Twiggy was the Mod icon of the 60s
We're continuing our fashionable look through the world of music this month by exploring how the times and events of history have helped to influence and shape fashion. This month, we're looking at the mods and rockers phenomenon.
The mods and rockers were two rival 'tribes' who both existed in the sixties, and believed in different value and fashion ideals. It was the mods' attention to detail and obsession with style, which severely contrasted with the Rockers' love of leather and motor cycles.
Since these were the first youths out of the post-war Britain, the mods were fashion-obsessed and keen to experiment with clothing, using any extra money from after school jobs to fund their habit.
Mods were known for being stuck-up and snobby, while trying to emulate the middle-class with their choice of style. Mod boys wore tailor-made suits with neat narrow trousers and pointed shoes, which were later nicknamed winklepickers, while the girls played up to a boyish image by darkening their eyes and cutting their hair short.
Female mods dressed like men wherever possible, championing short haircuts, their boyfriend's trousers and shirts, flat shoes and very little make-up.
Pale foundation with brown eye shadow was the look of choice, accompanied with false eyelashes and pale pink lipstick.
Twiggy's appearance on the scene with her short shift dresses and mini-skirts really challenged the parents of the 60s, as female mods continued to challenge their authority with their bum-skimming skirts.
Each mod had to have a Lambretta GT 200 or a Vespa GS 160 to get around in and to signal that they belonged to the mod culture. Hard and scary? no, but stylish and chic? oh yes!
Maverick fashion designers emerged from this period too, such as the iconic Mary Quant and her fabulous mini skirt design and John Stephen, who dressed bands such as The Small Faces.
Mods favoured music by American jazz artists, and 1960s rhythm and blues, soul and ska. Many of them were Jamaican, although many of them also liked British R&B/beat groups such as The Who, The Small Faces and The Yardbirds.
Two youth subcultures helped make way for a new mod fashion trend; the beatniks who wore black berets and turtle necks, and the Teddy Boys who helped pave the way for an immaculate dandy look.
The Teddy Boys were fundamental in changing men's perceptions about fashion and making it ok for those who wanted to look stylish and cool. Up until that point, men who showed an interest in fashion were likely to be associated with the underground homosexual subculture.
Mods also adopted styles from both Italian and French styles to try and make them stand out from the crowd, and to combat the rockers who in their opinion were stuck in a 1950s time warp, with their American greaser look and love of leather.
Males loved to wear thin ties, tailor made suits, v-neck jumpers and had hairstyles which imitated the look of the French Nouvelle Vague cinema actors of the era, such as Jean-Paul Belmondo.
A few of the mods even went against the norms of the era by wearing eyeliner, lipstick and eye shadow, again to make them stand out from the crowd. They were immaculate and well presented in the way they dressed themselves each day, which was in stark contrast to the Rockers of the period.
The rivalry between the two tribes even extended to their choice of transport, while the mods favoured scooters because they were cleaner and therefore less likely to stain their expensive suits, the rockers wanted to dirt and grease up with their bikes.
While mods wore military parkas to prevent their expensive suits from staining, rockers embraced the grime and loved nothing better than a stained T-shirt and tight black jeans.
Rockers loved to champion leather jackets too and slick back their hair with grease, which was an evolution of the Teddy Boy look sported in the 50s. However, the rest of the Teddy Boy look was rejected for being to 'dandy' for these macho rockers.
Their love was Rock and Roll, championing Elvis Presley as their idol and rejecting any ideas of fashion. They were often described as a British version of the Hell's Angels with their scruffy, masculine and 'bad boy' image, they were about as far removed as they could get from the mods.
Rockers and their style was born out of practicality rather than what was in style, wearing heavily decorated leather jackets often customised with metal studs, patches and pins.
The only fashionable element to their whole attire was their white silk scarf they wore when riding on their hog, complete with open face helmet and aviator goggles.
Levi's jeans, leather trousers and Daddy-O-style shirts were popular among the young rockers, while their elaborate hairstyle was kept in place with Brylcreem pomade.
Speaking of their hairstyle, it was usually a take on the pompadour hairstyle; as was popular with some 1950s rock 'n' roll musicians. So although they may have claimed to of been too cool for fashion, really it was all a bit of a front...
To check out how Mods and Rockers influenced the music of that era, click here
FemaleFirst- Laura Terry