Subculture - Mod - Twiggy

The  Mod movement was first started from Britain as a  subculture developed by teenagers. These teens wanted a new image  and style  and want to break the formal tradition being worn by their parents.

This was the early ’60s. The girls used to wear pleated skirts and hushpuppy shoes-flat, lace-up, suede shoes-nylon macs, and little grey jumpers. And the hair,  was center parting, straight, and long. They also had their own style of make-up, the eyes being the prominent feature by using thick eyeliner, plucked eyebrows, and little or no lipstick.

Young Leslie Hornsby was teased as a child about being skinny - thin as a twig, they said. Thus the name, Twiggy. Dubbed "The Face of 1966" Twiggy dominated fashion photography. She was on the cover of every major fashion and teen magazine. Her boyish look was the one to emulate.

A model for a scant four years, she had never even walked the runways by the time she exploded onto the scene. Educated at the Kilburn High School for Girls, her look and image was an instant globular sensation. She was even imitated by Mattel when they issued a "Twiggy Barbie" in 1967 and by Milton Bradley who created a board game out of her. Lunch boxes, false eye lashes, tights, sweaters, tote bags and paper dolls -- all these bore her famous moniker. In her prime she graced the covers of Vogue and Tatler, and even had her own American publication "Her Mod, Mod Teen World."

The British Mod style emerged from a desire among British youth to break away from the stiffness of the 50’s and uncouth look of the teddy-boys, and to emulate the more stylish Italian, French and, latterly, American fashions.

The original and enduring mod style for men  is a slim-fitting dark coloured suit, worn with a lighter coloured shirt and thin, dark tie, along with a pair of dark shoes. Of course this is a style that can be worn by many  person walking along the street but the beauty is in the details. Mods usually prefer a two-tonic coloured suit, made of a light material and fronted by three buttons (with the bottom button being left undone). The jacket has a breast pocket which can be adorned with a handkerchief in a variety of styles.

The mid 60’s Mod style was influenced by pop art which took everyday items out of their normal context and made them into something entirely stylistic. This was most vibrantly expressed by The Who with their symbolic use of arrows, Union Jack jackets and RAF target emblems. The influence of pop art continued during the mod revival years and jackets and parkas were often adorned with badges and patches by the early mod revivalists. 

MOD - Music - The Who
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Small Faces were formed in 1965 by members Steve Marriott, Ronnie Lane, Kenney Jones, and Jimmy Winston (who appears in the above clip but was soon after replaced by Ian McLaglan). Famously their first gig outside London took place in a tough working men’s club in Sheffield. The crowd at that club was mainly made up of Teddy boys and hard-drinking workers. They were thrown out after only 3 songs. Despondent, they literally dragged their gear into the nearby mod-oriented Mojo Club (owned by a young Peter Stringfellow) and offered to perform there for free. They played a set which left the local Mods (and Stringfellow) in pure ecstasy

This song is a classic

 

Scooter art also came to the fore during the mod revival