Author Archives: andytesting

Horace Panter The Specials in one of Modshoes Ties

Horace Panter The Specials in one of Modshoes Ties

We are really pleased one of my heros Horace Panter of The Specials seen here modelling one of our ties

I can wax lyrical about the specials all day, love the band alot since the age of 10. They are definitely a band that is greater than its parts, and Horaces playing is an important of the overall sound. Just listen to the bass solo on Nite Klub and you will understand. I play abit and marvel at the sound of that solo.

Anyways aside from sounding great they looked brill. So thank you Horace

And here are the pics

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Mods DONT wear trainers

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Mods DONT wear trainers

Facebook can be the best place in the world for like minded people to chat and interact with other, miles and miles apart, but so close in lots of other ways. And many of you reading this, would have seen someone write something where you think, ‘Really are you that daft’.

So the comment was “Mods don’t wear trainers. End of”

Now what is mod and what isn’t ? That is really a question you should only ask close friends when you have had many drinks and you can spend the rest of the evening, laughing about answers.

Paul Sawtell, top mod, & Alley club promoter said

I wear trainers. many Mods do. The main thing to remember is there are no rules in the Mod scene. Just cos I wear trainers it doesn’t make me “not a Mod” and not all people who wear trainers are Mods …….I’ll tell you something, most of the people who “make the rules” are not even Mods, they hide behind a computer keyboard and don’t go out on the scene, get my drift?

I have spoke to many people about trainers, and a lot of people love them, in terms of when to wear most agreed was a daytime look rather than an evening.

Neil Lee

I’ve always wore trainers for casual wear. Owned lots of Adidas Italia, Japan and Bowlers. Still wear them now. Also love the ivy style of Converse, Pro Keds and Sperrys.

Neil runs “Gettin To The Point” more info here https://www.facebook.com/events/1499119017009812/?ref=br_tf

And here is Neil in his trainers

mod shoes neil lee in trainers

I concede the Trainer will always be associated with the ‘Casual’ fashion from the early 80s. And a lot of these guys are just obsessive as many mods I know.

Here is just one image I found on Google image search.

adidas-trainer-collection

QUADROPHENIA LP Cover

A real obvious mod image, came straight to mind was this iconic cover

29-mod-shoes-nice-painting-of-quadrophenia

We offer a couple of pairs, and we would offer more if we could find the right kind. So far we have found these. I like them because they are reasonably plain, no 80’s style squiggles. We like the sole as it is plain and the burgundy chestnut colour ones look so cool in real life. The blue ones have many shades of blue, but nothing too showy.

01 Mod-Shoes-Mod-Trainer-Nicholas-Deakins-kendal-chestnut-01

02 Mod-Shoes-Mod-Trainer-Nicholas-Deakins-Palmer-Blue-06

 

 

 

 

 

 

But trainers, I reckon are great. There are some really cool ones out there, and some awful, but let’s stay with cool. So rather than a long written piece, I think these pictures do the rest, don’t you ?

paul-weller-in adidas

Paul Weller in Trainers !

mods in ham yard

Original Mods outside The Scene Club Ham Yard, I think 1964. Baseball Boots rather than trainers we have these days, but looks cool to me.

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mod shoes adidas italias green and whitecool adidas12-mod-shoes-80s-mods    fashion_mods_07_51914j lambrettas2

Mark Ellis Bass Player with The Lambrettas. Possibly the only person I have ever seen pulling off Trainers with a suit jacket !

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TheBirds in converse

The Birds circa 65/66 and Baseball boots again ! I think the wearer is Kym Gardner.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed the pics and words about Mods and their Trainers.

New For Modshoes December 2014

Good time here at modshoes

We are very pleased to be able to offer both some great looking ladies shoes but also retro trainers. And then add to that we was very lucky to have a photoshot with Andrew Shim, yes Milky from This Is England.

SCROLL DOWN FOR LOTS OF PICS AND VIDEO

 

Ladies Shoes, Made In Great Britain



Retro Trainers by Nicholas Deakins


Andrew Shim Photoshot & Video
Here is a video and pics we did recently with Andrew Shim. He was between shooting session for the New This Is England 90, when he came in. He couldnt give anything away, but said what they have done so far is excellent stuff. Modshoes love This Is England and cant wait for the new series.




Mod Boots – Is there such a thing ?

mod-boots-blog

Stupid question really, but when I think of classic mod outfits, apart from perhaps Chelsea Boots or Desert Boots I normally think of a shoe. We sell mainly shoes on the site and have a smattering of boots, but I have always been a fan of the boot.

So lets start with an obvious really, the desert boot. Worn by everyone including my mum, these comfortable and ultimately affordable boots have been worn by countless generations since their introduction in the 50s. I have had, and still own numerous pairs and they are great for looking Casual as well as being really comfy.

There is a picture in Richard Barnes mod book, which I used to think was the perfect look, and in some respects I still do. White Jeans, Suede jacket, nice knitwear top and the important desert boots at the bottom. The look is suitably mod, with subtle differences from normal high street

mod-shoes-burgundy-cord-desert-boots-with-cord-mod-jacket

The standard stone / brown colour fits so many outfits,it looks the part on the scooter etc etc etc. The one place that they fall down for me, is the sole. Why you ask ? Well you can’t dance in them, not without twisting your knee ! And that hurts after a while !

Chelsea Boots
Again a classic style boot that became high street fashion early in the 60s. There is a certain amount of argument about whether the Beatles got there first, or the London mods, I am not going to get drawn into that one. In terms of what people regard as the first real fashion Chelsea Boot is the Anaelio and David. In the picture here you can see mods queuing to buy them.

mod queing for chelsea boots mod shoes

I like the boot and think it goes well with a suit or trousers. A good many bands in the 60s wore them with jeans, and certainly Primal Scream & The Velvet Underground favoured the look.

The Lexington from David Preston Shoes
The Lexington from David Preston Shoes

There are a good many colours, style & variations to suit anyone desired look. Personally I love the David Prestons range, gorgeous.

http://davidprestonshoes.com/shop/

So, I have answered my own question already I know. Of course there are mod boots, but I don’t think it stops there really.

 

Recently I have been wearing the Loake Burford boots to see how long they take to break in. 16 days is the answer, but that’s not the point. The boots look amazing and the build quality is superb. No they are not cheap, but if you do break them, Loake for a small charge will fix them, so it could be argued a boot for life ! And you don’t get that much anymore.

In terms of look, I am not sure they are classic mod, but they are stylish.

Patrick of Parka Ave site, has some Loake Burfords here with a suit, looks good to me.

Mod trousers Loake boots Parka Avenue

DJ, who we also stock, have recently reintroduced the Landslide boot. The Style of the boot is very similar to the Loake, but comes in at ½ the price. The boot has a more chiseled toe and also is in slimming fit. To me it evokes the boots you see in Peaky Blinders, that kind of smart working boot. In the series the guys wear some really nice suits as you can see in the pic.

I wouldn’t say this is classic mod, but more like a smart looking cousin of mod, perhaps a younger brother ! My point is though, in the series the guys need to have a lot of “front” and look better than their gambling customers. And that is to me the very essence of mod.

Peaky Blinders: gang lined up

So the boots fit in with the mod genre for me.

We must mention some other cousins of mod !
Monkey boots and DM’s. Both of these style I have seen working well in outfits. Townsend wears a pair of monkey boots in this picture.

The High Numbers starting to look cool. Notice the Two Tone shoes Weller loved, and Townsend in Monkey Boots
The High Numbers starting to look cool. Notice the Two Tone shoes Weller loved, and Townsend in Monkey Boots

Sometimes it is how you make your outfit up that means you can wear almost anything, it’s the way its put together, colours etc.

Another consideration is that most of us are not MOD 24 hours a day. So desert boots are great if you are web designer, likewise some of us work in offices and if you want something to stand out a little, then a hard wearing, going to last ages boot is just the thing.

And of course there are many cool boots out there, I just wanted draw your attention to these.

Cheers Andy

Here are some pics we did recently to illustrate the point

mod-shoes-landslides-tan-boot-peaky-blinders-14 mod-shoes-landslides-tan-boot-peaky-blinders-13 mod-shoes-landslides-tan-boot-peaky-blinders-12 mod-shoes-landslides-tan-boot-peaky-blinders-11 mod-shoes-landslides-oxblood-brogue-boots--boot-peaky-blinders-12 mod-shoes-landslides-oxblood-brogue-boots--boot-peaky-blinders-10 mod-shoes-landslides-oxblood-brogue-boots--boot-peaky-blinders-09 2mod-shoes-landslides-oxblood-brogue-boots--boot-peaky-blinders-11

 

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Practical Brogue boots for the Mod in winter? Or Justifying Loake Burford Boots

loake-burford-boots-review-pratical-and-smart

For some time now I have been thinking about some brogue boots. In particular the Tan Burford boots from Loake. The style is reasonably common and you see variations from many makers. So like before I am asking myself is the Loake really worth twice and in some cases three times the price of other makes.

So here is some of my initial  thoughts.

What am I going to wear them with ?

Well most of my days I am in the office, packing shoes, writing up words for websites etc. I do a little meeting clients. I don’t have to wear a tie or do anything really dirty. So most days in winter I wear Levi’s, shirt and jumper, or a long sleeve polo, smedley type top.

So under jeans I think the boots, will be great. The tan colour looks good with a multitude of tops configurations and jeans.

So where else will I wear them and are they practical ?

Well I have met a few people that wear them day to day religiously, and from a range of different jobs. An accountant, a used range rover dealer, a hog roast caterer and many more. So from a practical hard wearing point of view, I think they win.

loake-burford-boots-with-jeans-and-yellow-socks

The leather is hard wearing and Loake offer a service of resoling, so as long as I don’t tear them, or anything else, I should have the boots ages.

Could I wear them out in the evening ?

Yes depends where and what with. I would wear them with a suit and the compliment well. Here is a picture of Patrick Foisy from Parka Avenue in his.

Mod trousers Loake boots Parka Avenue

Loake brogue boots

Would I FEEL better in them?

Now this is the question I often ask myself. It is possible to buy cheap, or should say good value shoes, for little money. They look good for a while and will last the season, when no doubt I may want something else.

But and it’s a big but, the people I have met who paid the expense said it was worth every Penny, and that once worn in, where dead comfy boots. My fear is that a cheaper boot will literally last six months at best.

Now as we are called modshoes, it brings into question, are we mod 24hours a day?

When I am out walking the dogs which I do twicely daily. I wear a mixture of things, old jeans, old tops etc. At work where it spend a lot of my times, as I imagine so do a lot of you, I could be fully moddy everyday, but sometimes is it just a hint of MOD, and leave the smart stuff to the weekend?

I have heard some say in the 60’s they had a job that allowed them to be 24 hour MOD, and that was the only way for them. But I can’t imagine me packing up shoes in 3 button suit with tie!

But will I feel better in better boots, then yes I think the price and quality of the boots, will make me work better, because I will feel better.

Why Boots & Not the shoes ?

How about some Tan brogues shoes instead, like the Sutherlands or Chester’s.

Well I have thought about that, and again like the style, as I love my Royals, but I am not sure I would want to wear them all day, their something I like for weekends. Boots perhaps feel a bit more like you are going to work !

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Does it have to be Loake why not DJ

Below you can see DJs take on the classic brogue boot. These are coming out very soon, and have in common the Goodyear welted sole, tan leather etc. the only slight difference is the sole. The Loake has the advantage of being stitched and made in the UK hence replacement sole is a lot easier.

dj landslides brogue tan oxblood boots leather soles

The big but that’s coming here though, is the advice I give to customers all the time. If you wear your shoes, 24/7 treat yourself to the Loakes. On the other hand, if you wear your shoes 3 times a month at a do or pub etc. then the DJs represent really good value for money, and mean you can have two different shoes for the price for one Loake.

So I have think I have answered my own quandary, Loake Burford boots for me. I will get 4 to 5 months good use out of them, this year alone. And perhaps again next year and so on.

Hope my thoughts have helped you too

Andrew Lindsay
MD Mod Shoes

And here is a video we did to find out how they feel on the 1st 30 days