Mod to Suedehead

[Yankee]

circustavern, I'm from New York City.
I was born in the late 70s, but I remember my older brother who was in high school in the 80s having one as well as all his friends, too. Big British cultural influence in the US then with punk, two tone, mod revival, new romantics, skins, etc, everywhere. I assume it was part of all that, as I haven't seen anyone under age 80+ wearing one in years...

 

[Lasttye]

Besides the ID Bracelet, my Dad bought me a Omega watch, I sold it to a lad down the road, fcuking shame, Wish i had it now,

 

[Lasttye]



circustavern, I'm from New York City.
I was born in the late 70s, but I remember my older brother who was in high school in the 80s having one as well as all his friends, too. Big British cultural influence in the US then with punk, two tone, mod revival, new romantics, skins, etc, everywhere. I assume it was part of all that, as I haven't seen anyone under age 80+ wearing one in years...

I have seen present day Skinheads wearing chunky ID Bracelets , With 70s Watches with the wide leather straps. Not sure where that comes from, ??

 

[circustavern777]

circustavern, I'm from New York City.
I was born in the late 70s, but I remember my older brother who was in high school in the 80s having one as well as all his friends, too. Big British cultural influence in the US then with punk, two tone, mod revival, new romantics, skins, etc, everywhere. I assume it was part of all that, as I haven't seen anyone under age 80+ wearing one in years...

was in new york around 98 loved it stayed on lexington ave will go back one day you must have a big interest in the skinhead era what is it that stands out is it just the cloths

 

[Lasttye]



I have seen present day Skinheads wearing chunky ID Bracelets , With 70s Watches with the wide leather straps. Not sure where that comes from, ??

Yankee do you ever get in Nevada Smiths on 3rd Ave?.

 

[circustavern777]

Besides the ID Bracelet, my Dad bought me a Omega watch, I sold it to a lad down the road, fcuking shame, Wish i had it now,

nice them omegas sounds like a good dad lasttye was he a early mod

 

[circustavern777]

found some more black and white pics of my cousin and her mate proper original skin girls , a proper classic will get my boy to post asap

 

[Lasttye]



nice them omegas sounds like a good dad lasttye was he a early mod

No Alan my Old Man was a Regular Soldier in WW11, Wearing Jewelry was such a 60s thing,

 

[Lasttye]

The 60s was all about ID Braclets and Signet rings,

 

[browniecj]



The 60s was all about ID Braclets and Signet rings,

And Made-To-Measure Suits Had a Signet Ring,but never wore an ID Bracelet-in case I lost the bloody thing!!

 

[Yankee]

New york was great back then! It's changed quite a bit since then, lost a lot of character and all of its edge.

was in new york around 98 loved it stayed on lexington ave will go back one day you must have a big interest in the skinhead era what is it that stands out is it just the cloths

Here goes, since you asked!


I got into the scene at 17 or so, in the mid 1990s. I took a few breaks along the way to do my own thing style wise (sometimes radically) but It's something I've always come back to. Most of my friends who stayed "100% faithful" long burned out and moved on, but my appreciation for the whole thing has grown as I've gotten older.

The way I see it: from the original era through all the revivals, it's become unmatched as a subculture. Where else can you find people from nearly every ethnic background, from the farthest right and left political extremes, and with music ranging from loud and rough hardcore and oi to mellow and dancey stuff like soul and reggae?

It's more inclusive than any other subculture while being more exclusive than any other.

That keeps it interesting.
Aside from whatever weekly episode of scene drama was happening, it was no bullshit, you knew real quick where you stood, and problems got settled, one way or another. Some would say it brought out the worst in people, but it also brought out the best, you had to be on guard and keep your **** together, man up and deal with fear, pressure, humiliation or worse, and stick by your friends and let them stick by you.

It's definitely lost a few of its teeth and lots of people are running around now that would have been checked HARD a few years ago, but at the same time it's underground again, out of the news, it's been forgotten by the world, most people don't even recognize "it" without bleached jeans, 14is and a bare crop. For better and for worse.

Style-wise, the Ny skin scene at the time was also very connected to the hardcore punk scene, so there was a big range in skinheads, from smart to totally scruffy, not really one single set of 'rules' beyond having the right attitude. Lots of ignorance, too. The idea of how one would be treated for wearing weejuns and a cardigan to certain shows is pretty funny, it wouldn't be pleasant.


This thread is so interesting because it puts alot of "the lore" into context and expands on it.

I remember before the internet those black and white illustration plates— someone had photocopies of them from a friend of a friend who had night's book and others from "the bible," we didn't know what some of those clothing items were beyond a name (and werent even sure what was what sometimes, like segs), even with scene stores in NY like "99x" and "Trash and Vaudeville" selling pricey gear and friends who'd been to the UK bringing back things.

It's really something to see people on this thread who were in pictures we'd pour over as youths in some grubby photocopied pamphlet, wondering what the deal was.

I've been moving a lot more traditional and smart lately since hitting my 30s, more than ever before, and there's great info here. The San Francisco traditional scene has been getting me out again, it's very vibrant, smart, good revival bands and reggae parties every couple of weeks. Still catch oi shows when I can as well, a couple of weeks ago was a huge weekend for bands, people were flying in from across the country.

 

[Aces and Eights]

Skinheads were not jewellery minded as these could be pulled / damaged in scraps so I cannot remember lads wearing ID bracelets, neck chains or even watches. We did have signet rings bought by your current girlfriend and you usually gave an engagement ring back – on reflection very much like Del Boy in Rock and Chips.

I clearly remember tiger tails as a kid on aerials on Mods scooters and World Cup Willie from 1966 World cup

In reference to Yankees posting, I bought a copy of the ‘The Spirit of 69 A Skinhead Bible’ about 10 years ago in a Mod shop (now gone) on the corner of Carnaby Street and Beak Street for £8.95 and recently seen a copy going for £85 on Ebay. A good investment for being an old skinhead !!

 

[Yankee]

Yankee do you ever get in Nevada Smiths on 3rd Ave?.

Yes! I've seen the world cup there and used to go to watch bundesliga games after I got back from Germany.
I moved to the west coast 5 years ago, I miss it.
Happy birthday, by the way!

 

[Yankee]

Skinheads were not jewellery minded as these could be pulled / damaged in scraps so I cannot remember lads wearing ID bracelets, neck chains or even watches. We did have signet rings bought by your current girlfriend and you usually gave an engagement ring back – on reflection very much like Del Boy in Rock and Chips.

I clearly remember tiger tails as a kid on aerials on Mods scooters and World Cup Willie from 1966 World cup

In reference to Yankees posting, I bought a copy of the ‘The Spirit of 69 A Skinhead Bible’ about 10 years ago in a Mod shop (now gone) on the corner of Carnaby Street and Beak Street for £8.95 and recently seen a copy going for £85 on Ebay. A good investment for being an old skinhead !!

I've seen it for $300!
and now anyone who wants can download it here: http://www.skinheads.ru/books+movies

I wouldn't say internet killed skinhead, but it took a lot of the fun out of it.

 

[Little Queenie]



Besides the ID Bracelet, my Dad bought me a Omega watch, I sold it to a lad down the road, fcuking shame, Wish i had it now,

My dad was given an Omega watch, engraved with his initials on the back, for his 21st. That would have been December '65. He bought me and my sister a gold watch for our 21sts too. I think it was quite an old fashioned tradition; my Grandma must have had to save for ages to buy it for him! Omega still make nice watches. ID bracelets and signet rings are just very '60's I think.