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"The (word) 'Mod' referred originally to a group of scooter-riding, clothes-obsessed young men, but the term was soon used generically to denote many pockets of youth whose appearance broadcast their independence."~~ "Radical Rags-Fashions of the Sixties" by Joel Lobenthal "Mods were one of the first youth sub-cultures to be defined in the sixties...Mod style (was) one of the first signs of fashion that came from the street & not from the couturiers...(In the 60's), radical shifts (were) taking place in fashion & in mass culture."~~ "Boutique-A 60's Cultural Phenomenon" by Marnie Fogg |
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STARK RAVING MOD Well kids, it was only a matter of time. It's too early for a 90's revival. We've exhausted the 70's & 80's. What's left? We certainly see a lot of 50's garb up on the movie screen, for example: "Far From Heaven" & "Catch Me If You Can" (both resting on your local video store shelf). But, I would say- the 60's are it!! THE MOD SQUAD |
Who's credited the most as the godmother of the mod movement? Who was the Brit youthquaker who brought us miniskirts & must-have makeup in the 60's? In many resources: Mary Quant is credited as the "inventor" of the miniskirt. Ms. Quant is selling clothes in the States again at a small instore boutique at Henri Bendel's & at her namesake shop at #520 Madison Avenue. Her Madison Avenue shop has been there 4 1/2 years. The cosmetics line still bears her graphic "flower power" logo. Along with the reasonably-priced cosmetics, this one-stop mod shop carries cute printed makeup bags/purses, jewelry, totes & tees with colorful mod graphics available for less than $100. (While I was there two funky older ladies with two-toned hair, tourists I think, told the salesgirl they wanted to browse & relive their youth. Ah Youth!) You are bound to find something trendy & of-the-moment to add to your summer (& fall) staples. |
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There are some discrepancies with the miniskirt inventor. Some resources say that Quant adapted some looks originated by Andre Courreges. When Parisian couturier, Correges, readied himself for his spring/summer show of 1965, he had "sketched a look so radical that he knew it would make or break his career...The initial reaction to the designer's futuristic vision of spare, angular dresses worn up to four inches above the knee with flat white boots(for spring/summer?) was stunned silence. No applause. No cheers. Nothing..." So did Andre create the mini-revolution with thigh-high skirts that caused the Paris couture crowd to blush? Or did London's Mary Quant-who has always claimed to have originated the mini? Courrege's were more flared & away from the body while Quant's were skimpier & body-hugging. Fashion "historians have 'skirted' the issue by calling it spontaneous creation." (Much of the above paragraph was info from an early 1990's article on Andre Courreges in People magazine by Karen Schneider). |
According to the informative site www.fashion-era.com : "It would not be right to suggest (Quant) invented the mini. In 1965 she took the idea from the 1964 designs by Courreges & liking the shorter styles, she made them even shorter for her boutique Bazaar. She is rightly credited with making popular a style that had not taken off when it made its earlier debut." In a newly-published book called "Boutique", they give credit to a long-forgotten Brit designer named John Bates as being the original designer of the miniskirt. Marit Allen, a Vogue "Young Ideas" editor at the time, states in this book: "John Bates, in particular, has always been completely unappreciated for his contribution to the innovation & creativity he brought to the London design scene." (He went on to open twenty-eight "Jean Varon" boutiques in British department stores). Marit Allen also recalls that he was "the first designer to use transparent materials & to bare the midriff...&, most importantly, to the raising of the hemline. It was John Bates, rather than Mary Quant or Courreges, who was responsible for the miniskirt"(!) [To view examples of John's handiwork in pop culture, see the costumes & accessories he designed for Diana Rigg in the cult TV show, The Avengers.] Well, as you can see kids, we may never know who came up with these ideas first in fashion history. One thing is for sure- nothing is new in fashion. It has ALL been done before... |
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MOD MODE Mod fashions were characterized by timelessly modern clean lines & neat shapes. Garments were cut either boxy with hard edges & straight lines OR circular in shape. Garments tended to be ultra-short & sleeveless. Popular styles were ,of course, miniskirts, jumpers, A-line skirts & dresses, stovepipe (lean) pants, shift dresses, glossy rain trenches(remember swinging London was the mod epicenter), low heeled square & round-toed shoes & boots, patent leather go-go boots & opaque solid & patterned tights. Another popular concept was coordinating knitwear outfits, for example: a ribbed knit turtleneck worn with a miniskirt with matching rib-knit tights. Mary Quant explains in the May 2003 Vogue: "Next, I knew I had to get the tights...to match the sweaters. At the time, tights didn't exist. They weren't manufactured except for the theater. But the look I wanted was head-to-toe...I needed tights to complete the streamlined simplicity. Stocking manufacturers wouldn't make them, because they didn't have the machinery, so I went to the source: theater companies." Perusing the Fall collections at work, I definitely see the mod look carrying over from Summer into Fall. The Fall mod look is best illustrated by Marc Jacobs- a nice guy, but a chronic copier...line for line, seam for seam of Courreges & his contemporaries.[Go to www.style.com ,click on Fashion Shows Fall 2003 ready-to-wear for: Marc Jacobs & Marc for Marc Jacobs]. Basically, take your summer miniskirts & add tights & boots to MOD-ify them for Fall. |
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EYE CANDY Popular colors for the time? All white. All black. White with black in optical patterns(for example: checkerboards, stripes, dots, odd geometrics), red with white or black &...acid bright psychedelic patterns in general. (The metallic predominantly seen was silver.) Check out the art of 60's Op-Art pioneer Bridget Riley & geometrics of Frank Stella to get the feeling of these vibrant energetic prints. According to Shirley Kennedy's "Pucci" book: "Color was a fact of life in the 1960s...One could not help but notice color everywhere- in furniture, art, ads, movies, neon discotheque lights, black-light posters in teenager's rooms, day-glo shades in boutiques...The wearer of a Pucci dress was a walking canvas heralding the colors of the decade...Colors vibrated & seemed to explode on the Pucci silks...The colors he placed next to each other were thought to clash in earlier years, but he dared to break all the rules in a decade that now welcomed the breaking of rules..." |
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THE BIRDS Popular models of the day were: the Vidal Sassoon-coiffed pixie Twiggy, Jean "The Shrimp" Shrimpton, the amazonian Veruschka, doe-eyed Penelope Tree, & the dramatic Peggy Moffitt...& celebs Julie Christie, Mia Farrow, Edie Sedgwick, singer/model Nico, & the France's Francoise Hardy. Twiggy was the quintessential sixties waif. She was a true icon to the 60's as Kate Moss was iconic to the 90's. But Twiggy was a much more intriguing model/celeb. Her look: thick long false eyelashes, cropped short hair, skinny boyishly straight frame- this garconne physique & hairstyle had not been seen since the flappers of the 1920s & 30s. Twiggy was all about her legs & awkward coltish posturing. The 60's newly-focused erogenous zone was all about the legs.[Two Twiggy sites with great mod images are: www.QueenofMod.com & www.TwiggyLawson.co.uk The haircutter of choice who became a celebrity with scissors?- Vidal Sassoon. (Not the jeans, kids, those were Sasson over a decade later). He had his infamous 5-point haircut that was seen on all the "birds"(girls) on London streets. |
CELLULOID YOUTHQUAKE To witness the looks of this time period, try renting: THE BEAT GOES ON Witness the current popular bands with looks & names that are apropos
for this time period. The White Stripes. Yeah Yeah Yeahs(as in the Beatles
"She Loves You...Yeah, Yeah, Yeah..."?) or the Arista release
of "Erotica Italica"- a "cocktail of sixties Latin porn
grooves" According to a NY Post mod article dated 3/30/03, a mod-lover's
record collection must include: Pulp's "Different Class",
Joy Division's "Unknown Pleasures" & Interpol's "Turn
on the Bright Lights"... |
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BUY THE BOOK? * "Boutique-A 60's Cultural Phenomenon"- by Marnie Fogg |
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MOD-INFLUENCED DESIGNERS & * Mary Quant- 520 Madison Avenue (212)980-7577 www.maryquantamericas.com(site
will be up in August?) |
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THE CHEAPEST WAY TO ACKNOWLEDGE MOD MODE IS: ACCESSORIES!!! |
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OUT OF SITES So kids, wear a mini, grab a Mini...Cooper & go stark raving mod...
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