Author Archives: andytesting
Before we even start, I am one of those people that has watched this film far too many times, and in the 80’s could recite every word without the aid of the film itself. Was I obsessed ? o yeh twenty times over!
The film itself has been talked about 100’s of times, and I am doing this article because Warren at ‘we are the mods‘ did a recent show about it, and to be a little light hearted just before Christmas 2012.
So for first time in over 10 years I watched the film. As I began to watch one thing dawned on me! The film is really dark, not in the subject matter, but that most of it is shot at night. Also the print that has been used for the DVD is not the sharpest. Eddie Piller has mentioned that there are very few sharp prints of the film. Meaning that even if you can see the feet, the quality lets down the tell tale signs of the shoes.
The opening sequence with Jimmy going to what we are led to believe is the Goldhawk Club, appears to be wearing Desert Boots, and these boots seem to stay on his feet for most of the movie.
Throughout the film Jimmy seems to have several outfits, from casual to a tailored suit. I like most of the outfits he wears, but I must admit I thought there would be more diversification on the feet. In fact, I thought there would be more shoe types from the main characters, the only time we see something that’s different is on Sting’s feet.
Sting’s grey or gray shoes I think nearly look the part. The buckle is cool, but I think the film’s designer was actually trying for a smarter loafer, in a flash colour to match the suit he wears. Sting’s suit does look that little more flash as you would expect as he is meant to be the ‘Ace Face’, but personally the shoes need to be better!
So what other shoes can we see?, well not a lot to be honest.
As I watched I thought there would be loads in the fight sequences. There are lots to be seen but no real what I call out and out mod shoes.
In the opening Brighton sequence the camera pans along the scooters, lots of cool scooters and loads of people. In the crowd you can see the Northern Scooter clubs that took
part in the filming. I maybe wrong but i believe that they Olympics Scooter club and also the people that run Armando scooters in the 80’s were in the film, but i am not 100% on this.
The style of the Northern Scooter Mods I can see, is Parka, Jeans and on the feet, Doc Martens and Adidas Trainers. Certainly there have been pictures in “Scootering” of the clubs involved in the film, the makers tried to disguise the Lambretta Gp orientated look to make them look like LI’s etc.The producers must have also been dishing out the hats, how many trilbys! But why not the feet as well?
There is one guy in the riot sequence in a Black Harrington, and he has Cherry Red DM’s on. Another thing you do see a lot of is ‘Red Socks’. There is a guy coming out of the water, he is standing next to Nasty Nick from Eastenders. The amount of sock on show could seriously take an eye out!
I must mention a continuity bit here. For us UK people Nasty Nick can be seen wearing a light blue Polo shirt for the beach fight, but once he is in the lanes running around he has magically found his Parka.
I have read some other blogs saying the style of the clothes in the film is a little lacking in ‘Style‘. I wonder if the mods saying this have pondered whether the reason we think of the 60’s MODS being so much smarter, is because we have only seen pictures of MODS dressed up for the weekend. Meaning in the going out parts of the film, such as the Brighton sequences, Jimmy, Spider, Chalky etc are all wearing suits. But we also see the cast midweek and at work. And with the best respect even the toppest MOD dresses down sometimes. In the Documentary “British Style Genius” a MOD from that time suggest that the original mods had jobs that allowed for wearing of decent clothes. But I always think of Jimmy is being ‘Run of the Mill Mod‘ not a top face.
Anyway this is meant to be about the shoes !
Steph for most of the film lives in little white heeled shoes. How she runs around in heels even little ones is beyond me. She wears these in nearly every scene apart from one. When she arrives at Brighton on her feet are smart pair of suede loafers!The rest of the film the women seem to be in one inch high heels, and flats worn with Ski Pants.
The Desert Boots that the male cast live in, don’t look that good to me either. They seem to be the heavier boot style, with brass eyelets. I have had some of these boots myself and they did last ages, but they are not overly smart.
Dave does seem to have smarter Clarks looking ones in the Brighton bits. Chalky and Jimmy though, let the side down.
Another technical point is that because Jimmy is the central character we dont see the whole of him much in the film. When Jimmy is in shot he is up close,for obvious reasons but the director is trying to help us see what he is thinking. Towards the end of the film as Jimmy is starting to reflect we see more of him.
Now I am saving the best for last.
We see Jimmy in a decent Boating Blazer early on in the film, and some of his outfits are cool, but on his feet are a pair of loafers.
On the right here is a still from the filming where the shoes can be clearly seen. They look good to me and no doubt influenced lots of guys in the 80’s to wear them.
I am not sure if they are Bass Weejuns? They look like they are Bass Weejun Larkins, as they are quite narrow and the lip is rounded . Other makes traditionally are a wider foot.To be fair the wardrobe department may have just got some smart shoes from a local shop. These days Loake have Georgetown which looks very similar. The Bass Weejun in the UK is getting harder to get, stock seems to be very limited in any shops.
At the time I loved this film so much, for many reasons that lots of us loved it for. As I have got older I would draw different bits from it. In my scooter days i would happily watch just the scooters. I have only seen the film once on the big screen, in the 90’s, when I was going through my raving days, then I loved the dancing all night etc sequences.
Now I look at the film differently again. In my 40’s I can see lots of the fashions are a very late 70’s take on the 60′s, but the overriding feeling to me now is what a great film about youth and all that it entails, take away the clothes (and perhaps the scooters) and it becomes timeless.
From a shoe perspective not as much to say as I thought there would be. But I really did enjoy taking the time out to watch the film again. If you have the time over Christmas try to watch the film, as i think you will get more from it than you might think at the moment. And I hope you find some little gems just like I did.
Have a good Christmas and Happy New Year
Andy @ Modshoes
Oxblood Brown or Black Brogues, what colour?
Brogues come in many colours and many shades, not to mention styles, but I wanted to concentrate on colours.
When buying a shoe you should consider ‘what I am going to wear them with‘, and that will help you to consider the most appropriate colour.
So, are the shoes mainly to go with jeans for a casual look, or suited and booted? I think about where I am going to be wearing the shoes. So for instance, I go to at least one Northern Soul do a month, where I may be wearing jeans or trousers. I am not likely to have a suit on at this kind of event. During the day though, I am more formal at work, and I tend to stick with classic business Black and Greys, and on occasion a dark blue pin stripe suit.
A brown brogue is a very versatile colour, and possibly goes with any other colour of trouser including blue jeans. The one time i would say it doesn’t work is with black trousers or a black suit.
‘Black and brown makes a frown’
Aside from black, brown will go with every colour under the sun. From navy to grey and green to burgundy, the deeper, richer, tones of brown and tan shoes will much better compliment a wider variety of colours than black shoes – making them much more versatile.
A light brown (Tan) brogue is very popular with the Smart Skin. Oxford Paul ,who lives around here, has several pairs which he combines with light faded jeans and a classic ‘Twisted Ben Sherman’. Worn with confidence it is a good striking look.
One style that DNA Groove do, is the brown suede brogues. I love some of DNA’s designs, think they are really good, especially the basket weavers. All DNA Grooves design are very MOD. The dark browns ones I like the most, the brogue fits well with the colour and styling.
Again shading plays a part, because the darker the shoe, the easier it sits with other trouser colour.
So if you are thinking of buying a brogue, perhaps brown is the best option?
Black brogues are still a worthy contender though. Black goes with everything, but in my opinion can sometimes look a little stark. Meaning black is more for formal occasions. I wear black loafers with dark blue jeans, but have never liked the faded jeans with black shoe look, too 80’s for me!
For work, I have a pair of Half Brogue Loakes in black. The lacing style is an Oxford, which give the shoe a more formal office look. I wouldn’t wear these with jeans, they just dont sit right. The front is more pointed. I wear this make of brogue because I want something tough which will last.
I have seen the Oxford style black shoes at a Northern Soul do only this weekend, but whilst great for dancing and functional, I dont think it is a great looker!
Which brings me on neatly to Oxblood Brogues. This is my fav colour of Brogue. I don’t think all styles of Brogues suit Oxblood and I don’t think it is for every occasion. What i do like though, is that it stands out enough to say ‘This is a going out shoe’.
Oxblood isn’t everyone’s first choice of colour by any stretch of the imagination, but they are in fact one of the more versatile colours that you can wear. Oxbloods are compatible with all shades of grey, most navy hues and are perhaps a little bit more suitable when worn with black. Not dissimilar to brown brogues, they work with pretty much every colour you could think of.
When we were in Brighton recently, it was Remembrance Sunday, a guy walked past in Black Crombie, Dark Grey Trousers and Oxblood Loake Royal Loafers. The look was very smart and worked well. The same shoe could then be worn with jeans.
One style of oxblood brogue I have seen that looks very good, is combined with a Tassel Loafer. Not two styles you would immediately put together. The shoe is not a heavy shoe, but has a light sole. Terry my friend who owns them wears them with 16inch bottom blue trousers. The loafer part stops to show just the right amount of sock. The shoe is not an obvious choice and not one you see lots, but worn in the right way, which terry does, is very MOD.
I would go so far to say that should you wish to make an easy, simple statement, Oxblood is the way to go. Oxblood can be utilised in a near identical fashion as brown but the colour is bolder, more interesting and definitely more individual.
I have seen the style work well with a suit and also with jeans at Northern Soul do’s.
The oxblood colour lends itself well to being that little bit smarter than the Light Brown Brogue.
One issue you might have is that they are an unquestionable step in a new direction for most of the population, so you will have to wear them with a great deal of confidence to pull them off convincingly. But in the main you are buying these shoes to go out in, so why not stand out and wear them with pride!
Here are few examples of Brogue Shoes we like.
[nggallery id=19]Brogues we sell:
Two Colour Shoes – Cool or MOD parody?
I thought I would put this piece together to look at why I think some two tone colour shoes (and the ‘Co-respondent’ shoes) look good, and others, well dont !
So, where to start; well I think the first mention in MOD terms, is the Roger Daltrey shoe that he wears in The High Numbers. There may have been others before, but this is the first photographic evidence I can see. As you can see in the pic, the shoe is white on the front and down to the sole. The lace is a derby style with 2 hole eyelets for the lace. The back part of the shoe is black.
I think the style is a play on a pair I have seen Gene Vincent wear, and there are some very similar ones worn by The Shadows. I think I am right in assuming that Pete Meaden choose the outfits, and certainly the one Roger is wearing, is his part of making Roger of the band the ACE face.
The style of the shoe has a slight point to the front and I assume was a fashion shoe at the time. Would love to know where the shoe was brought! And why it has never really been seen since. Was it bespoke ?
As you can tell I like this shoe.
The next two tone shoe to enter, is the Regency look that the Stones adapted in I think around 65-66. I recall them in semi gangster look blue striped suits with quite wide lapels.
In terms of MOD I think it is the dandy look that came in the later sixties, as some mods went ‘dandy’ pre hippy look, whilst the rest went Hard Mod / Skinhead.
Pete Townsend said that a lot of the groups followed the audience rather than the other way round, so I suspect the look was very Carnaby Street . Bands like The Troggs and The Creation have elements of the sixties look that suits the Two Tone shoe.
The ‘Co-respondent shoe‘ is also known as a ‘Spectator‘, the name referring to its use in sports, you can a pair on Mick Jagger above. Lobb claims to have designed the first ‘spectator’ as a cricket shoe in 1868. The most usual styles are a brogue or a half brogue, in black or brown leather against the white buckskin. The white should not be leather, but often is these days.
I can hear someone at the back saying, surely you are forgetting Mr Marriott?
Not forgotten at all and why we see the shoe today. Steve can be seen on the ‘colour me pop’ show wearing a very distinct pair of brown and white , I think, brogue shoes. He also is wearing late 60’s classic rock look, red velvet pants and waistcoat. The look is a mess of colours, but is held together well and shoes add to the effect.
My thoughts on this look, great on Steve, but I don’t know that it has aged well.
Status Quo and numerous others stole the look going into the seventies, and when I see it now, it just reminds me of Rock Covers band in your local pub!
Weller wears this style of two tone brogue well, he normally sets it off with a nice double breasted suit. Another that does that look well is Suggs from Madness.
Now the MOD revival had lots of two tone varieties, The Jam shoe, The Jam Stage Shoe sometimes known as Badgers and of course bowling shoes. But let’s go back to Jam Shoes. I swear blind Weller was just ripping the style from the original by Roger Daltrey. He has said on many occasions early Jam tunes were rewrites of Who numbers, so it seems logical to borrow the style as well.
The shoe is still available now, Ikon make one and there are others on the net. The Ikon is pretty close to the Jam shoe, but not quite the same, the white carries around the shoe.
What I have always liked about the shoe, is that it firmly states “I am a MOD“. Now a lot would argue it is not MOD at all, but let’s not get into that. When you were 15, it was the uniform you needed with very clear boundries. Green Parka, Sta Prest , Fred Perry and pair of Jam shoes.
No different to a Skin with his 14 hole Air Wears or a Metal fan’s first leather jacket.
Followed on by the badgers and the bowling shoes, the multi colour shoe epitomized the MOD revival. This though, is where I think this style hasn’t aged well.
You see some lads on rallies in the shoes today. I dont have a problem with it, but some turn their noses up at them. I am not sure we are going to see a revival of red white and blue jam shoes any time soon. But as we all know MOD is built on snobbery!
There are also some Tassel Loafers in two tone, which some of The Specials wear. Again I think this is a dated look.
So maybe you are starting to think that I just think everything looks dated, well I suppose most of them do, there is a but coming though.
Why do we have going out shoes?
Meaning that we have different shoes for work, the pub and proper going out. So are you going to be wearing a pair of dowdy black shoes or are you going to be wearing ‘look at these, these are my going out shoes’?
When you are deciding what to wear, you want a range of good looking shoes. As you are getting dressed and slipping on your shoes you look in the mirror and think yep these are cool. You walk down the street, thinking these feel great.
When you dance to your favourite soul tune you want to slide across the floor.
What I am trying to say is that there are many reasons why we buy and wear shoes, and making a statement is maybe just one of them.
So does a two colour shoe work, yes I think it does, DNA groove do some really cool shoes with a leather and suede combination, so the effect is more subtle.
The Bowling shoe looks great with jeans out and about on a sunny afternoon . I have always liked the look the Smart Skins did in the 80’s with Cherry Reds, of mixing a little black polish to go in the cracks to give shade to the boot, make it look older.
The Rudeboy loafer we sell has the Oxblood effect of black and cherry colour combined and looks great. It goes really well with jeans or a suit. Also Delicious Junction sell a two colour brogue, white/black and the very cool, Tan/White.
Is there a conclusion!
Well there are shoes that
- I dislike and would not wear
- those I like to look at but not to wear
- those that just look and feel spot on !
What MOD shoe are you?
Had the above picture done because I wanted to talk about the strains within the MOD spectrum.
So to my way of thinking it is split up like this;
Suited and booted MOD, Dandy MOD, Indie MOD, Scooter MOD & Hard MOD.
Each of the styles has a different shoe style as well.
The Suited and Booted mod to me, is the classic look. 3 button suit, ticket pocket, nice fabric, tie with tie pin and on the feet smart looking leather shoes. The shoe will have a thin sole and be a two, three at most, laced affair. Sometimes a slip on, and sometimes a different shade. So not always black.
The Dandy Mod, will have exaggerated Chelsea boot look, possibly in white, or maybe a two colour brogue. The look is very regency, and Brian Jones of the Stones pulled it off to a T.
The next one along is the Britpop MOD, taking their cue slightly from 80’s casual, amalgamated with Damien from Blur. This look was everywhere in the 90’s and to a certain extent hasn’t faded. Rare Adidas and Fred Perry. Personally I think it is a “trendy dad” look now. Saying that I love getting new trainers!
The Scooter Mod, is more a throw back to the MOD Revival and defo born agains. This look combines lots of shoe types and mingles in with the scooterist. So sometimes even DM’s are seen. But again classics are worn here, desert boots etc. But also the look has the Jam Shoe and Bowling Shoes. At the bigger scooter rallies you always someone kicking around in Jam Shoes.
And lastly the Hard MOD look. To me this borders Skinhead and Suedehead. Certainly around Peterborough at the moment this look is popular. As you would expect Tassel Loafers and Brogues. And very popular ‘red socks’.
Now I wanted to draw attention to the styles because we call ourselves MOD Shoes. And I think that all the above styles fit in with the very “broad church” that we call MOD. We sell loads of loafers, which started making me think, in terms of numbers of people, are there more MODS of one type than another?
We ran a picture on Facebook recently to gauge reaction, and it was interesting that some thought the shoes were great and awesome, where as others didn’t, one saying they were ‘vile’ and only fit for pimps!  Personally I though they looked great for a dandy MOD look. But the Dandy look is not especially widespread, whereas the Hard MOD look seems more popular, or has a broader reach.
Image from http://www.facebook.com/KittysVintageKitsch
What am I trying to get at here? My main aim is really just trying to think what should we be trying to find for our customers. It is ok for me to think they are smart and never sell a pair, whereas others sell loads!
Personally at the mo, MODSHOES are trying to find a decent weaver shoe and some cord boots, like desert boots. If you have any suggestions please get in contact.Â
Agree or disagree? What do you like, and why?
Loake are one of the oldest shoe makers here in the UK. The family Loake has been making shoes since 1880. The companies commitment is to forefathers and the tradition they established all those years ago.
For this reason the premium grade Goodyear welted shoes continue to be made in Kettering, England, in the same factory that the three brothers built in 1894.
The Goodyear welted construction for which Loake is renowned is an intricate process with origins going back over 300 years. Only the very highest quality materials are used. Each pair takes eight weeks to make and they still believe there is no finer way to make a gentleman’s shoe.
They estimate Loake has made over 50 million pairs of Goodyear welted shoes since it began.
So what has this to do with MOD Shoes?
Well the company make very good shoes, and they produce a very ‘English’ style range of shoes. The range cover many shoes that don’t fit with MODS, such as the classic Oxford shoe. But and this is but, they do one of the best Tassel Loafers and Wingback Brogues currently on the market.
The Loake Brighton loafer is a classic tassel loafer. It comes in two colours, Black and the Classic Oxblood. The shoe is not the most expensive, but I would argue thats it is good as gets without going to bespoke.
Certainly designers like Gucci and Ralph Lauren make more expensive, but you are paying for the name! And they don’t look that much better.
I have spoken to people that have had bespoke shoes made, and they were pleased with the results, but also said, not pleased enough to have another pair done, but would rather have 2 or 3 pairs of Loakes instead.
So back to the Brightons. The shoe it self has classic trade marks, the beef roll on the front. This is really well stitched and the roll is flattened and so less prone to getting caught and snagged. The Oxblood colour is a real deep colour and the consistency of the leathers means you don’t get a patch work of colours.
Another friend of mine still has a pair she had in the 80’s. The shoes polished up well when she recently pulled them out of the loft. A local cobbler was able to tidy up the stitching for her. She was very happy when she wore them again to a recent soul do.
The point being that looked after well the shoe is going to last ages.
I have a pair of the Loake Royal Brogues, and think they are really great. They look so smart and shine up well every time. The shoe feels so sturdy that sometimes I think it should be a lot heavier. Certainly all Loake shoes I have seen feel solid.
Cheaper brogues or loafers suffer from inferior leather and start to look dowdy very quickly. The Loake Shoes don’t suffer from this and hence why we are happy to stock them.
Loake Shoes are also very proud of their repair service. In this throw away culture we live in now, it feels good to me that they care enough to want something to last.
And this brings us to the MOD connection.
Owning a pair of Loake Shoes means you are also in good company Worn by everyone from Bill Nighy and Martin Freeman to Kevin Spacey CBE and Madness.
In the 60’s the MOD culture was very transient and the looks were in and out very quickly, but today we have settled on certain styles to have in the wardrobe as a staple requirement. Personally I am happy to spend on a quality shoe I am going to keep for a while and this is another reason why we stock this classic shoe make.
We hope you agree.
Andy |Â Modshoes.co.uk
SHOES WE SELL
Black Loafers
Black Brogues
Brogues
Are tassel loafers with feathers MOD?
I ask the question because reading around a few sites on the net and talking to some MODS they feel that the ‘feathered loafer’ really is a Ska, Rudeboy or even Skinhead shoe. The kinda of people saying this though, do tend to be of the 60’s mod end of the scale! But to counter argue, I know lots of lads that are more street mod, revival or dare I say it scooter MODS, that think they are great!
So what’s the history?
Looking around the net at the 60’s guys in pictures where you can even see the shoes, it looks like more thinner soled leather shoes. There are plenty of Chelsea boots as well. The first you see of the Classic Tassel Loafers is the smarter side of the Original Skinheads.
Now I think this may be where the confusion starts, where did MOD stop and Skinheads start!
Certainly I think outside of London, the MOD fashion would have carried on developing. I also think that outside of London money would have been tighter and also availability. Which leads me to a conclusion that you would want a shoe that’s going to last, because you probably didn’t have the money to buy another pair of shoes for a while, and if you even had the money where would you buy them?
I have been told by several 60’s mods from around here that you could get Loake Loafers, but you had to hunt them out. I dont know about Bass Weejuns, but again I am sure these were a Modern Jazz shoe. Loakes make sense here in the midlands because it is so close to Northampton and the major British shoe manufacturers.
Loake have been making the Brighton style Tassel Loafer since the 60’s. And it sold well throughout the 70’s especially in the Northern Soul circles.
The Loake Brighton is heavy looking shoe and the style that has been adapted by Delicious Junction and Ikon for their classic Feathered tassel loafer. A lighter tassel loafer, with feathers is a spainish variety I have seen some people in and this has more rounded toe section. Both varieties of shoes seem to divide the opinion of MODS
In this picture you can see 2 distinct styles of the Tassel Loafers with Feathers. The first two pictures are of a ‘Bostonian’ i like these, i especially like the brogue at the front of the shoe. The 2nd pair are by Ralph Lauren. Both styles are a Fancy perhaps even Dandy shoe, and not a mile away from a Female Tassel loafer !
So back to the question.
So the above history is why i think the Feathered Tasseled Loafer is thought of as a MOD shoe. Similarly the classic MOD scooter has a great big whip Ariel , but you don’t see any of them in Richard Barnes MODS book.
So moving onto the Mod Revival, again this period got intwined with the Two-Tone phase. A lot of styles got muddled between a lot of the younger fans of The Jam and The Specials. Certainly for this author, I had several pairs at school. I loved both bands and thought the line between the bands and their followings wasn’t that far apart. Meaning we were as happy listening to The Specials 1st lp as we were to Sound Effects!
And again I think this might be why we think of the shoe as a MOD shoe. it wasn’t till later into the 80’s that people starting looking further than the bands and into 60’s soul, and that I think, is why MODS starting looking for more stylized loafers.
As the decade progressed some MODS turned into casuals and went for a more casual style, similar to the Delicious Junction Paolo Hewitt style shoes. Some MODS went for the Bass Weejun style and I can remember from rallies and seeing pictures of London Mods going in this direction, which as you would expect, filtered out across the rest of the UK.
Then the shoe faded away and I think only recently come back with what is known on the scooter scene as ‘born agains’ And the tail end of the Britpop era of Oasis etc.
The next point I think is very important. The ‘Born Agains’ are older, which is obvious, but more importantly they had/have more money and wanted the things they had when they was younger, but better!
A lambretta or Vespa is not the cheap option anymore and neither are the accessories! And shoes , along with clothes, fit into this neatly. I have spoke with several customers on the phone and they say, ‘ I want the ones I had at school, but better’ or ‘ I always wanted a pair because my older brother, mate etc had a pair and always fancied some for myself one day’
More evidence is the poll that’s has been running on this site recently (oct – nov 2012) Tassel Loafers with Feathers has come up top.
So without getting into the bigger argument of what is even MOD, MOD as we know “is a very broad church” (copyright Eddie piller) , and so what one person thinks is spot on, another thinks is ugly!
So what do I think ? and possibly conclude !
I think that ‘Tassel Loafers with Feathers’ are MOD, in the same way I think The Specials are MOD. Perhaps not pure MOD, but then neither is Northern Soul and i can think of plenty more examples of other things that are not pure MOD.
So for that reason, we included them on MOD shoes.
Disagree ? Then write telling me why below.
SHOES WE SELL:
jan2023Loafers
jan2023Loafers
Black Loafers
Latest Restocks
Black Loafers
jan2023Loafers
Black Loafers
Where do you start with Soul Shoes! There is a big enough argument to what is Soul, which possibly needs defining before you could define a soul shoe. So I suppose going to stick with what I have seen through my time and what have been told.
So looking around the recent soul dos I have been to, there is not a clear winner, particularly in the modern northern soul circles, there is a smattering of moddy types, smattering of lads with Oxford bags and what you might call just normal looking people. So on the shoes it varies like mad.
At the most recent northern do I went to here in Peterborough I counted 40% tassel loafers, 20% brogues and the rest was made up of comfortable flat shoe. I was genuinely surprised by that figure and didn’t go thinking that I would see that many.
So Soul shoe types, this is we’re I am stuck, being to young to have been a soul boy in the 70’s let alone the 60’s. What I can see though is in the early seventies, it stands to reason that tassel loafers would be popular as would brogues, because the shoes a fashion item at the time. Other styles which popular at the time include, Solatio , a monster of a shoe, which has strips of leather sown together. Mainly in brown, but also in black and two tone styles. The shoe is currently being remade by Ikon shoes.
Other shoes which can be seen on the northern soul scene included standard looking Oxford shoes. I am again assuming a good solid shoe, with a leather sole. And as we know a leather sole glides around the floor and makes obvious sense to wear.
This neatly brings on to Bowling shoes. Bowling shoes can be seen in several pictures in the 60’s being worn by mods.
The Bowling shoe works on the dance floor, it is very light and comes in a multitude of colours, which means your eyes are drawn to. Being light means you can dance for much longer, obvious I know and also why karate shoes became popular. The point being though both shoes are rubbish to walk in. Bowling shoes have a soft sole and step in a puddle and you are instantly socked!
Moving into the 80’s soul changed from the fast paced Northern Soul into the more disco orientated style. The tassel loafer morphed into a lighter shoe, with a very thin sole. Moccasins became very popular and the casual looked prevelled. The shift again with the rave generation and into Brit pop of the 90’s. The smart shoe got left behind in kickers and timberland boots. Britpop seemed obsessed with Addidas trainers. But this has nothing to do with soul!
Has the smart shoe has made a return though. With the present recession taking a hold in the UK there is a desire have smart shoe, that’s going to last a while and look classic meaning ideally it won’t go out of fashion, it may look dated, but still stylish. Decent pair of Levi’s, a Ben Sherman shirt and some decent shoes you are not going to look out of place at any Soul Do. Whether this be 60’s soul, 70’s or 80’s. I conclude in the next paragraph with ………
So the classic soul shoe, I am going to go for a classic tassel loafer, with a proper leather sole, and if needed a leather heal,as well. Its a classic going out shoe, not something you would were in the office.
Disagree then say so below, and ideally send some pics to prove it.
We stock these classic Soul Shoes
jan2023Loafers
jan2023Loafers
Black Loafers
Latest Restocks
Black Loafers