In postwar Britain, the women still typically stayed at home or did the shopping while the men worked. With the 1960s came a youth with more progressive ideas who sought to redefine the British social standard. Mod culture represented a shift in culture. However, things calmed down considerably by 1964, as Mods became more widely accepted by all youth as a symbol of a newer, more "modern" society. Rockers considered the Mods to be effeminate because they had an interest in fashion. The two subcultures frequently clashed on the streets, which only contributed to the moral panic amid traditionally-minded Brits. The guys wore pompadours, and the group's music of choice was 1950s rock and roll Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent were popular artists. Their overall style was influenced by Marlon Brando's character in The Wild One. Some Mods would sew razor blades into their lapels to wound would-be attackers, who usually hailed from the more mainstream "Rocker" crowd which originated in the '50s and was focused on motorcycling, black leather jackets, and motorcycle boots. Britain was said to be in a "moral panic" as short-skirted women and fast-talking men clad in Italian suits and clunky shoes roamed the city streets. Terry Fincher/ Stringer/Getty Images Mod style was the visual antithesis of Rocker style and included shiny Vespas and clean-cut 'dos.īut Mods were not without their conflicts. And why Vespas, exactly? The sleek scooters didn't have the exposed, greasy machinery of a motorcycle, which is anathema to a clean pair of expensive trousers. They'd listen to live music and get strung up on amphetamines - dancing and drinking until the wee hours of the morning before riding their Vespas home. Mods congregated at coffee shops, which stayed open later than bars or public transport, so young people would pile into cities from all around the British countryside. The longer you left it on, the better it was." Let the water cool and keep stirring it up and then plaster the water on your head and shape your hair. What you would do was wash your hair, then get a bowl of hot water and put sugar in it. Coveted shoes were hand-made winkle-pickers named for the extremely pointed toes which looked like the pins used to pick the meat out of periwinkle snails.īut the hair had to be just right, too. Their suits were tailor-made with narrow lapels and worn with crisp, pointed-collar shirts.
Mod style for men included cravats and three-piece suits from the Edwardian era. Middle-class white kids poured into jazz clubs and coffee shops to hear R&B and cool jazz, donning tight, Italian jackets and suits from yesteryear. Fast-paced, modern jazz, mopeds, and amphetamines were ubiquitous with the scene. This went for both their music and their drugs.
Style, freedom, and speed were the tenets of Mod culture. National Archives London Mods on Carnaby Street, London.
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