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”

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.

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!’

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.

Here is a preview of our ladies Autumn / Winter Collection. If you are seeing this, you were on the VIP list.

Here we have some pics of our shoes for our latest Instagram campaign. We thought you would like to see them

Shoes used in the Pictures

In this blog we wanted to show you how you can wear your Modshoes more often. At Modshoes we do a range of colours, and we always like to have a splash of colour. So below you can see a few of our shoes with Jeans in various colours & styles.

The versatility of bright shoes are often underestimated. With a neutral ensemble, such as black, white, tan and grey, they make a statement on their own, but do not cause a colour overload. However, wearing several bright colours, if the same intensity, also complement each other to create a whole statement look.

The versatility of our range of heels is something that we pride ourselves on here at Modshoes.

Pairing a heel with a formal dress does create an elegant look, but how about those who don’t opt for a dress?
Or just wish to get the most wear out of their shoes as possible?

Dressing up jeans with a blouse and heel creates a look that can be more dressy, or more casual – but remains stylish. There is even versatility in the jeans that can be worn! Our personal favourites involve pairing the 2 Shades of Pink Dustys with lighter blue jeans, the Sunflower Mariannes with dark blue jeans, and the White & Lavender Dustys with white jeans.

The possibilities are endless, so why does it feel so difficult to pair jeans with heels?

A current fashion trend is the skinny jean which, when paired with a heel, lengthens the silhouette and creates a sophisticated look. Additionally, cropped jeans are favoured during the summer months, which exhibit the heel in its entirety, and create a daytime look! White jeans are especially flexible, as we love a coloured shoe here at Modshoes, which can be paired with white effortlessly.

• We have conjured some quick styling tips when combining heels with jeans:
• Opt for an overall semi-dressy look to prevent the heels from looking out of place
• If flats are too casual and heels are too high, a midi-heeled block shoe, such as Dustys, or a low heel, such as Mariannes, are a perfect solution
• Layering a dress over jeans creates an outfit ideal for a heeled shoe – dressy yet casual
• Turning up the hem of the jeans shows off the ankle and consequently the entirety of the heel
• Wide leg jeans or flares also draw attention to the ankles to accentuate the heels, it doesn’t have to be skinny jeans!
• Frayed hems stand out against a heel, and establish a contemporary look

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