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I'm currently re-reading a book called The Soul Stylists by British writer Paolo Hewitt, which is made up of interviews and essays detailing 60 years of those British youth cults that share the twin obsessions of clothes and Black American music. While much of this has little to do with the general vintage era of the Lounge, the attention to detail will appear very familiar to everyone here.
The first young Brits to fall under the spell of Black American music were post-war London jazz fans who soon started calling themselves Modernists. This was as opposed to Traditionalists, who listened to 1920s New Orleans jazz, and wore corduroy trousers, heavy jumpers and duffle coats. The Modernists aspired to sharp Crombie coats, wore suits and ties, and wanted to look like Miles Davis, Chet Baker and Stan Kenton in Ivy League clothes by Brooks Brothers.
Here are some contemporary quotes from the book by people who were there:
With the coming of rock 'n' roll the Modernists were swept away, until the next generation of sharp dressers appeared a few years later, also calling themselves Modernists. In 1962 Town magazine ran a feature about three clothes-obsessed kids from Stoke Newington (one of whom, Mark Feld would later call himself Mark Bolan, from a band called T-Rex and become a giant of glam-rock) and Modernists became Mods. More quotes from the book:
The first young Brits to fall under the spell of Black American music were post-war London jazz fans who soon started calling themselves Modernists. This was as opposed to Traditionalists, who listened to 1920s New Orleans jazz, and wore corduroy trousers, heavy jumpers and duffle coats. The Modernists aspired to sharp Crombie coats, wore suits and ties, and wanted to look like Miles Davis, Chet Baker and Stan Kenton in Ivy League clothes by Brooks Brothers.
Here are some contemporary quotes from the book by people who were there:
In the early '50s a lot of guys wore that Ivy League look. Three button jackets done up and short lapel on the top. Narrow trousers and they also wore flat-top haircuts. Eddie Harvey
The jazz culture was an Ivy League culture. Chet baker and all those people wore Ivy League from the early '50s. They were you idols so you wanted to wear what they wore. John Simons
With the coming of rock 'n' roll the Modernists were swept away, until the next generation of sharp dressers appeared a few years later, also calling themselves Modernists. In 1962 Town magazine ran a feature about three clothes-obsessed kids from Stoke Newington (one of whom, Mark Feld would later call himself Mark Bolan, from a band called T-Rex and become a giant of glam-rock) and Modernists became Mods. More quotes from the book:
I'm wearing a Brooks Brothers shirt right now and you can tell at a thousand paces a Brooks Brothers shirt because of the roll on the collar. I know it's got a roll on the collar, I can tell that without even taking my eyes off you. Now any other Mod would know that. They would know an American shirt because of the double line of stitching around the sleeves. And an English shirt that was made to look like an American shirt, notably a Ben Sherman, is not on. Patrick Uden
I had a tailor who was a very good tailor but he couldn't understand what was going on. I told him once that I wanted a chalk stripe suit and I drew how I wanted it. It had pockets that were angled out with a 45-degree flap and I wanted it hand stitched. He said it would ruin it. I said, no, I want hand stitching. Took me a hell of a long time to get him to do it. Robert Hall
This next quote reminded me of many posts in the Lounge...I used to buy Playboy magazine ... because ... you used to get these fantastic pictures of Burlington socks. I got off on that because you didn't see pink or white Argyll socks here. Carlo Manzi
If you talk to any original Mod he knows what smartness means. He knows what a gusset in a trouser is, or how a shirt should be made. I can look at a suit and know whether it's made properly or not. Just turn over the lapel and I know if it's a good suit. I don't need to see a label. You know things. How the suit should hang, the vents, the pleats, how many buttons, weight of material, how to press it properly. I used to press my suit with a wooden block. No one knows how to do that. Mod gave you an insight into what smartness was about - quality. Robert Hall