Modernist Fashion in SL

As these are so easy to knock out, requiring little creative input and the technical ability to cut and paste and little else here is the inevitable PART THRE. The tunes today are from another mod compilation on my I-Tunes. Yeah I really do spend all day listening to music and hammering the keys. If only.......

And so to the fashion, I reckon if you dump the hood (cowl) this should provide an excellent 2Tone inspired track jacket but wow that cubist pattern certainly phases the eyes if you stare at it too long, sharp!

Sweatshirt cube

{AHC} Valenciaga - Tweed Jacket

Not really a mod item at all this more generic sixties pop but there are a lot of people who like that kind of thing who pop into the blog so this is one for all you sixties fans, the pretty fab Monkees, I'll hold my hands up I really like their tunes. Is that my mod credibilty [the little I had] fallen through the trapdoor, feck it, lol.

SL Monkees Groupie Jacket

e! Pea Trenchcoat

Cardigan in Blue

For those hugh like that PopArt '67 miltaristic style:

 

West Point Military Jacket

*O* RUDE BOY JACKET W/ BUTTONS

SHIKI-fall jacket

Well thats it for this third part I doubt there will be furher posts of this nature, given you enough hints on where to look and see whats out there. Second Life Marketplace is a cool tool but a touch labourious for the virtual mod: type MOD into the search engine and you'll see why if you've not already guessed. Anyway if you bought an item hope it pleases you, time for me to chill with some coffee and toast. Boy I work hard at this blog shite!

ciao

Quiet

Apologies for my lack of posting, lack of inworld presence just been lots of real life stuff happening that's kept me away from virtual life and firmly planted in the real world. That seems to be happening more often, I need to return to idleness to fully engage with my virtual self.

So, as the Welsh allegedly say "whats occurring?"

After much thought the inevitable happened and I bought a Hasendow suit, in fact I bought two as I couldn't choose between them. Its a horrendous price to pay for some virtual stuff, 1400$L for fecks sake for the two; but, they look so sharp and ooze sixties styling that in the end I couldn't resist them. Besides they also encouraged Albion to grow his hair back so perhaps that's not such a bad thing. I opted for the blue and mercury [silver grey] suits and despite the fierce price tag can admit to being very happy with the purchase and just wish I could justify buying more. I added a prim handkerchief in the breast pocket and failed miserably to retexturing the colour, I'm just out of my depth which is a polite way of saying I'm bloody useless. My one tiny criticism is I was surprised to find the trousers had no prim cuffs, as they seem to be standard with most hi-end Second Life fashion items nowadays. The prim jacket cuffs add depth to the sleeves and prim additions to the trousers would perform a similar service; however, despite this small complaint I am happy with both suits and believe they are fine examples of sharp sixties styling in the virtual world. If you can justify the cost...buy one!

After splashing so much cash on a couple of suits I decided I'd hunt through the freebie blogs to see if I could pick up something for nothing, a favourite pursuit in Second Life. As the suit had encouraged hair growth I opted to grab some free hair styles. Checking out Yves Firlan's Fashion+Freebies for Men blog I discovered there were some cool giveaways at Savoir Hair I had a good look around and managed to find four hair styles that seemed to have a degree of NeoMod potential and besides they were free so even if they were not totally correct it would be no loss. My favourite was the very Beatleseque style which could even persuade Albion to forsake his blonde locks for a while. But I doubt it. Anyway if your looking for free hair check it out, there's plenty of styles for girls and geezers and they're all free so waste yourself and overindulge on prim hair! The snap also beautifully illustrates my inability to manipulate my virtual environment, although on reflection maybe its not too bad the hankie matches the blue tie I just couldn't get it to go gold but that's another tale.

As for life in Second Life, lets see I crashed out of Soul Mods on Friday which delighted me so much I hurt my toe kicking the desks. Intended to log in on Tuesday to see what was happening but fell asleep on the sofa, middle aged dog walking syndrome, have wandered around the web listening to cool tunes imagining my virtual DJ set list, nope that's not going to happen its a fantasy within a fantasy and gets way too complex,,,see I conceived Inception before they conceived it wonder if I can get a few bob out of it. Planning ahead I hope to be bouncing in Second Life on Thursday and Friday for the gigs at Soul Mods. I'm still trudging through the fashion quagmire trying to find gems of virtual sixties fashion but having to stretch the boundaries drastically just to get something that I can waffle on about. I ended up looking more like Adam Ant as I strove for  a mid sixties pop art fashion look, need to remain vigilant on the fashion score. So I'm expecting a slow down on the fashion blog for a while which mean more modette stuff will get shoved up as I get bored and feel the need to post something. Besides it'll keep Graz happy that I'm a girly girl, hahahaha. And that my lads is about it, oops lasses too,  time to make an early lunch and then shift some rubbish in the garden,,,what a glamour life I lead,,so lets keep it virtual, talking to myself again I'll get locked up one day!

Oh I forgot: Pop Art or Adam Ant? Answers on a postcard or that comment thing if you can be bothered I'm undecided but anyway its an indication of how desperate I have become in my search for new mod items to write about, bloody designers.......

Something to subscribe too

Almost everyone in the virtual world drops into YouTube, I have even seen YouTube videos on peoples virtual TVs; so, bearing that in mind this looks like a great channel for virtual mods to subscribe too:

http://www.youtube.com/user/s2trash#p/a/u/1/jKZBPFb8zZQ

Check it out, full of great tunes and aging real life mods, just like me, chatting the breeze away. Just a tune taster, enjoy:

Been a little virtual lite of late, hopefully I will reverse that and start waffling again soon.

Opportunities for virtual DJs

Not sure how many visitors here also read the excellent Moonletters blog edited by the wonderful Shauna but she has been wondering whether to open up the Killing Moon pub to DJs to provided a little entertainment: Killing Moon More than a Hang Out. After much thought Shauna has decided to throw open the doors of the Killing Moon to prospective DJs looking for somewhere to play,  DJs Wanted Impromptu on an ad hoc basis, which keeps me smiling as the more possible mod venues the better.So anyone looking to DJ get involved check Shauna's blog and if you match the criteria I look forward to listening to your set.

Fashionable Updates

I was again trudging, and yes it is a trudge to find anything really relevant to this blog now, through the Marketplace when I stumbled upon a couple of items when I entered "Carnaby" in the search engine. First up popped a skinhead inspired shorty skirt outfit that might appeal to some of the dancers at Soul Mods, not strictly mod or skinhead but this style appeals to many and so I've put up a link and a snap in case there are girls interested. Yes I am  a nice chap, ta!

Jane Westminster

Next up were a couple of familiar faces and if you cant plug your mates stuff on your own blog your up shit creek. So I';m happy to once again punt forward Eden and Kim's clothes, which can be bought at their store on the Moonletters Sim and now also at the Marketplace. Their design style is probably the most authentically sixties on the grid, just need to get sewing a few geezers shirts. Check it out girls, if you want to look the part at the mod events I waffle on about this is an ideal starting point.

Kim's stuff :-  https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/68479

Eden's stuff :-  https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/69500

So there you go a couple of quick fashionables for all the girlies out there, better get some myself don't want to disappoint Graz and his  conspiracy theory, hahaha.

Its been a busy Week...

...full of mayhem and belly laughs, culminating in a bizarre night at Soul Mods, but I'll witter on about that later.

Touch of real life sobriety, as I was wheezing like a geriatric scaling Kilimanjaro early this week I avoid Second Life as I sat slumped in front of the TV occasionally sucking on an inhaler, steroids plus anti-biotics plus gloopy syrupy things appear to have me on the mend and so I returned to the virtual world. Sadly it was a Wednesday and just like real life nothing much happens in Second Life on a Wednesday.

As I was bored I opted to take a trip to Moonletters, as I sat there thinking I wondered if I could race down the high street dodging cars in my Ferrari. Well no point in thinking in the virtual world its all about doing. So, I rezzed a nice shiny red Enzo on the street and revved up the engine. Sitting in the drivers seat i wondered if I should let rip or play it safe, I opted for the latter. Ive let rip in virtual cars before on short tracks and found myself firstly flying through neighbouring Sims in a spinning car, before the car vanishes and I fly onto Sim limbo, so I figured I'd avoid that and go slow,,slow being a relative term of course.

At first I found it quite simple to slip past the trundling traffic, but as the speed increased it got slightly trickier and I began mistiming a few turns and began thumping into the odd car and sent them bouncing along the road. Shamefully I found this more fun than slipping around them and went crashing and smashing up and down the main strip at Moonletters. Eventually, however, temptation got the better of me and I and let rip on the road heading back up to the HQ; brakes were not so hot and I mounted the steps and smashed into the front door, sorry Shauna! I did think of leaving the car there as an exotic art installation but thought better of it and popped it back into my inventory.

So, a fair bit of waffling but absolutely nothing that relates to the virtual mod scene, just me whinging about being ill and smashing up Shauna's Sim. Hey before Soul Mods I lead a varied virtual life.

Thursday saw Lupo DJing at Soul Mods again, and he took us on a global tour of mod tunes. Lupo's knowledge of non-English mod music is so far ahead of the rest of us its a real education to listen to. The tunes are brilliant some original other covers of famous US or UK artists. Again we had a good turn out at the club and all who came seemed to be having fun. The usual mob of waifs and strays were in attendance and so the chat was its usual eclectic mix of mod music, real life whimsy and the bizarre, Kerouac's stream of consciousness has nothing on a typical Soul Mods chat line. One minute its Motown, the next virtual fashion and then dogs eating pork pies and flatulence, we should be on the bleedin' telly. However Thursdays daftness was dwarfed by Fridays events when Soul Mods went mini, no not German big little cars masquerading as British icons, this was more Shagadelic than that my swinging friends, oh deary me indeed.

Friday began as most Friday's do, Slate had a few technical issues then got going and began pumping out fantastic tunes. There was a good crowd in attendance and we were having plenty of fun laughing and joking, surprisingly at Lupo's expense, but its his own fault for rezzing in short with big feet! Then I crashed, first of several strange occurrences I've not crashed in an absolute age. When I relogged Lupo was no longer short, sadly. The evening continued more great tunes and further mad laughs and chat before the bizarreness exploded with the passing around of bebe. Wearing bebe shrunk you to a tiny little mini version of your avatar, soon the room was full of them finally Jelli and Seren got to tower over us all and bully us into submission. A room full of tiny avatars looked very odd, even odder when they opted to have an impromptu scooter rally soon there where dwarfy avatars and scooters everywhere, the tunes were belting out and everyone was in hysterics as the tunes continued to belt out and the banter went into overdrive. Eventually people began to revert back to there original size and shape leaving poor Dugi and Lupo stranded as the only minis left, Maddie and Slate were too but that was by choice rather than by accident. Dugi attempted to resolve the situation by donning a huge condom, and y'know what surprise surprise...it didn't. All he succeeded in doing was encasing lil mini Dugi inside it; meanwhile Lupo suffered in noble silence. Eventually they solved the mini riddle and changed back; not a moment too soon as some people were suffering from laughter fatigue. Then thinking we hadn't had quite enough insanity, Dugi threw on his pink tutu and hat....

What a night, great music; wonderful people, cool DJ, madhouse activities and all for free. As we stumbled off to our beds Slate put us to shame and tp'd off to further parties and further madness. I just don't have the stamina.

Oh I forgot to mention Albion's boxing Josie walloping Albion, Graz's cool robot, the cybermen all of which unleashed Slate's Dr Who fetish. Yeah Soul Mods is so much than a collection of cool people enjoying great music its a whole entertainment system in itself, see you there.

*ps thanks to Aston for the mini boys.snapshot.

Its a Battle Out There

Virtuality versus Reality

Ding ding, Round One: AAi Beatles night

I got myself all dressed up in my best Sergeant Pepper clothes, flung on my black hippyish hair flip up shades and Chelsea boots. I logged on nice and early slotted into my favourite dancing position and started enjoying the tunes. I forget but I think I was there less than thirty minutes before I was dragged away to deal with something, so important I cant even remember what it was. And to top it all I was gone so long the computer elected to shut itself down and boot me out of Second Life. Being gone so long I didn't bother rebooting and relogging I just marked it up to reality. Anyway it looked like a good night I hope it was. So that's round one lost on points I think. Time to trim the beard cut the hair, go blonde shed the Sergeant Pepper costume and adopt some skin attire as I'm in a redskins mood.

Ding ding, Round Two: Lupo at Soul Mods

Thursday night and I get myself to Soul Mods to listen to a set from the uber cool Lupo. Lupo plays an incredibly diverse range of mod, unusual cover versions or unknown Latin originals its a real treat to get to hear such tunes and everyone makes a special effort to attend. There was a big crowd at Soul Mods to hear Lupo who like a diva kept us waiting an extra thirty minutes...hahaha. Nah, he didn't he just had something going on that meant he was delayed a little - we've all been there. Lupo's absence did almost cause a fatality but luckily Choco teleported out before she experienced virtual death! On arrival Lupo kicked off with a couple of great tracks and had the floor buzzing immediately. Once again I got dragged away briefly this time and so made it back to hear Lupo plays some more great tunes: stand outs were the Redskins and a personal favourite of Dugi: Bobby's Girl. Ignore his denials he loves this tune as much as he loves Pass the Dutchie, just ask Graz. A fine night enjoyed by all and a points win for virtuality....hurray!

Ding ding, Round Three: Slate at Soul Mods

Moving on to Friday and its Slate at the decks at Soul Mods, over the last few months Slate's become a regular DJ at Soul Mods, I really enjoy his sets as his tastes in mod closely mirror my own, he's fond of throwing the odd eighties revival track into the mix, and as that's my era I especially enjoy those. I adore the new tunes that DJs introduce me too, but a bit of teenage familiarity is comforting sometimes. We had a small but enthusiastic crowd, combination of connection issues and traditional office parties but those who were there were enthusiastic, cant ask for more. I was enjoying the tunes and having fun when I attempted to google something and my browser failed to respond, so I shut it down. Not an issue as Second Life was trundling along, then I took a snapshot of my supreme coolness and boing everything froze, hmmm clicked a couple of things and worse the screen went white. I could hear but my virtual presence was a mystery to me. Then brrrrrrr blue screen crash. The count started ,,,8,9,10 knock out blow and virtuality bites the dust.

So no snaps, some fun but overall not a great week computer and real life duties took their toll on my virtual life, hope yours was better and you had fun. At least I made it for some of the time, poor Gemma's connection issues have stopped her joining in at any level, hope your back with us soon.

ciao

Note to our Top DJs

Having entered the digital age I bought my third downloaded album today, it was either that or fork out £100 [yeas pounds shillings and pence not lindens] for a hard copy...digital for me. Anyway, I had forgotten how awesome these guys sounded, I remember the political spats they had with Weller and Billy Bragg, they were lefty, they were skins but my god were they soulful too, if tinged with a razors edge. Yes, I bought the Redskins album, Neither Washington or Moscow, and am now stomping along to it on I-Tunes. Hope some of the cool DJs who so entertain us are inspired enough to slip in the odd Redskins track during their sets.

Modernist Fashion in SL

I have been neglected the blog as a whole recently and specifically these humble fashion scribblings. The cause, well firstly I just seem to lack things fresh to waffle about and secondly I have been spending my lindens in the real world, hence the deluge of discs from Amazon, which have kept me happily chirping along to old style mod, ska and eighties revivalism for the last few weeks. And, screaming for the sympathy vote, I have not been feeling very well y'know. Remember what Spike has on his grave stone ....... well I think I'm the same! So, just as I had almost ground to halt I got my monthly freebie from Shiki and thought there's a nice little item I can blog about and its free too, well kind of.

I have blogged this suit before when I bought an an alternate version. So its possible that much of this scribble overlaps the earlier post, but what the feck. The primary failing of the suit as a mod item is the knee length trousers, but as this is a Japanese fashion piece and not specifically mod these things are to be expected. The problem is quickly resolved by purchasing [so not exactly free y'see] or using a pair of trousers from another designer. Although the jacket is short, the underwear layer allows you to use low rider trousers [favoured by so many designers] or better still you can wear trousers with a standard waist.

For example I used both Hoorenbeek and Armidi trousers with the jacket and both look acceptable. Finding an ident black texture is difficult, although the Hoorenbeek comes close; so its easier to contrast with a grey or perhaps another colour.

Or, with a little tweaking you can wear the original trousers. I have done this, by wearing free tintable socks underneath the trousers, lowering the prim cuffs as low as possible and matching the trousers to calf high boots, or recently dropping the prim cuffs to wear high laced classic skinhead boots. Suits were often a crucial piece of skinhead attire, it wasnt just jeans and Ben Shermans, so this look can easily be adapted into the virtual mod fashion bible. With so few pure mod or sixties outfits available compromises must be made, unless your a clever geezer and can make your own, cough cough.

Shiki

Modernist Fashion in SL

Inked or Not

As you wander the grid you will noticed several iconic codes of male avatar creation; iconic things that define the majority of male avatars in Second Life. Number one they tend to be huge, some really huge [but even these can be dwarfed by the Glamourzonians]; secondly they wear a lot of denim and leather; freebie T-Shirts are almost compulsory and also they must be inked to the extreme. Yes tattoos are everywhere in the virtual world, the girls have them and so do the guys, blink and you'll find yourself in a tattooed morass of rock fantasy. However, tattooed beef-blokes are not really archetypal mod fashion gurus, but in the world of the NeoMod and the absorption of skinhead suedehead fashion philosophy perhaps there is a role for the mod tattooist. However I'm unconvinced the black ink really suits the mod image but coloured tattoos well maybe they can have a role ... occasionally. The advantage of virtual tattoos is that they are like those you get with the stick of chewing gum, they are instantly disposable.

I grabbed this multi-layered ensemble from XStreet which is a good source of easily found fashion items, type in your item then wade through the ubiquitous morass of naff gear to find items that you want ... cool! Whilst I like these I would have preferred even greater variation, with options for single duo or multiple combinations of the ink; and I would not have included the football tattoos this seem pointless - I mean who has a tattoo for two different teams Derby [the Ram on the back] and West Ham [on the arms] quite bizarre. However the iconic English British tattoos look fantastic a great piece of work, wonder if he does custom pieces?

Matched with my standard Liam skinhead faded jeans and a belted Union Jack flag from Patriotic Series flag store; the tattoos added to the skinhead hooligan style that some NeoMods could be striving for. Hair is obviously optional.

England Tattoos

Modernist Fashion in SL

Crombie

I have spent several months searching the corners of virtual fashion hoping to locate a cool crombie overcoat. My initial purchase from Nordic Blasphemy was okay; in the shade it was a passable item, although the skirt layer was too small and the texturing on the coat varable. But the addition of a red prim pocket handhkerchief gave it a more creditable crombie feel. Worn with suitable Dr Martin boots and high cut skinhead jeans and a nice button-down shirt the coat was acceptable if not a stunning piece to add tro your mod warderobe. For, although synonymous with skinheads and rude boys the crombie latterly became absorbed into the eighties revival mod fashion as much of the ska skinhead influenced fashion did during that period. Therefore, its unsurprising that it should feature in a virtual mod fashion that is influenced by akll forms of modernist fashion to culminate in the NeoMod fashion philosophy of the twenty first century. Howver, whilst the crombie was functionable it did not satisfy my wish for an uber cool item that could be recognised as a crombie.

I tried other options including overcoats and also sheepskins which were fine but lacked the sharp mod feel of the crombie. Fantastic items in their own right they could not substitute for an authentic looking crombie. Then whilst browsing through X-Street I saw the westminster coat set from SF Design.

The image used to promote the coat caught my eye and whilst it too lacked the disticnt red pocket accessory, that could easily be resolved. So I splashed out 500 lindens and bought the coat, complete with a cool black suit, white shirt and scripted colour changing tie. Nice additions but the prize was the coat. Prum cuffs, a collar and lower half give the coat a depth the earlier coat lacked, the texturing is also far more consistant. As with all flex hemmed coat it can be a little hit or miss on how the coat hangs and combines with the layered partner but the coat has a good match and the size suits my avatar shape very well. Adding the jazz suit red handkerchief again makes the coat easily recognisable to virtual mods as a crombie. The addition of my GOS Docs and some high cuffed faded skinhead inspired jeans finished the look which i feel is uber mNeoMd despite its obvious seventies skinhead influence. As for the crombie style so far I have yet to find anything that can hold a candle to this particular item. Another fantastic piece of accidental mod design by SF Design

SF Design

Modernist Fashion in SL

In my NeoMod style collective I often mention suedeheads and skinheads, and group them into my expanded modernist fashion directory. If you are to adopt this look you can survive in smart loafers for a while but at some point you must display your rolled up jeans and your boots, without doubt its impossible to make any claims at suede or skin fashion without possessing at least one pair of outstanding boots. Left-Right, here we have some great MK Dr Martin style boots with scripted laces, each boot is a single prim ideal for wearing with prim cuffed roll up jeans. Sadly the male version of this boot only comes in black or brown, girls have more choice including a great cherry red pair. Next up are the ROT Test boots, these rugged combat styled boots are also scripted to achieve various colous or degree of wear and tear. They come in a two prim mode, for the foot and ankle; this means you have to realign your prim cuffs to a different location which is kind od tricky. Generally for posing this is not an issue but everyday virtual activities, can look a tad strange. As for the boots themselves, they are beautifully textured and wonderfully sculpting a fine addition to anyones wardrobe. Below them, are the GDC Polished Combat Boots, not a particularly retro skin/suede style of boot but nevertheless a welcome addition to my boot drawer. Well crafted they are a more contemporary styling, higher up the calf than the other styles and burnished intensely to get a real gleam. Again these are two prim boots, similar to the ROT, and suffer the same difficulties. But they are a fine pair of boots, well made and very stylish. The final pair are my most recent aquisition from GOS, and they are outstanding.

These boots come in a wide range of colours in both male and female sizes, they are scripted for sizingand colours, uniquely you can purchase tin of polish and add that to your boots scripting. Therefore you can add more colours to your standard boots, you can also alter the lacing colour in a similar way, so my cherry reds are also scripted for yellow laces, black colouring and Union Jack toe caps, through an addition purchase. Very imaginative. The boots look marvelous as close to the real thing as I have witnessed in Second Life, they are the most expensive by far but also they most resemble Dr Martin boots. Texturing and sculpting is exquiste the scripting affords variabilty and as a single prim for each boot they also allow easy use of prim cuffs with your rolled up jeans. Expensive but worth it.

Any of the four boots are worth purchasing* and cover a range of pricing and styles. If you are hoping to cultivate your skinhead or suedehead look a pair of boots is essential, several even better. And if I had to opt for a single pair and cost was not a factor then I would opt for:

*scoured my inventory for Landmarks for ROT and GDC and cant find them, irritated somewhat by this, tried search that was worse than bloody useless. Will continue trying and will update with a landmark as and if I find them, if you stumble upon it add to to comments and I will use it with much gratitude.

GOS

Modernist Fashion in SL

Nice short sleeved shirt FREE with the MHOH3 from KHUSH, the addition of the ASS white braces transforms a nonedescript look into an acceptable mod, suedehead, skinhead styling. The logo on the back detracts somewhat from the modernist vibe but its certainly not going to alter the look significantly enough to deny a mod credential. The braces come in a variety of lengths and also colours, I chose to purchase the white, and its the addition of braces that transform a generalist shirt into a shirt that has a modernist feel. Simple trick but very effective.

KHUSH

A cheap coat thats elevated to modernist cool by the simple addition of a wonderful little scarf from Adjunct another cool MHOH3 gift. The scarf is scripted and can change colour as well as increase or decease in size. The short length of the scarf is classic NeoMod styling and is often seen in real life by many who would class themselves as modernists. Accessorizing the coat correctly is what creates the NeoMod style, if the scarf looks wrong the whole modernist style is compromised. Arty Farty, indeed it is, but if your looking to live the virtual mod fantasy then the look is in the detail. With some sharp jeans or pants the coat/scarf combination is very NeoMod and definitely worth a punt if its made available post-treasure hunt.

Adjunct

Modernist Musings

 So who are these NeoMods of whom I seem endlessly to speak of, to be frank I am unsure if the term NeoMods exist beyond the cloistered warblings of this blog. Maybe it does and I accedentally stumbled upon it but I've never really heard it said anywhere else. Obviously there were mods in the late fifties [the modernists] and the early sixties [the mods of pop culture infamy] who faded as the decade progressed to re-emerge as Suedeheads and skinheads at the dawning of the seventies, with a full scale mod revial occuring at the end of that decade to flourish for a couple of years in the eighties before fading beneath a morass of New Romanticism. Another modernist fashion the casuals, football hooligans in sportwear and golf sweaters, seemed to fill a mod void for some but this was more concerned with the look than the music, but its sharp dress become absorbed into later mod fashion. All the while the soul boys travelling a parallel path where sometimes the paths merged and others the followed similar routes just taking different directions. After the heady revival of the eighties the nineties saw the birth of Britpop, British musician inspired by earlier British bands some of which were heavily influenced by mod.

In my need to place all of these various mod fashion and music factions under a single umbrella I coined the phrase NeoMods. I doubt such a thing exists today as a movement but individuals of note that I would call NeoMods would be Liam Gallagher, Paul Weller et al; musicians of that uilk who have taken classic mod fashion and added a twenty first century twist, utilising all the phases of mod to create a distinct look that is simultaneously mod, suedehead, casual, and indie Britpop with soul and the driving rhythm. I do not view NeoMod as a musical genre but as a fashion genre; NeoMods dress in a certain style but listen to old style mod music, heavily influenced by sixties US soul, British beat bands, Caribean ska and the revivalist ska and mod bands of the eighties. Less retro in their fashion NeoMods like classic cuts but have moved away from sharp suits into a more casual but still classic look. Sharp tailored high collared leather jackets are a classic NeoMod fashion item, The rest an amalgamation of the modernist fashion decades:, a touch of skin, a dash of the casualsL plus a smattering of BritPop to culminate in a sharply defined fashion statement.

Another factor in my definition of the virtual NeoMod is  its application to the fashion metaverse. Strict mod fashion is extremely difficult to find across the grid; authentic skinhead/suedehead fashion sufferes similarly. There are a plethora of track top and sweater accomadating a strict casuals look and the indie Britpop T-Shirt look is well catered for. But, twenty first century mod fashion needs to adapt and a restricted virtual environment seemed ideal for harnessing that need to change, to accomodate and to adapt. Unable to create my own fashions it was necessary to take items that felt mod, whilst not always necessarily being mod,. uif they had the correct modernist vibe I would adopt them into my own NeoMod fashionista bible. This is clearly illustrated throughout the blog, agree or disagree its all open to debate but this is how I opt to define my NeoMod stylings. Feel free to reinterpret it at will.

Are there NeoMods in the real world who label themselves as such I doubt it, afterall its an effective hangar to fling a variety of fashionable virtual items on in a vain attempt to give me something to waffle about when the virtual club scene is quiet. I define myself as a virtual NeoMod, who possesses modernist tendencies in the real world but no longer clings to modernist fashion rituals outside of his Second Life metaverse. The rise of the NeoMods has yet to take place I'm not entirely certain it ever will. The accompanying snaps in this piece explain bettter my vision of NeoMod fashion, sharp tailored trousers, smart loafers and exquiste high collared designed leather jacket, cool hair and chilled shades ... thats NeoMod.

ciao.

Modernist Fashion in SL

If you're looking to cultivate a skinhead or rude boy look then an essential in your wardrobe has to be a pair of braces, or suspenders as our TransAtlantic cousins prefer to label them. There is a varied selection across the grid but while persusing through the blogosphere I discovered some nice pairs at the Homespun store that might be worth taking a look. Not the brightest of colours which may not appeal to sum they are nonetheless a nice creation and will look good hooked up with your stapress trousers or hiked jeans and boots, and the obligatory polo shirt. If you have not got yourself a set yet, I think they are worth a look and as they come in four different colours that gives you some options, check them!

HomeSpun

Modernist Fashion in SL

 Harrington Jackets 

If you were a teenager during the days of the mod revival its highly unlikely that you did not have that standard item of clothing that stamped you out as a NeoMod. The ubiquitous Harrington Jacket, which appeared to be adopted by many of the youth tribes of that era, punks,skinheads, mods etc. Originally a little like Henry Fords motors cars you could have it in any colour so long as it was black, and all with a tartan lining. bBut whilst the tartan lining remained the colour emargo soon fell by the wayside, as first red then sky blue, green, navy jackets came out, culminatinating in the glory of mod revivalism: the union jack Harrignton jacket, did I have one? Of course I feckin' did..all bought from a tiny wee shop on Dalton Road next door to the top Travs pub, means nothing to nobody but feck me I'll collapse if anybody knows it.

Anyway enough reminscing and jogging down real lifes wearisome highway back to the grid and virtual jackets. The first jacket I bought on the grid was a cool navy single layered on the shirt layer version complete with shirt. This single layered shirt combination looks good but its use is limited. Despite this the texturing on the jacket is fantastic, with the zip unfastened to show the iconic tartan lining. A touch short due to being created on the shirt layer, the jacket is a marevelous item despite these minor flaws and well worth seeking out at Nordic blasphemy who have a store on the grid and also sell items via XStreet: www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=i...

The next jacket I bought I also obtained via XStreet. This cheap and cheerful jacket is neatly textured and carries a neat Trojan Record label graphic on the sleeve.

Created on the jacket layer,with no inbuilt shirt texture this jacket is more flexible than Nordics as you can wear seperate shirts, such as the FS Design polo in this shot. By allowing the use of seperate shirt layer the designer has created a far more flexible item than the single layered multitextured item. Whilst we may not be creating clothing many fashionistas in SL do like to create their own look by mixing and matching various items. I really like this jacket the little graphic badge on the sleeve gives this a skinhead feel, and the homage to the classic ska reggae label Trojan is a cool addition to the jacket, which is erxceptionally good value at only 50l. Available through XStreet at:

https://www.xstreetsl.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=1600965.
So, there are two cheap and cheerful fashion items any virtual mod should take a look at. I hope to see more harrington clad groovers on the dance floor as the weeks go by, go on you know it makes sense!

Modernist Fashion in SL

Ska T-Shirts at a very reasonable twenty five lindens each, throw on some jeans and big boots and your sorted, simple but effective fashion declaration. I often wonder if its worth actually forking out some lindens for a T-Shirt when so many are freely distributed all across Second Life; but, these smart T-Shirts with cool ska inspired graphics and full modification rights are well worth the splash of a meagre 25l.

Each of the T-Shirts carries a stylish ska/skinhead graphic, that is sharply textured and stands out clearly against the stark white or black cloth texturing. Beautiful graphic work on the ska man and ska girl make the first shirt in the sequence [top left]very appealling, whilst the great "Doc Martin" boot graphic on the skinhead "Oi!" shirt holds an equal appeal, for mods who spent their teenage years rampaging the stage of variouis revivalist ska bands of the late seventies and early eighties. The other two designs of big bold ska men graphics look great and stamp you out as an enthusiast. There's nothing subtle about these T-Shirt designs, nor does there need to be its a loud, proud declaration of love for ska and modernist fashion.

Rude Boy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Modernist Fashion in SL

SKA T-SHIRTS

This cool jacket layered [I prefer shirt layer but its a cool graphic] T-Shirt is from  Kennef Riggles and can be found on the XStreet shopping web site. The laurel leaf is a classic mod emblem due to its links to the Fred Perry label; whilst the Trojan helemt pays homages and links the graphic to the classic ska label of that name. It looks good with jeans or these wonderful ska pants from Helter Skelter.

Ska emblems seems to lend themselves marevelously to T-Shirt graphics and this cool white [shirt layered] item from STFU beautifully displays that through its use of the 2Tone geezer and Beat girl icons from the late seventies ska revivalist movement. Strong dynamic images they look great on this white shirt; which can be worn with a pair of jacket layered braces for an aunthentic skinhead look.

Another offering from STFU this simple black T-Shirt has a simplistic but effective graphic utilizing the iconic two tone checkered emblem that was adopted by followers of the ska revival, The simplicity of the design however should not disguise the quality of its styling: very retro, very cool and very ska. Another shirt layered creation this can also be worn with braces and as with all the ska T-Shirts I have found looks fantastic with the Helter Skelter range of ska pants

Resolved...I hope

Well problem solved I bolloxed up somewhere on a post which sent everything scuttling down to the bottom of the blog, another technical issue resolved, blimey I'll be working for IBM if I'm not careful. Anyway I'm getting all experimental now and trying to repost that, although despite being set to copy and paste I realise I fecked that up too, so need to rewrite the whole piece. Ah well luckily I dont write too much anyway; and so.....

I have winged about the lack of jacket layer braces so imagine my suprise when i discovered this pair. Black or red dotted pattern their jacket layering makes them a perfect accessory for polos [as displayed] standard shirts and also T-shirts. There are brilliant at accentuating your mod or skinead retro look, worn with blue jeans and boots or suitable shoes. The moment I saw them i thought they would be ideal, so i snatched them up as a further addition to my virtual modernist wardrobe.

But, shhhhh can you keep a secret. Actually the braces were part of a girls hillbilly chick set complete with micro denim shorts and a see thru scrunched shirt - the full Daisy Duke ensemble. Ah well the sacrifices we virtual mods make, although next time I think I'll head to Meriken, oops.

Why oops, because they are bloody prim thats why.

Modernist Fashion in SL

Skinheads of the early seventies era were cool, sharp dressed and often emerged as younger siblings of the early sixties modernist. Their music bore little resemblance to the "OI!" brigade of the early eighties, and neither did their outlook on life. This sharp skinhead look is easily replicated in the virtual world and can give a new dimension to the virtual mods fashion brief.

Alongside Fred Perry shirts and braces, a cool jacket and crucially some cut off jeans like these from Lian's Clothing; this look has to have boots preferably replica Doc Martin boots, or very close assimilation's of this iconic skinhead item.

It is not essential to be a skin as we are merely looking to be influenced by the style not immersed in it, so a cool hair style is still okay with this look, and tight shades bring the whole thing together. Grab a fag from the FKNY cigarette set and you are almost there. Cop a mean moody pose and you have a definitive skinhead inspired modernist style.

Lian's Clothing Store