Mod to Suedehead

[Man-of-Mystery]



From the Sureté or Paris, Monsieur...

Thank you MOM for your welcome. By the way, i am a big fan of Scotland...

Ah, the Old Alliance!

 

[buttons]



Totally agree Will, 60s American Levis/Lee was the business, thats why the Japanese bought all the looms from Levis in the 80s..so they could reproduce the Levis of old, I did pick up a nice pair of Levis repros in South Beach Miami 10 years ago,
Its awfully hard to get hold of original Big E Levis and as you said silly money is paid for them,

I got hold of a nice 1968 Levi Jacket some years ago, the ones that was well waisted, which i am pleased to say still fits me ,

Very true, Roy .... original 60s Levis and more lately Lees are getting very expensive nowadays and not a practical day to day option.
LVC have done some great copies (but about 95% of what they've done is rubbish and nothing like the old styles - just a pair of jeans with nice tags and labels, in any old shape and wash, with some inaccurate reference to the olden days.)
There's some nice Lees around as well (if you can look past all the so called historical copies which bare no resemblance).
Late 60s Wrangler are a lot easier to find and a lot cheaper. Have never bought any heritage ones as the originals are easy enough to get hold of.

 

[Clouseau]

Ah, the Old Alliance!

Absolutely!... And a beautiful country i was lucky to visit years ago. The marked accent is a bit of a problem for me though...

 

[buttons]



Respect to you for your detailed knowledge on denim etc. I need a couple of pairs of good quality jeans. 45 years ago I could have gone to my local high street and bought a pair of Levi's or Lee that fitted the bill, but not any more. Most denim sold today is, as you say, utter shite.What to do? Most clothing made today is only made to last 'a season' to keep you coming back for more.

That's one of the big differences now. As you said, in '68 you just go in the shop and say "32 waist please" and get some great jeans. Now, you have to be a historian to an extent (if you care about that kind of thing) to know which ones are which and which details to look for. When the shop say "these are exact copies of the jeans from 1966", what makes you think they're telling the truth? They're trying to sell you something after all!
So if you want the right details from a particular era, with the right colour, the right fit, the right size after shrinking etc, its not a 5 minute decision.
If you want a flash of selvedge on your turn-ups, that's the easy bit. If you want a cool pair of jeans that you could have picked up in late 60s British shops, get studying.
And as has been discussed on here for the last few years, its a similar situation if you want a harrington, pair of sta press, Ben Sherman, suit, pair of brogues etc etc.

 

[Sirryacus]

Did you guys ever wear the Lee Riders Pants? I'm sure these could be had for much cheaper than the jeans. Here is an example.

 

[browniecj]



Did you guys ever wear the Lee Riders Pants? I'm sure these could be had for much cheaper than the jeans. Here is an example.

Personally speaking-no.I was always Levi.

 

[Bob the Badger]

Did you guys ever wear the Lee Riders Pants? I'm sure these could be had for much cheaper than the jeans. Here is an example.

Yes I did. I was/am a big fan of Lee Riders. I started wearing Levi first but when all my mates were in Levi's some of us started wearing Lee. It was always a case of trying to be one step ahead and outsmarting your mates. Recently I have been drawn back to Levi's. Probably some nostalgia thing. I visited New York in 1977 with my girlfriend when Freddie Laker introduced cheap flights from the UK and found a warehouse store, down near the Brooklyn Bridge, that had Lee jeans piled floor to ceiling. We both bought a couple of pairs as they were half the price in USA compared to UK (nothing changes). The owner gave us some free leather Key fobs with the Lee name on. I still have mine.

 

[Gsvs5]

That's one of the big differences now. As you said, in '68 you just go in the shop and say "32 waist please" and get some great jeans. Now, you have to be a historian to an extent (if you care about that kind of thing) to know which ones are which and which details to look for. When the shop say "these are exact copies of the jeans from 1966", what makes you think they're telling the truth? They're trying to sell you something after all!
So if you want the right details from a particular era, with the right colour, the right fit, the right size after shrinking etc, its not a 5 minute decision.
If you want a flash of selvedge on your turn-ups, that's the easy bit. If you want a cool pair of jeans that you could have picked up in late 60s British shops, get studying.
And as has been discussed on here for the last few years, its a similar situation if you want a harrington, pair of sta press, Ben Sherman, suit, pair of brogues etc etc.

You're not kidding Buttons.I've come across so much poor information even on the high end Japanese brands that have very limited distribution,and from authorised retailers,it's no joke - especially when you are dropping in excess of $300 a pair for some jeans.Buyer beware.I've mentioned earlier my dissatisfaction with Levis and have long ended my respect for them.
Alpha has also moved production overseas,and the MA-1 is another minefield with limited repro models from them,Buzz Rickson,The Few,McCoys,BIG etc and reaching almost $900 at the top end of the Nylon models.I've built up enough stock to see me through the next 20 years by which time hopefully I will have come to my senses and wont give a fcuk !

 

[cerneabbas]

Clouseau. I remember being in the Champs Elysees on a sunday night to get a bus back to England,there was a group of French Skinheads wearing flight jackets jeans and very big boots being watched by some CRS guys wearing even bigger boots ,this was 83 or 84. Thank you for the information on Dexter brogues,i have looked and they made some very smart shoes.

 

[cerneabbas]

Lasttye, I have been looking at Dexter longwings/wingtips online ( Clouseau mentioned the make), in images there are some pictures of black pebble grain leather Dexters.What do you think? I know its not the traditional look but i reckon they would look really smart with a good shine on them.

 

[roytonboy]

I miss standing on the terraces ... these days I seem to pay a lot for a seat that I stand in front of for 90 minutes.

Back to brogues, from what I can remember back in the day in 69 any brogues were worn. Early to mid 70 longwing took off - Timpsons Royals were THE choice. Mainly black but also saw a fair few oxblood with an "antiqued" finish. That's what I remember from North Manchester. Roytonboy and Ed Vaughan might have seen something different though not that far away.

Just as I remember it. Mostly black in the "Royals" style. Tan and ox-blood still around in traditional brogues style. I had some ox blood ones in 1972. Wore 'em for the first time to Blackpool on Easter Bank Holiday Monday - my feet were blistered for days!

 

[Clouseau]

Cerneabbas, Dexter longwing existed in pebble grain, but not only (see picture). The brand still exists, but the company was sold, and i'm not sure that the shoes they do now are of the quality they used to be.

 

[roytonboy]

Bit of a diversion from pubs and army surplus, but I'm still catching up on last couple of nights (I suffered a traumatic excursion to Wembley yesterday ... and I'm not looking for sympathy) - a couple of pages of articles about Mods and Teds that appeared in The Spectator in 55-57 and 64. Hope the scanning works, print looked a bit faint so I might have to have another go

Elwood - I've been in a state of shock for the last 10 days!

 

[Darksideoftheforce]

Question for the non-American posters on the site:

Although it may not seem like the question has anything to do with traditional skinhead fashion, it does.
I was just reading an article online that generally speaking Americans are considered the worst dressed people in the western world. By worst dressed the article stated slovenly and lazily dressed. GQ magazine voted the city where I'm from Los Angeles as the country's second worst dressed city. As an insider I can definately attest to that. In a city where flip flops, loose fitting t shirts with tacky prints and shorts are the norm, people here consider a button down shirt and a nice pair of fitted pants and a pair of plain caps or wingtips to be "formally dressed" and will often get you stares to the point that you are made to feel like some arrogant tosser full of himself. Properly tailored fitted pants that fit the wearer like they are meant to fit are considered "tight" and "gay" looking in America where lose and baggy are nearly uniform here. In America people don't seem to have a concept of what constitutes formal attire and what constitutes looking smart and presentable. To me formal means a suit and a tie, semi-formal is a suit without a tie.

Its been established from previous discussions on this board that American fashion was an important element of the traditional skinhead attire, American long wings, and the smart ivy league fashion. Did you original skinheads growing up in the 60s view Americans back then to be smartly dressed, unlike today when Americans have a notorious reputation for looking scruffy? Even expensive stores in America considered "hip" and "high end" like Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister are just full of boring ****** looking clothes that would be considered crappy style by European standards.

Having visited London and other parts of Europe several times myself I can definitely say that the stereotype of the badly dressed American has a ring of truth to it. I mean compared to the average Londoner or Parisian Americans certainly have no fashion sense. Did you original skinhead guys feel differently about American fashion sense in the 60s?

 

[cerneabbas]

Clouseau. Yes i did a little research about Dexter and as you say the firm was sold and now seems to make cheap shoes,its a shame. The pebble grain longwings interested me because it is a bit unusual ( especially in black ),i thought that the shape looked good too.Maybe the American guys can tell us more,hopefully that there are many New Old Stock shoes available ( i am always hopeful).Another shoe firm i came across while looking at Dexters was Stuart Macguire,they also made longwings and they also seem not to exist anymore.