I've posted a bit about John Smedley before but I think it's about time for another visit: John Smedleys after all do have a hallowed, almost legendary name in the Mod scene and adjoining Ivy League spectrum.

They are a brand as distinguished in reputation as they are in history. As their lavish marketing will tell you, their wool may come from New Zealand Merino (always a good news) and their cotton may come from North America, but their manufacturing takes place right here in England’s Green and Pleasant Land.
 
In Derbyshire to be precise. Since 1784. A time that is the very cutting edge of Britain’s industrial revolution and the birthplace of the modern world.
 
But don’t let that lull you into thinking these guys are crusty. John Smedley keeps ahead of the pack even now, debuting at London fashion week in June 2017.

Technically John Smedley make a whole load of different things, but the most coveted are their long-sleeved tops (known as the Finchley) made from Sea Island Cotton with a silky-smooth finish and an elegant simplicity unmatched by other knits on the market.
 
For a fashion nerd such as myself, I find it fascinating that they knit the cuffs and collars separately and ceremoniously add them on at a later date. As if bringing back together the separate sections of a beautiful piece of engineering before revealing the final, working aircraft.
 
Be warned however, that your English heritage quality doesn’t come cheap. You can expect to pay over a hundred for your finest Finchley.

What with the news of US President Donald Trump allegedly about to lift the lid on over fifty years of conspiracy theories about JFK’s assassination, I thought it would make absolute and undeniable sense to re-examine the guy’s wardrobe too. JFK’s that is, not Trump’s.

Conspiracy theories have it that JFK was secretly a Mod, and I am a truther on this. Apart from being American, young (perpetually) and exceptionally well dressed, the man was straight up out of the Ivy League style playbook.* If he hadn’t been cruelly assassinated in ’63, it seems likely that the whole world would have become Mod by the end of his inevitable sixth term as president. As a historian I can state factually that this trend had clearly already begun and there is no conceivable way it could have been stopped other than the way it was.

I can only assume the reactionary forces of bad fashion could see this too and took the only action open to them at the time. Otherwise the globe might have been rid of bad fashion forever.

Anyway, although Kennedy made it to the highest office in the land, I think his greatest achievement was managing to look cool while doing it.
 
*I appreciate that Mod is slightly different to the Ivy Look, but you can probably tell this isn’t a serious post by now and I am taking liberties.

An all-round entertaining interview with the LG man. Bit of discussion about the past (pre-Oasis when Liam apparently was “the sheepish one” – hard to believe), bit of discussion of the new album (getting on for 45 now, there was no time for getting sentimental in Oasis, etc) and of course, a nice bit of slagging off of RKid (Noel, in layman’s terms). Hear the full 30 mins below:

https://www.mixcloud.com/XSManchester/clint-boon-meets-liam-gallagher/

This is a kind of fly-on-the-wall bit where the Big Man is talking about his latest album, generally being a grumpy old git and angrily spouting half-formed opinions on things at random, as we would all expect.

I will probably give the album a listen at some point, but I have long decided that although I quite like some of the stuff he's playing now, it doesn't really speak to me like his older stuff. I'm not just talking about the Jam - Style Council and his solo stuff have all had solid performances. But after 22 Dreams, I have to admit the general direction has slightly gone over my head.

There, I said it. It's another opinion that isn't allowed.

Anyway see what you think.

No Swipe The Style this week I'm afraid gang. I'm on holiday.

Instead here's a video of the Last Shadow Puppets, which will be the next one

If anyone knows what this thing is, I'd be grateful. I'm under the impression that it is some kind of Vespa sidecar scooter but not sure of the accuracy of this opinion.

Interesting lines though.

Less of a cult classic than the Crombie or the Parka or even the old sixties Mac, the Peacoat is the underrated one of the Mod coat family, but it does fill an important niche in the wardrobe.

This might also be because it’s less glamourous. U-Boat captains and the navy officers are a bit lower on the cool ladder than spies or American presidents when it comes to copying their style it would seem. The Crombie for instance has a pedigree among the Great and the Good that is semi-legendary and that's before we even get started with its Skinhead history.

But the Peacoat is still a solid choice. It has the advantage of being shorter and more everyday than the Crombie. It's usually heavier than your Harringtons, made generally of heavy wool (in either navy or dark grey) with distinctive broad lapels and a double-breasted front. The buttons traditionally have an anchor on them or a similar continuation of the naval theme. They can also accomodate your paisley scarf in the V-neck or you can button up to the top. What's not to like?

Oddly enough, despite being much older than other more "Mod" coats it has changed relatively little in its 200-year history. A few vintage versions still kick around, but if you want something a bit sharper than the Parka, but less formal than the full length overcoat, I’d invest in a Peacoat from a mainstream high street store.

Funnily enough you'll find they’re better quality, slimmer fitting and actually better looking.

I suppose we all go through weird phases... This one's just for Rod The Mod...

As far as non-album singles go, When You're Young is actually secretly one of my favourites. This is mainly because of the video, as you'll see below, but also because it has a great thundering guitar riff throughout and a cheeky bit of the lads bascially fucking about around 2/3 of the way through the song.

Anyway Weller's outfit in this is on point as usual. To clarify, I'm not sure why I'm not bothered by Bruce / Rick... they just don't seem to nail the look in quite the same way.

Black Button-Down (Ben Sherman)
£55

The foundation of the look is a smart black button-down. Surprisingly difficult to find these anywhere reputable. So we've gone with Ben Sherman.

Black Trousers (Adaptor Clothing)
£75

I still prefer these over the alternatives (e.g. Sta Prest from anywhere else) because they Adaptor's ones have a better feel to the fabric.

Boating Blazer (MadCap England via Atom Retro)
£99.99

This is a bit trickier as the exact blazer Weller is wearing doesn't actually exist anymore. Best bet is Madcap England, who do a variety of quite loud and zany jackets. You can get this one on the Atom Retro site.

Bass Weejun loafers (GH Bass)
£135

Thanks to the cameraman getting a great shot of Weller tapping his foot in the video, we can surmise he's wearing a pair of Bass Weejuns. What else, frankly?

Something been thinking about for a while - if you've got a smart suit, is it right (or is it tacky) to ride around on a bonkers bright scooter ? Or should your scoot be tailored to match your look?

As in, if you're going casual, bright's alright... and if you're going smart perhaps something like the below might be better?

I always lean towards the smart and snappy personally.

This is just a post to point out to anyone who's interested in Breton tops that John Smedley do an extraordinarily beautiful one in Sea Island cotton. I would say it’s a kind of aqua blue - it's not light enough for a mid blue but it's not quite turquoise either.

Unfortunately unlike the jump the gun version it’s not a full on jumper and doesn't have those buttons on the shoulder which I quite like the idea of (even if I’ve not yet had the chance to wear one) but it’s a great-looking alternative.

As anybody who knows anything will tell you, John Smedley is the oldest manufacturing company in pretty much the world and they’ve been going since about the start of the industrial revolution. It's premium piece I know - it's available on the website, but I got mine via Atom retro. It’s listed there for about £95.

I had credit however (I sent a suit back and they’d run out, so couldn’t exchange) so I got this baby for the bargain basement price of about £8.

The JS site itself is sending them out at the now-cut price of £75 – but they’ve run out of smalls, so I suspect they’re getting towards the end of the run on this one.

Effortless cool.

As any true Jam fan knows, this pic is actually from the Dreams of Children (poor choice of name I always thought) video, rather than from Going Underground. Although Weller is wearing similar gear.

See, I do know some things. Annoyingly though, I can't crow about this because I can't find the video on Youtube to show you all.

This is one of my very favourite Weller looks and one I actually wear to work on a regular basis. I will go with “simplistic but suave” essentially - it's a white shirt and black suit and from what the video shows, a black and white polka dot tie and - if you look very closely - you have a collar bar through his shirt collar too.

The collar bar is a look which I haven't worn often enough frankly. It adds an extra level of suaveness to the whole outfit.

Also, on his feet in this context I suspect he’ll be wearing a pair of loafers or something similar.

Black mohair suit - Adam of London
Price: £395
Yes - I know I've gone with AOL a few times in this post but if I'm honest there seems to be a famine of black suits about at the moment. JTG and Adaptor seem to be fresh out.

What I do like about AOL is their jackets have working cuffs. The full experience.

Pin-collar shirt in Ivory - Adam of London
Price: £55
Quite rare to see this all as one package, but Adam  does the deal here for a decent price.

Pin dot tie - Ties Planet
Price: £9.99
Quite a cheap one, but I've got one of these and it does the job. It is, to coin the phrase, the Look for Less.

Okay so here's the thing about scooters.

As Rod has consistently pointed out, I actually don't know that much about scooters. I have tried to get along, but when a guy publicly calls you out on you calling a spare wheel pouch a round leather bag, you’ve got to fess up.

In fairness to me I never have claimed to know that much, I just know they are intimately connected with Mod and I love looking at pics of them. The older vintage ones with plenty of chrome and bold colours fit right in with the sixties style.
In my defence, I did once have a Mini, which I feel slightly makes up for this as it mimics that same style. But I know nothing technical about them. I'm all about the clothes. And even that I'm still learning.

However, the Mini is long gone. The main reason for this is because the life I live now in London simply does not call for any vehicle activity. I have to either walk to work or to get the tube.

Fun story: I once hinted to my mum that I might buy myself a scooter a few summers ago just for the sheer fact that I think they look so beaut. Predictably, she kicked off and said that it’d be like riding a death trap. I can definitely see this being the case in London, what with the innumerable cyclist deaths each year.

I fully expect some of you other blokes (Rod?!) to come out with some remark about how the youth of today are soft as shite or something.

But in all seriousness, if someone did want to write a post for us with something a bit more technical on scooters and scootering, I’d welcome it and I’m sure my readers would too... perhaps a top ten?

Get in the comments below.