1.02 Military Shirts #1OOTYBMTT

This is the next in my long-running series of posts aimed at nailing down the important pins on the map of essential Mod clothing. So throw away your River Island shirts and your sailing shoes. Here are the 100 things you'd be Mod to try.

These shirts are, and this is the only word to describe them, fabulous. Whether contrasted red and black like the Italian DNA groove style or simply in solid colours, the military look has stuck around in Mod wardrobes since the very earliest sixties. Think Che Guevara - it's a bullish deviation from the ordinary; epaulettes, often with extra pockets and an excessive number of buttons that give a sense of the adventurer style that your average shirt can lack.

Where can you get one? Well they're not so common in the shops these days - and your standard military surplus might charge you a pretty penny for an ill-fitting second hand version. For the best look, probably go to iTailor - delivery takes around a month to arrive, but on the plus side you can design your own military shirt in minute detail and it will fit perfectly, both physically and financially. They only cost about £25.

Late update: I've just checked the DNA Groove online store and they seem to have ditched all of their military shirts from the catalogue - a disappointment, but iTailor can fill that niche easily.