During the early sixties there were great changes in America also in particular the civil rights movements. This meant black popular music became a lot more accepted. Soul and Motown were the main musical styles providing good fast music with a catchy beat which people could easily dance to. These artists who sang for these labels such as Marvin Gaye and Smokey Robinson performed in good suits and always appeared very stylish carrying on the tradition of the jazz musicians of the decade before. Clubs in London picked up on the popularity of this music and started to provide venues where young working class people could go to and dance. The youngsters who were attracted to this style of music would naturally imitate their idols kicking off a trend of always dressing very stylish, fashion was of most importance to these working class people who were known as the Mods.
Black soul groups in America were forming almost everyday and their records were being imported into the UK. The sound was unbelievable to British youngsters it was new and exciting to the extreme as it moved away from the soft over-sentimental love songs of the past.
Black Music was the soundtrack of the Mod. Mods were never into bands they were into records and they would always hunt out record nights at clubs where they would play good R&B and Soul. That is why the scooter became popular it provided a good means of getting around to these clubs.
Music and fashion were an obsession for the Mods; they were recurring topics for many Mod discussion and debate. They were very much attracted by the obscurity of certain soul songs or the individuality that wearing original items of clothing brought with them. This was symbolic of the change that was happening at the time, as this broad range of consumer choices was something new.
‘ I used to buy Playboy magazine. You know why? Because in Playboy you used to get fantastic pictures of Burlington socks.’
Carlo Manzi (Soul Stylists 2001)
A standard male outfit would consist of a sharply cut continental suit with narrow trousers. The standard female outfit was the polka-dot dress or mini-skirt.
‘ If you talk to any original Mod he knows what smartness means…I can look at a suit and know whether it’s made properly or not.’
Robert Hall (Soul Stylists 2001)
Style and fashion was essential to the Mods, looking smart at all times became the signature of this subculture. Many shops and boutiques opened in London providing the look. But many Mods would go to tailors to acquire the best look possible. Black Music played a huge part in developing the Mod as it was at the all-night clubs in London where they would play this early form of dance music. At the clubs the Mods would meet in their new designer outfits. The boys wouldn’t be checking out the girls but rather the other boys. Looking good was crucial so they would be comparing themselves with everyone and the lad who was dressed the sharpest would instantly gain the admiration and respect of the others. Mods would fund their lifestyle by using the profits from their often unremarkable day jobs.
‘You were far more interested in a guy coming up and saying, “Great suit,” than a girl coming up and saying, “Great suit.” Because the girls didn’t look particularly good”
Carlo Manzi (Soul Stylists 2001)
Not like other sub-cultures such as the punks or teddy boys who dressed in quite flamboyant outfits the Mods didn’t dress in opposition to society. Most people in Britain in the Sixties dressed in suits and so did the Mods. They separated themselves from the masses by wearing higher quality suits. The Mods didn’t dress to stand out from society but rather to infiltrate it and they did. A lot of the Mods would have good jobs just like the rest of the people but the rest wouldn’t spend their whole weekends dancing at all night parties and clubs.
‘ A lot of these boys went off and did good jobs like bank clerks, and their managers thought they were fantastic. They’d never seen anything like it because you would be better dressed than your boss’
Robert Hall. (Soul Stylists 2001)
The scooter was the preferred mode of transport for the mod as mentioned before but they could rarely afford a good one so they chose to add mirrors or remove them in order to set themselves apart from the rest. Infact the modernists were the firs sub-culture to customise their clothes. This would involve anything from widening or narrowing pockets or adding fury linings to the hood of their parka jackets. The parka jacket was also a symbol of the mod but not because its style value but its effectiveness of keeping the elements from their expensive clothes underneath.
Social change was relevant to this topic because modernists signalled in a era of consumerism. They were obsessed with what was new and trendy, things would be in fashion and out of fashion in a matter of weeks. The youngsters in this particular early sixties sub-culture had wardrobes of designer suits they only use a few times and possibly no more.
‘In fact, it was quite fundamental the image you presented. You had to keep changing it. You could not wear the same suit week in and week out’
Ian R. Hebditch (Soul Stylists 2001)
An image that was unattainable in past times of rationing and poor economic performance was this form of consumerism. It was revolutionary, as those with the greatest proportion of spending were working class teenagers.
Mods were also apart of the sexual revolution that was taking place in the sixties. Sex maybe wasn’t of a direct influence from black music but came with the 24hr a day lifestyle that this music provided the soundtrack for. The combination of sex, drugs and all night parties had not really been thought of before until the early sixties and the Mod movement.
All things must come to an end and so did this sub-culture. Mods obsessed with originality and coolness were severely affected by the media taking notice of their movement. Once they became mainstream a lot of the original Mods started to stop seeing the attractiveness of their lifestyles and gradually they went out of fashion. Throughout the next few decades the tradition was continued with Casuals, Skinheads and Northern Soulers. Like the original Mods they all were obsessed with American black music and style.