British Street Fashion


British Street Fashion

The styles spread throughout Britain due to magazines like Time Magazine, due to cinema and TV and due to the creation of motorways which made travel easier and quicker.

Teddy Boys

The Teddy Boys were a group before the rock and roll period. They came about after 1954, Post-War Europe. They were inspired by the Edwardian look and the clothing of the higher classes, such as the Oxford students. They wanted the richer styles to be available for the working class. This meant that the looks became less sophisticated and high class and as a result, Oxford students and higher classes stopped wearing them as they looked like 'hooligans'. When American rock and roll came about, it gave a tune for the 'Teddy Boys' style.

 Their look featured:
     - Long Jackets
     - High collars
     - Velvet on the collar, cuffs and buttons
     - Turn ups
     - Large Pockets

 While the Teddy Boys style was loud and angry, the 'Mods' had a more subtle style. Both groups tried to dress beyond their class, however 'Mods' had more educated jobs.



The 'Mods'

The 'Mods' didn't just want to dress nicely at the weekend, like the 'Teddy Boys', they wanted to look nice all the time, including at work, so therefore didn't like jobs that required a uniform or manual labour. This was jobs like graphic designers. The 'Mods' were around between about 1960 and 1967 and had three main influences:
     - French Cinema
     - Jazz (Green buttoned down shirts were featured on covers)
     - Italian (rounded shoulders, short jackets, chic and often seen in Soho)

 Everybody in the group had to look different but still fit the style which featured:
     - Frogmouth pockets
     - Three cloth buttons
     - Small Lapels

 The button down shirt was invented for horse riding as the collars used to flap up in the riders faces, therefore buttons were used to secure the collar in place. These shirts were very expensive until Ben Sherman began producing them cheap. The collar had to be three fingers in width.
Mods often wore Ben Sherman button down, gingham shirts and Dr Martins. They wore these shoes, originally designed for workers, for fighting as they had more impact. The gangs would wear black or cherry coloured Dr Martins and the length of the laces conveyed the importance of the gang member.

Casual Mods
The casual Mods were inspired by European (French/ Italian) sportswear as they were big supporters of football which they would follow all over Europe. They wore branded clothing like Adidas which became important throughout the 60s and 70s as it showed status. The Casual Mods had longer hair, Harrington jackets and wore Fred Perry shirts. Fred Perry was a traditional English designer associated with adults.

Hard Mods

The hard Mods lived in the same economically depressed areas of south London as West Indian Immigrants began to emulate the ‘rude boy’ look of pork pie hats and short Levi jeans. They would listen to roots music and 60s Jamaican music.


Hippie


The style of the Hippie was largely influenced by the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements as well as Greece and Roman art. After the economic boom of the 60s, there was the depression of the 70s which meant there were less jobs and higher prices. This resulted in people growing their own food, inspiring the floral prints worn by Hippies. They would wear lots of polyester as it was cheap and therefore in lots of fast fashion, leather, suede and jersey. 

The style of hippies was:
      - Lace  trimmings & Pleats
      - Full dresses and mini skirts
          - Big hats
          - Flares and wider trousers
          - Wider lapels  and rounded colours
          - Platform shoes (worn 12 and over)
          - Pop socks (below the knee)

Ossie Clark
‘Floating Daisy’ was one of Celia Birtwell’s best known designs. A complementary grid pattern flatters the collar, cuffs and bodice. The coats trim shape demonstrates the design skill at accentuating the female form. Ossie Clark would turn his shows into theatrical events like the Albert hall and Dingwalls Elegance Hall- London.




Punk



The Punks were anti establishment. Their style was British, but they were hugely influenced by US band Music as well as rock and heavy metal. Punk came about after Vivienne Westwood’s husband, who was manager of the Sex Pistols, needed a new look for the band. Westwood changed their clothing to bondage clothes which was torn, safety pin, DIY clothing. Westwood renamed her store ‘Sex’ and began selling this style exclusively. After this became popular, she moved to a new style; ‘Pirates Collection’ which stressed romance and use the 18th/ 19th century as inspiration. 


New Romantics

The New Romantics were kids coming from suburbia and reinventing themselves. Their style was daring and decadent and came after Punk as they wanted to show influence from Punk, but were more positive and experimental. Their style was not a look, it was their everyday clothing; it was who they were. Their style was said to be 'More is More'. 
Duran Duran
Vivienne Westwood was at the centre of this style after she stopped her shop with Malcolm McLaren that sold Punk styles. She began taking inspiration from the 17th and 18th centuries (due to it "being a high point for culture and art"- Westwood), but specifically pirates clothing. She based her designs on historical costumes and even made a collection inspired by the 1920's Men's suits, narrowing them down and altering the shoulders. Spansau Ballet and Duran Duran were some of the artists that sported the style.

 The New Romantics listened to electrical music, like Spandau Ballet. Their overdressed style influenced the high streets in 1981, after Diana's Royal Wedding Dress, designed by David Emanuel, had frills and lace over it. This sparked other clothing to have frills and extra detailing. This style carried on till 1984/85, until the Blitz Kids (inspired by Blitz Magazine) came about. Their style was similar to that of the New Romantics.