Author Archives: Andrew Lindsay

Their Satanic Majesties – Corduroy Shoes & The Stones

There is a well-known fable surrounding the blues; namely Robert Johnson doing a deal with the Devil at a dusty Delta Crossroads for fame and fortune in exchange for his Soul. As the story goes Robert returns after disappearing for a few short months playing at Juke Joints and Saturday Night Jump-ups with an unearthly level of talent and a whole set of moody and foreboding new tunes that left many of the impoverished black population who cut loose at these events quite literally Dancing with the Devil.

How true all this is anybody’s guess but what is known is that Robert Johnson certainly felt haunted by much in his young life from both real and imagined tragedy and he died at the tender age of just 27 (The first member of the ‘27 club’ as it came to be known).

No doubt England’s most successful Rhythm and Blues band would have been aware of the legend and Robert Johnson’s sole LP was a frequent play when Keith Richards and Brian Jones were learning their blues chops. The Rolling Stones had a meteoric rise, second only to that of The Beatles and were a London counterpoint to the Mersey sound that flooded the charts. Add to the mix front man Mick Jagger’s overt frenzy-imbuing sexuality and clever promotion from their artful and shrewd manager Andrew Loog Oldham who sold them as the dark underbelly of The Fabs sharp and subtle witty insurrection. Headlines like ‘Would you let your daughter marry a Rolling Stone’ and a well published charge of ‘outraging public decency’, namely being caught pissing up a garage wall were all enough to garner a following that guaranteed success.

Whilst chart success continued, their sound developing from their early covers of Rhythm and Blues standards to self-penned pop songs albeit with edgy, often misogynistic, lyrics courtesy of Jagger and Richards they were increasingly playing second fiddle to their Northern rival’s inventiveness and originality. It was at this stage that band leader Brian Jones whose influence was steadily waning against that of the principal songwriters had his last and possibly his biggest influence; and one that cemented the bands legacy.

Already a talented multi-instrumentalist Jones started branching out, broadening the bands horizons utilising the Marimba on Under My Thumb, a Dulcimer on Lady Jane and perhaps best of all; the very in vogue Sitar on Paint it Black. As well as the music he also brought muses into the band. Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg; well-read and intelligent Euro-bohemians. They pushed the boundaries of the band’s knowledge and experiences and opened doors including that of the occult teachings of noted Satanist Aleister Crowley. Brian had paved the way for the band most inventive period. At its best it was at least on a par with the Beatles. The brooding Paint it Black, so brilliantly captured on Ready Steady Go, sees Jagger resplendent in a Victorian military jacket (gone are the roll necks, skinny ties and Mod-ish suits) all pouting temptation and heavy-lidded seduction as the songs heavy middle-eastern vibe swirls incessantly, urging and sexual in a way The Beatles never were.

The band were now avant-garde in dress with layers of velvets, white felt hats, ruffled shirts and cord shoes and yet somehow dark and; mysterious in both music and lyrical output. The next two singles Mothers Little Helper and Have you Seen Your Mother Baby Standing in the Shadows were murky maelstroms of malevolence. Sinister and bitter, sneering in the extreme. Before the Beatles struck back with the epoch defining Sgt Peppers, the Stones had another chart smash with the sexually explicit (for the times) song Lets Spend the Night Together. This was Modern Blues. The sexual demanding songs of black America were often tempered for a white audience – never before had a (white) band been so brazen in their carnality. As a result the single was banned in the US.

Around this time Anita Pallenberg so much Brian’s muse left him for Keith Richards and with it went his hold over the band, in her stead he turned to drink and increasingly heavier drugs to blot out the pain of his loss. The fact she was still around the bands inner-circle she was a constant reminder of his own perceived short-coming. After treading water with a couple of slightly-delic tracks – the delicious and sarcastic We Love You, the rather twee She’s a Rainbow and the droning 2,000 Light Years from Home the group with an increasingly marginalised Brian hit a purple patch that would continue to define them to this day. Sandwiched between a Southern States of America Rock vibe of Jumping Jack Flash and Honky Tonk Women, which pre-empted their riff-heavy route to their early 70’s commercial peak is possibly their greatest song…

‘Please allow me to introduce myself…’ Jagger was ring-master of all he surveyed. Sympathy for the Devil was inspired by an idea from French poet Baudelaire and an English translation of a Russian Novel given to him by Marianne Faithfull called the Master and Margarita. Lyrically stunning Jagger runs Dylanesque from the death of Christ ‘Made damn sure that Pilate washed his hands and sealed his fate’ through to the European wars of religion in the middle ages ‘I watched with glee while your Kings and Queens, fought for ten decades for the Gods they made’; The Russian Revolution ‘I stuck around St Petersberg when I saw it was time for change, killed the Tsar and his ministers, Anistasia screamed in vain’; World War II ‘I rode a tank, held a General’s rank, when the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank’ through to the death of the Kennedy’s.

Married to a hypnotic voodoo groove played almost entirely by Keith Richards (Brian had the ignominy of having his part mixed out) it really was a heady and seductive mix. The press and religious groups were up in arms convinced that the band were devil-worshippers and a genuinely corrupting influence on the Nation’s youth. In fact, the song infers it is man not Satan responsible for history’s atrocities… ‘after all it was you and me…’

It was the last single Brian Jones played on, mixed out or otherwise, within six months he had been fired from the band he created and died less than a month later in his swimming pool… he was also only 27.

 

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Cord Corded Corduroy

The “Mateo” Shoe In Sky Blue

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SOUL DEEP – ADVENTURES WITH THE STYLE COUNCIL

‘Soul Deep – Adventures With The Style Council’ is a new book by Stuart Deabill, Ian Snowball and Steve Rowland charting the history of one of the most enigmatic groups of the 1980’s, through the eyes of the fans and those who worked with the musical collective.

The high-quality design led hardback book will feature personal stories and unseen photos as well as personal memorabilia from fans collections. They’ll also be interviews with some of the musicians and background team who worked with The Style Council between 1983 and 1989.

Soul Deep will feature some of the original artwork and photography that adorned the single and album sleeves as well as the tour posters, trade ads, merchandise. The authors will also revisit some of the live and record reviews that The Style Council received from the likes of NME, Melody Maker, Sounds and Record Mirror.

The 240 page hardback book will come in 2 editions, standard and limited.

Soul Deep is being crowdfunded through Kickstarter and there are several packages available. To pledge for a copy, go to https://tinyurl.com/Souldeepbook123

Soul Deep will be published in November 2020.

Stuart Deabill
The success of ‘Thick as Thieves – Personal Situations with The Jam’ proved that there was a market for fan inspired literature, and in the days of 80’s pastels against 1970s monochrome, I felt myself, Ian and Steve could produce something highly stylised to represent a group (and time) that was very important to us.

I was one of The Torch Society fan club members that travelled round the country to see the group wherever possible, and was very inspired by the music, the stance, the clothes and the political edge. I want to make sure we cover and capture what it meant to be alive (and kicking) during the 1980’s.

About The Authors
Stuart Deabill has co-written 3 books with Ian Snowball including the best seller – ‘Thick As Thieves – Personal Situations With The Jam’, that Paul Weller described as “the best book on The Jam, and it’s fans, I’ve ever seen”. He works closely with Steve Rowland on other projects through the AFTN imprint and lives in Watford.

Ian Snowball’s first gig was The Style Council in Brighton in 1985, and became a drummer because of his love of Steve White’s playing. Ian has written books about The Who, Mods, Dexy’s Midnight Runners as well as work with DJ Marshall Jefferson and Madness’s Lee Thompson. He’s also penned several novels and lives in Maidstone.

SOUL DEEP – ADVENTURES WITH THE STYLE COUNCIL

love of style and music was inspired by The Style Council throughout the 1980’s leading to a life immersed in music, design and writing books. He has co-authored 2 books ‘Modzines – Fanzine Culture from the Mod Revival’ and ‘Punkzines and lives in Brighton.

New Colours For Monkey Jackets & Brett Chukka Boots

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Just Add Jeans – Mod Casual Clothing

When we choose our shoes, jackets, tops, in fact anything we sell, one of the major considerations is what will it be worn with and where. Below you can see a few of the items we sell together. We thought you would like it.

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Gangster Chic – Dressed to Kill – Clean Living In Difficult Circumstances !

There has always been an admirable style associated with some of the most notorious people of the 20th Century. Much of this comes from a glorification via both Media and the big-screen, which both fuel people’s passion for their nefarious (if mostly white-washed) exploits.

Part of the appeal is that for a society that is so divided by wealth (and Class in the UK) that to see someone circumvent their preordained place in society on their own terms is deemed a thing to be admired. Naturally that comes with displays of that ‘success’ not least in terms of their dress sense.

Tailored clothing especially at a high-end tailor would have been the preserve of the wealthy, but with money to burn and the sheer need to impose themselves on wider society, great pride would be taken in going to the top stylists of the day. The pictures we are familiar with of the great mobsters of the 20’s and 30’s such as Al Capone, ‘Lucky’ Luciano, John Dillinger et al all show them with Fedora Hats, silver-topped canes, spats, immaculate three-piece suits, silver fobs, pocket silks and cashmere overcoats. This outward display was a measure of their successes. Dressed to the nines like this they felt at home rubbing shoulders with the high society they felt they belonged with.

This side of the pond, between the Wars and having spent time in trenches with their social betters and realising that very little was different between the ‘them and us’ in terms of getting gassed and shot at it was no wonder that this emulation of a better social status continued. TV show Peaky Blinders is a showcase for how city-dwelling gangsters of that era emulated the higher classes in their Tweed three pieces (country/leisure wear for the sporting sort) augmented with precious fobs and highly polished brogue-boots. Gone were the poor made functional tailoring and hob-nail boots of the industrial heartlands of the Midlands at the earliest opportunity, with only the peaked caps (albeit now made in matching cloth to the suits) a nod to their past.

Post World War Two and with a country handicapped by rationing in both food AND clothing, it was again the leading figures of the Underworld who flaunted their disdain for the social constrictions of the day. Jack ‘Spot’ Cromer, Billy Hill, Albert Dimes and Charles Sabbini all flaunted their ‘outrageous’ style in the nightspots and at the race-tracks. Silk scarves, jewelled cufflinks, diamond pins with handmade highly polished shoes are prevalent in many of their pictures of the day. ‘Clean living in difficult circumstances’ as became the phrase for another group who used style to challenge their social place!

The sixties were probably the heyday of ‘Gangsters as celebrity’. The decade that finally (if only on a surface level) broke the down the social barriers that had been threatening since the revolutions of the early 20th Century. It is no wonder that ‘leading lights’ such as the Krays were house hold names. Their celebrity status was further assured when they too were chosen to have their photos taken by the leading photographer of the day (also working-class lad ‘made good’) David Bailey. Their suits are actually a throw back to the bygone Gangsters of the 20’s and 30’s. Two-piece as the times dictated but instead of being a la mode, slim-cut, waisted with narrow and high break lapels. They are broad shouldered one or two button jackets with pleated (rather than flat-fronted) trousers. The suits them selves seem to say ‘Yes we’re Gangsters – so what!?’ – An attitude that society felt sufficiently threatened by to actual deal with latterly in the decade, along with many of their contemporaries of the day, like as The Richardson’s and The Great Train Robbers.

Since that time and perhaps like all good things coming to an end, it’s a shame that this ostentatious style is now more about outward displays of wealth (numerous thick gold chains, designer labels, flash cars) rather than pure style for the sake of it. It is however still readily available for those who look for those stylistic clues so slavishly. Films of and about the era are a fantastic place to start for the style-obsessed. Michael Caine’s suit in The Italian Job when he comes out of the lift is a thing of absolute beauty – the tailor (Doug Haywood) actually gets a nod in the credits too and rightly so! In fact, Charlie Crocker’s wardrobe throughout the film is exceptional. The cream suit with brown tie when seeing Lorna on to the plane, the suede double breasted coat when watching his beloved E-type getting mangled are just two cracking examples.

More recent film Gangster No 1 with David Bettany goes as far as actually doing a whole monologue on the quality of Gangster David Thewlis’ style and dress sense – there is another great scene where he is given a wad of cash and told to smarten himself up – a shot that apes Michael Caine’s appearance from out the lift with a sly nod to James Fox in Performance.

There is of course more to Gangster style than just suits. Check out the Italian Knitwear in Goodfellas. Beautiful summer-weight wool Ban-Lon tops worn with pristine white T shirts, sharp trousers and shoes. The casual clothes in American Gangster with Denzil Washington are superb too and all the films listed above are well worth checking out, and not just for the wardrobe.

Too often the ‘glamour’ of their lifestyle is over-played and the nasty side of their exploits are glossed over, but I think using style as a weapon is never a bad thing, but maybe keep it to simply dressing like you’re going somewhere better later…

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Too Much Monkey Business. The Monkey Jacket and Mods turn Casual…

In 1963 as the mercurial Soho Modernist gave way to a newer younger Mod and a full year before Media interest and bank holiday notoriety a couple of novelty dance records highlighted the shift from gutsier Hell-bound Rhythm and Blues to a sweeter, more sanctified Soul. Both the Curtis penned Monkey Time by Major Lance and the sublime Mickey’s Monkey by The Miracles crashed into the top ten pop charts. It is perhaps no wonder the young dance obsessed crowd also took to the collegiate varsity aping (no pun intended) jacket known as the Monkey Jacket.

The origins (like much in the way of Mod) are vague and often apocryphal however it is most likely that it got its name from the short waisted naval jackets that were once baggy but were latterly elasticated at the neck, waists and cuffs which would have been considerably safer for those sailors who went by the name of ‘Rigging Monkeys’, by dint of their fearless and speedy climbing.

Another story that does the rounds is that it gave a shorter bodied look that resembled the military style jackets that so often adorned an organ grinders monkey. Military jackets and especially Dress jackets though, had been short in length for many years (and still are) and those on our primate friends were no shorter in scale.

American teen movies were popular in the late 50’s and early 60’s. Their bold block-coloured Varsity Jackets so often with its Ivy college crest and a large sewn on letter (hence the phrase Letterman jacket), would have been very sought after but nigh on impossible to get. This side of the pond ‘Harrington’ jackets; a Baracuta G9 named after the popular tv character Rodney Harrington in Peyton Place, were equally desired and they also came in an array of strong colours and a striking tartan lining but were not readily affordable; and only available at limited stockists such as John Simon’s Ivy Shop at Richmond Hill.

The French and Italian youth had a similar elasticated wind-cheater called a ‘blouson’ which would also have appealed to our young style obsessives. This was often made of a lighter satin material and was blousier and baggier than the American jackets, but again at those times would not have been so easy to come by. Mods however were nothing if not resourceful…

Our brief tale returns to a military bent. It is not improbable that these ‘monkey jackets’ were discovered, like the increasingly ubiquitous parka, in military stores. Army PT jackets, often white in colour (again a popular Mod colour) had a similar elasticated waist and cuffs but had the added attraction of bold red and blue piping. Like most Army surplus stores these items would have been much more affordable. This magpie trait of Mods is one of its finest legacies. The Mod appropriation of Sports wear from Fred Perry polo’s, cycling tops, to boxing boots, bowling shoes and Adidas training shoes defined the new street style craze so prevalent on Ready Steady Go and the lurid Bank Holiday headlines.

Naturally from this media explosion that soon followed savvy manufacturers began creating their own versions with differing colours and complementing bold piping. Peter Meaden even got a young Pete Townsend and Keith Moon sporting one in his Mod Makeover as part of the High Numbers. Its been a staple of the Mod wardrobe ever since.

“You get yours ‘cause I got mine”

Creating your look from the floorboards up.

Three steps to heaven.

There are a thousand quotes regarding style and nearly all of them mention shoes. There is a reason for this, of course. Shoes are the foundation of an outfit; the building blocks if you will. If you’re looking at getting the right shoes for your outfit, you are approaching things from the wrong end.

Shoes are like magic; alchemy, they define the wearer and the wearer’s attitude. They are an outward expression of intent. What do you wish to say for yourself? How do you feel? More importantly; how do you want to feel? As the French say ‘Le Style est l’homme meme’ which roughly translated means ‘Style is the man himself’

Where you start of course, is where you want to be. There are classic shoes. Classic for a reason. An Oxford lace up, best worn polished and in black and instantly you are smarter of appearance. They are conservative, understated but never to be under estimated. Hardy Amies maxim of ‘A man should look as if he had bought his clothes with intelligence, put them on with care and then forgotten all about them!’ is aimed fairly and squarely at the Oxford. They are the Cary Grant of shoes.

Your suit should be cut with the same understated elegance. Style like this does not need bells and whistles. Less is more! Solid of colour in black, dark blue or grey. Shirt should be white, pristine, virginal, spread collared and adorned with a single muted coloured silk tie. Adornments should be confined to a white Presidential folder pocket square. Cufflinks, if at all, should be discrete as should the watch.

This however may not be you – and what are clothes for if to not make you a better you?

So Classic no2 – The ultimate shoe of purpose; The Brogue.

Hey check this guy out…

You must admit the man walks with a sense of purpose. Like Lee Marvin in Point Blank. He looks like he’s going somewhere and he looks like he knows what he’s gonna do when he gets there.

It’s the shoes, see. Shoes of a man who has direction, he has drive, he has ambition. Solid, dependable, no-nonsense. Onwards, upwards, forwards, always forwards. The soles hit the ground and the ground stays hit, it’s the mark of the man.

First gear, second gear, now third, fourth, fifth; man this cat is moving. Things to do, places to be, faces to meet. He’s raging against the hungry march of time. Relentless! Unremitting! He’s gotta keep moving, he’s gotta keep moving!

On and on and on and on, like a force of nature. A hurricane! Lightning in a bottle, all pent-up energy, pounding up the streets like a Max Roach snare and cymbal race. He’s the real-deal; no messing, no second chances. The man’s a walking ultimatum.

Tick Tock Tick Tock – hey time waits for no man buddy, gotta get out of his way, he’s coming through. He aint stopping for nothing or nobody. He’s like a foregone conclusion.

It’s simply just gonna happen. Inevitable! Unavoidable!

 

Man, I wouldn’t wanna be in your shoes when he gets there.
I’d wanna be in his….

So now you dig!

What goes with a Brogue?

For a shoe with such purpose and direction it is the most versatile of shoe styles. A punch-holed sleight of hand masterpiece. The brogue itself comes in a range of colours and materials. A suede brogue with a soft shouldered jacket is as cool as a polished chestnut brogue with a Sports jacket. The rules of thumb for your outfit are two-fold.

Firstly, texture here is your friend. Knitted or woollen ties, both cotton or silk pocket squares will work. Oxford cotton shirts in plain or stripe. Jacket in tweed, check, corduroy or simply a plain blue blazer.

Which brings us on to rule of thumb No 2. Always pair up plain with fancy. A plain jacket allows for checked trousers. A checked jacket means plain trousers, or white Levis. You could of course wear denim with a brogue… but only if Jeremy Clarkson is your style Icon.

Rule no 3? Jeremy Clarkson should NEVER be your style Icon.

Classic shoe No 3, takes us from British and American self-assuredness to European élan by way of that most casual of shoes; and arguably an American Collegiate and Modernist essential; the Loafer.

Like the Brogue it comes in an array of materials, and if anything, an even wider range of colours. Unlike the previous two shoes, socks are now simply optional. The Loafer is famously based upon either Native American Indian footwear or Norwegian sailing shoes (hence Weejuns) depending on which of the famous stories you believe.

The Loafer also has a versatility that finds it equally at home as the foundation of the sharpest of Modernist suits its polished upper a mere kiss away from the finest of kid mohair; or with a turn-up chino a whole ankle away from its suede hipness; paired with a Brooks Brother’s oxford button down and a deconstructed soft-shouldered jacket or hell just the shirt. Get the foundations right and the possibilities are endless.

Endless possibilities in just three pairs of shoes. The understated purity of the Oxford lace-up; the intense purpose of the Brogue and the knowing casual elegance of the Loafer. As we said in the beginning ‘Less is More’.

There are of course a huge array of great shoes and boots available and the principles remain the same. Make it the foundation of your style; from the ground up, ‘from the floor-boards up’ as the Weller man say’s and he knows a thing or two about style.

My favourite style quote? ‘Style is looking like the your leading the parade, when in reality you’re being run out of town!’

The Toppermost of the Poppermost – Topper Shoes

It’s only been a fairly recent luxury with the internet and original Mods posting up rare and treasured photos from their sartorial heyday and stunningly researched tomes like Paul ‘Smiler’ Anderson’s Mods the New Religion with its own incredible selection of images, that enable us to see just how amazing and innovative the clothing was; especially in light of what had gone before, its sixties peak.

Any fan of Modernist history and its Swinging London Carnabetion cousin though still likes to get their hands dirty though… (I suspect it’s the quality of the printing ink…) There is something about wading through vintage periodicals and magazines from the sixties that I find genuinely a pleasure. Stylistically even the adverts (irrespective of what’s being advertised) ache of the era. They are superbly illustrated and make me want to own the very shoes they stand up in… such is the power of advertising I guess!

The other great treasure trove are the music mags. Chief among these is Rave magazine which knowingly mixes up street Mod with Pop Star style and is a great barometer of the changing fashions as it runs through from early ’64 monochromatic Beatle/Cliff/Rolling Stones looks with its skinny black ties and matching trousers to the mind-expanding conscious exploding rage of colour with the aforementioned Fabs and Stones being two of those at the forefront of the kaleidoscopic riot as the decade progressed (to be fair even Cliff’s ties were paisley by this time) to the dichotomy between the more earthy, organic looks and the space-age futuristic at its end.

Browsing through them again and its hard not to get excited by the sheer dandified flare of the floppy hatted and sharp shod Brian Jones, the Velvet Victoriana of The Kinks and perhaps best of all those Darlings of the Whapping Wharf Landrette; Small Faces. In amongst the new pearly Kings and Queens of Lennon and McCartney (although check out George and Ringo for the best stuff!) is Dennis! Who he? You may well ask… well Just Dennis was the regular clothes feature that appears in Rave magazine and its clear that its largely sponsored by the boutiques of Carnaby Street and whilst much is known about the King of Carnaby Street, and Mod-Millionaire John Stephen whose clothes so defined an era, little is known about the most famous of shoe sellers; Stephen Topper of Toppers Shoes.

Toppers Shoes had a clientele of the good and the great with The Stones, The Who and The Small Faces regulars as well as international superstars who made a point of visiting their premises such as Jimi Hendrix and the new ‘Judas’; Bob Dylan. It is however great to read more recent articles on such web-pages as the Original Modernist FB page how much both Toppers shoes and rival (and next-door neighbour) Ravel were not just coveted but bought and actively worn on the high-street cat walks of the mid-sixties and beyond.

Toppers Shoes were already an established London concern with three branches in central London; one at 68 Queensway in W2 and the others at 34 Coventry Street and 57 Shaftesbury Avenue in W1. They made the leap into Swinging London folklore with a move to number 45 Carnaby Street under the stewardship of Stephen Topper the then still teenage son of the owner, in 1965.

Six months later they feature strongly in the ‘London Swings’ issue of Rave magazine in April ’66. They also make the two era defining guides the pop-art Illustrated Ravers Map of London and the Gear Guide – the Hip-pocket guide to Britain’s Swinging Fashion Scene which denote the opening of a second branch in Carnaby Street at No 9 which catered for both men and women in its ‘beautifully cool interior of weird purply shades’ unlike No 45 which catered for men only. Prices ranged from three pounds to ten Guineas for men and for the girls from three pounds to five pounds-fifteen for shoes and from five pounds to seven pounds-nineteen and six for boots.

It’s easy to see what was so attractive about the shoes. Designed by Stephen Topper himself and manufactured to a high standard in France, Italy and Spain they were intricate weaves of contrasting leather; almond toed perfection. Viewing the colour photos of Small Faces at this time and you can see the weaves in cream and olive and outrageous black and lilac.

Brian Jones, arguably the most flamboyant Stone also owned a pair. Contrasting fabrics and colours were a regular feature of his work and were the perfect complement to the rest of the clothes on Carnaby Street.

A selection of Just Dennis articles reveals the eclectic mix of styles; from Sand Suede boots with waterproof leather lining, also available in black leather and olive suede (Price £7 19. 6d – Nov 1966). Two-tone loafers and two-tone brogues in Macao canvas and leather (Price 85s. – Feb 1967). Similar shoes in red-brown and black leather were available the following year at £5 9s. 6d.

In August 1968 hessian slip-ons in Natural or Ice Blue were 59s 11d. Cord Boots in Camel or Brown also 59s. 11d and at a slightly cheaper 49s. 11d are Canvas slip-ons in White or Brown or lace-ups in Navy or Natural with all shoes being described as light-weight and ideal for the beach.

Toppers shoes marched into the 70’s and continued to reflect the times with stacked heals and more bulbous toes and headed South West to the Kings Road (again reflecting the transition of the fashion centre of the era) but by the late 1970’s Topper Shoes and Stephen Topper himself seem to have faded from view.

Thankfully the comparative ease of modern research and with the clear passion of some current manufacturers inspired by the innovation and style of Stephen Topper’s stunning shoe collections it is possible to once again buy shoes that make similar style statements. Who wouldn’t want to be in the elite company of The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Dylan Hendrix and of course Small Faces.