expand...

******* hell, just watched the first 4 episodes..i don't think i can watch the rest it makes me feel downright violated, but i am glad that guy got what he had comin'


it was only a 4 episode run. maybe he'll do a TiE '90

Originally Posted by Man-of-Mystery

Click to expand...

Sheepskin coats and Crombie-style overcoats.

What about donkeys? How much were they popular?

Originally Posted by Big Muscle

Click to expand...

What about donkeys? How much were they popular?

Frankly I never saw anyone wearing one. Correction, one guy in a photo. Apart from that, nope.

It's interesting. I often hear that it was one of main parts of skinhead style, adopted from British workers.

I'm thinking about this one http://www.bennevisclothing.com/Donkey-Jacket with tartan lining and without that PVC thing on shoulders.

Originally Posted by Big Muscle

Click to expand...

It's interesting. I often hear that it was one of main parts of skinhead style, adopted from British workers.

I'm thinking about this one http://www.bennevisclothing.com/Donkey-Jacket with tartan lining and without that PVC thing on shoulders.

Certainly a garment worn by generations of manual workers in the UK, but never part of the original skinhead look.

Big muscle this looks much better

Originally Posted by Man-of-Mystery

Click to expand...

I thought I would show you the fashion items which I still maintain from the late sixties. None of this is vintage, everything is currently or recently available, and you have to remember that I'm now an old guy so the stuff I wear isn't at the extreme end of the look.

MA1 jacket - great for Scottish autumn.

Light blue, short-sleeved Ben Sherman.

White, long-sleeved Ben Sherman.

Fred Perry. (Sorry everything looks in need of a good ironing in these photos).

Burgundy lambswool V-neck, bought a couple of years ago from M&S.

Harrington Jacket. The jeans in this picture are by Lee. I remember that in '67, before I came to London, the mods in the North of England had a strict hierarchy of what jeans were "cool". Levis were the brand of choice, of course, but second came Wrangler, then Lee (Lee Rider), then Lee Cooper... anything else was just pants! These days Levis don't look right on me, so I have one pair of Wranglers and two pairs of Lee. I don't wear turn-ups - in middle age you need a "clean" look.

A good pair of brogues - these came from Clarks on the high street.
Great to know! . I think every skinhead should read this whole thread because it's very enlightening about the Original/Real skinhead roots(I like your brogues btw). You've cleared alot of things. I don't think many skinheads would know the origin of how it all came together, they just go by with what they hear from the Oi!/Hardcore scene. Is it safe to say that ,above all, the [Original]skinhead scene was about the clothes/fashion & the attitude? For example, could someone have called themselves a skinhead if they didn't fully live up to these "standards"? What was the purpose/statement to be a skinhead in your time? I've heard tons of things but I rather get an answer from you since a lot of skins today don't really know Sh!t,lol.

Originally Posted by engar

Click to expand...

Big muscle this looks much better

I think this jacket looks Even better(I plan to get it soon): The Donkey jacket that BM wants looks pretty sweet too.

Originally Posted by OHT

Click to expand...

Is it safe to say that ,above all, the [Original]skinhead scene was about the clothes/fashion & the attitude?

Yes, it's entirely safe to say that.

Originally Posted by OHT

Click to expand...

For example, could someone have called themselves a skinhead if they didn't fully live up to these "standards"?

In many respects it was an aspirational thing. But it required money - mohair suits, Crombies, and brogues didn't come cheap! This is the main reason why it was mainly a working class scene, because kids from that class left school early and got a wage packet. On the other hand, many of the basics of the look were available in the high street, and it was possible to look "good enough", to look as though you meant business, to know how to carry off the look.

There was, essentially, no need to "call" yourself a skinhead. No need to call yourself anything. It spoke for itself.

Originally Posted by OHT

Click to expand...

What was the purpose/statement to be a skinhead in your time?

To look sharp. To impress the sharp-looking girls. [With all due respect to the skinhead girls of later incarnations, the girls in the late 60s who had the look, with the mohair minskirts and matching jackets and so on, were way, way sharper]. To be something more than humdrum. If that doesn't seem like much, then you would have to have been there to appreciate it.