INFLUENCE OF MOD STYLE ON FASHION
The development of mod style in 1960s led to the change of fashion or trends. In simple words, there was a great influence of mod style on fashion during 1960s. This article briefly describes how fashion and mod style are related with one another. According to Jobling and Crowley, mod subculture is just a ‘fashion-obsessed and hedonistic cult of the hyper-cool” youngsters who resided in metropolitan London or the new towns of the south. With the affluence of post-war Britain, the teens and youths of the early 1960s did not have to contribute their money from after-school jobs to the family finances. These mods and youngster started using their money to buy stylish cloths. This however, gradually led to the change of fashion during 1960s.
When we consider about influence of mod style on fashion, two of the youth’s subcultures helped pave a new way for mod style and fashion. The first one is the beatniks, with their bohemian image of berets & black turtlenecks. The other one is the Teddy Boys. From Teddy boys’ mod style or fashion inherited its “narcissistic and meticulous tendencies” as well as the spruce dandy look. These boys led a new way for making male interest in fashion socially acceptable. This however, shows the mod style influence on fashion.
The Italian and French styles have a great influence on mod fashion. Mod fashion adopted these styles, men adopted a smooth and sophisticated look; they wore tailored suits & button-down shirts with skinny ties, wool or cashmere jumpers, pointed-toe leather shoes that nicknamed as winklepickers, Chelsea or “Beatle” boots, Tassel Loafers, as well as Clarks’ Desert Boots and even Bowling shoes. Their hairstyle is similar to Jean-Paul Belmondo, French Nouvella Vague cinema actors of that time. However, some male goes beyond gender norms and appeared with eye shadow, eye pencil and even with lipsticks. And the mods treated scooters as fashion accessory.
Female mods dressed androgynously, however, miniskirts, that developed during 1963 and 1964 grows ever shorter over the next few years, and female mods push the boundaries of parental tolerance with their miniskirts. As the mod movement became more commercial, it was seen on models, especially Twiggy, helping to spread it further away from its London origins. This shows the influence of mod style on fashion during 1960s.
