So in my previous desert boot post I no doubt enraged puritans by saying go to M&M to get your desert boots.

I stand by this, although I personally would probably go more middle of the road (Loakes) just because I like to be certain of these things.

Anyway, for anyone who doesn’t know what I’m trying allude to here, the “only” desert boot according to some people is somewhere between the Clarks original and the H1 by Hutton. The legend is conflicted as to which is superior.

Both of these are set out below, for you extra-boojie people, hell-bent on recreating the 1960s (which is fair enough). I’m unfussed personally and I like a bit of colour in my life (which Clarks does lean toward), as long as that classic design is paid homage to.

For those of you who are literally blind, I am going to draw attention to a new thing popping up on my site now - an invitation to preview my new website, which will do this kind of thing for you - i.e. find you your classic sixties stuff online. There's a free trial so don't kick off about it, just do me a favour and have a little look - you'll find these on there... and more.

https://www.completelymod.com/trial

This post is going to kick it all off (so to speak). So I’ll get in early with the excuses:

I know some people don’t think tassle loafers are proper Mod shoes. This has been debated in various places.

The results are inconclusive as far as I can see. If you could go back in time and take a look, see what Mods were wearing in the 1960s, I’d go by that metric. Although to be honest, if you had a time machine you’d probably have bigger fish to fry.

I’m sceptical because from what I do know, the shoes were first brought out in America in the mid-1950s, following a guy named Paul Lukas’ request for a tassled version of a kind of laced moccasin - which sounds horrific. Anyway, spotting the demand, the two companies he approached (Lefcourt and Morris) started making a slip-on version with tassles. By 1957, Brooks Brothers (of shirtmaking fame) wanted to get in on the act and ramped up production.
 
This is all interesting, but basically I think it’s just a tiny bit too late for the original Mods in England. If we go by the usual assumption that English fashion looked to the American Ivy League for inspiration and was a few years behind, I reckon there’s only the slimmest of chances these would have made it to England in time for the early 1960s. Happy to be proven wrong of course.
 
But anyway this is all irrelevant because culturally, tassles are all part of the Mod wardrobe now anyway, regardless of when they were adopted, which brings me onto my latest acquisition:

Recently got these beauties from IKON footwear. That’s from their IKON Original line.
 
They are the Selecta style, in Bordo, which is the classic tassle loafer style you’ll all recognise - tassled frill fringe and the knotted leather “laces” on top. They do another one called “Quad Punch” but that’s without the frill fringe and has pin holes instead.
 
Turns out “Bordo” is basically oxblood, but the style is a kind of burnished effect, as if they have been polished in certain places and left darker in others. Anyway this gives the shoes a nice stylish edge over my brother’s (which are also oxblood, but all one uniform colour).
 
In addition, while these ones are actually lower priced than your Loakes, they also seem to be a lot sturdier and very well-made – the leather is tough and doesn’t give the impression that it’ll all fall apart if someone accidentally steps on your toe. Which, frankly, with some of the cowboys out there, can sometimes be a problem.
 
They were a snip at £80 from a trusted brand. I’ve had a pair of black desert boots from IKON before so I can certainly say they deliver! Although I suspect now I’ve blabbed about them they might try to put the price up, so get them while you still can!

As I promised last week, this week’s Swipe the Style is not going to involve Paul Weller at all

(although admittedly he is the best source for some of these – not only does he have good music, but his look is always great too)
 
This one’s from the Animals, House of the Rising Sun.

Grey suit - Jump The Gun
Price: £325

Tricky to find anything like the grey suit exactly as it is in the video. The black trim around the edges is obviously something they’ve had made for them as a band. On top of this, 3-button grey suits seem to be a bit scarce at the moment among the usual suspects. What I’ve got here is Jump The Gun’s grey suit. I’ve had JTG suits before so I know they are strong quality. It is however quite pricey.

An alternative, if you were really into that black trim, might be good to visit this site, where you can design your own boating blazer. It’ll be 2-button but you’ll get that black trim that is so distinctive.

Yellow shirt - Adam of London
Price: £50

Yellow shirts, not particularly hard to find, but from details in the video these have French double cuffs. So it has to be Adam of London. If you want to have a go at source your own one, I've got a little guide that might help you with that, based here.

Black tie - Tootal (via JTG)
Price: £20

The black silk tie is pretty standard around and about. But I’d say Tootal is the best price.

Winklepicker shoes - Underground
Price: £125

Shoes again are not particularly clear here, but I’m going to get creative and say they’re all wearing winklepickers. A strong pair of winklepickers can be picked up from Underground, although I can’t remember where I got mine from.

Grey socks - Primark
Price: £5

Pretty nondescript when it comes to socks – stylishly neutral one might say. But Primark do most socks very cheaply, grey included here.

I've always liked this song. Again, the video is great because Weller's look is on point as usual. But it's also when I started getting that military-jacket-style vibe.

I've had a cheeky look around and you can get this look quite easily, again approximately £300.

Also I promise the next one won't involve Paul Weller.

Mandarin Jacket in stone - Pretty Green
Price: £100
The main event in this particular look. I suspect Weller's would have been tailored, but for those of us of more modest means, this is a good recreation. I've got one in navy and it fits well, looks great.

Black suit trousers - Adaptor
Price: £75
Weller looks to be wearing some standard black suit trousers so you might as well make 'em a good pair. As the Ivy Leaguers used to say, natural fibres always look the best.

However, if you're looking for a more cost-friendly option, CX London do a black pair of Sta Prest for less than 1/2 that price.

Jam Shoes - IKON
Price: £75
Classic Jam, probably not what you'd wear down the pub but I'm sure everyone's had a pair at one point.

IKON do a decent pair for a decent price.

White socks - Primark
Price: £1.80 (5 pack)
Very much a Mod revival thing, the white socks are a classic accompaniment to Jam shoes. But you hardly ever see original Mods (1960s) wearing them.

Nowdays they're super cheap so you've got no excuse not to have a pack handy.

Fred Perry in "duck-egg" blue - Woodhouse
Price: £55
Hard to see what he's actually wearing under his jacket so I'm going with a hunch here. FPs are always a bit pricey I'm afraid but I imagine a decent shirt would do just fine for this look.

​You all know I love a Chelsea boot. Especially one in suede. Now Beatnik shoes have added a few to their collection in the lushest colours imaginable. When I say lush I don’t mean the fruity combos I talked about in previous posts. I am talking sensible Mod lush, a lush that prides detail and style over bold colours, suaveness and smoothness over attention-grabbing loudness, subtlety over spectacle. Basically, a series of different shades of brown.
 
Check them out - they are a little over the average in terms of price (about £177 including P&P and currency exchange), but then they are treated with a special anti-moisture material, so you do the maths.
 
I also really like the blurbs that go with them - even if the English translations don’t always make sense.

I was never a big fan of this song, but as it's coming up to the season, I had a review. This album sleeve is great in a kind of classic, zany Style Council-type way. The white trousers, red socks and white shoes especially are a look that could only ever be pulled off in Paris in the 1980s...

My one question is how far do we go down this path until this stops being acceptable? Can Mods wear such things? Are we straying too far into Punk territory? Is Mod just an earlier slightly more sophisticated version of Punk?

So many questions...

Use it or abuse it I guess - but it's a nice graphic.

These places are like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory to me. Complete with purples and golds...

Brogues are obviously essentials in every man's wardrobe (and increasingly in women's too) but they have a reputation for being large, bulky and a bit clunky. Don't get me wrong - I've said before that the weight and the robustness of the classic black brogue, especially when combined with immaculate polishing, looks and feels great. It's like the shoe equivalent of driving a Jaguar Mk II or a Daimler - it's not light or nippy like a Vespa or flash and streamlined like a Ferrari, but it has a sort of powerful, stately majesty.

Anyway, I've discovered the internet has documented an outbreak of quite stylish suede and patchwork brogues which smash this mould completely.  The blue ones will  especially make you rethink your brogueish attitudes, though I do think the brown ones are infinitely more practical.

Some pretty smooth clogs here.

I don't know if others agree , but I have this general rule that says if you're going to wear a patterned shoe like this, probably best to wear plain socks and plain trousers (as opposed to patterned) so as not to distract from the effect. Otherwise it could get a bit busy on the eye. 

Now, I can’t promise this will be the last post on Chelsea boots - I know quite a few posts have been devoted to them so far. But you’ve got to admit, it’s been worth it.

I’m afraid I have very little info on these - the pic is from a site called Bespoke Makers which I assume at one point wanted to be a custom shoe site but is now just a blog. However it looks like it is still “under construction”, so perhaps I'm wrong.

In other news they also have a fantastic gallery of shoes (which they either did or did not make) here.

I threatened previously to find a different Chelsea boot for every day of the week and I’ve managed it. It’s been a struggle, certainly, especially as most of the best pics you find online seem to have no provenance at all - it’s impossible to know where they came from or if you can still buy them. I know many of our readers are interested in these facts so I tried to get as many details as possible for each entry.

However, in some cases they are sold out I’m afraid. So this is more of a fantasy wishlist more than anything. As if that wasn’t already obvious with the whole concept of wearing a different pair of Chelsea boots every day.
Also - please note I am not necessarily advising you wear these, especially at work... I am just the ideas man.

​Monday - Baker Black
Monday’s a dull day, but it’s a smart day too for me - so I’d wear my black suit with these ones from Ted B. My girlfriend works there so I’m sure there could be discounts too...

Tuesday - Topman Grey
Again, black suit day early in the week so it’s got to fit stylistically and colour-wise, so went with grey for this one. These are also quite radical in heel and style for work, but I’m pretty sure no-one would mind too much...

​Wednesday - Gerald Suede
I usually switch to a navy suit later in the week. This gives me a load more options and I’ve gone for it with these ones, chestnut brown with darker elastic contrast. They’re quite low-cut and more like ankle boots than Chelseas, but I still count them in the same boot family.

​Thursday - M&S Navy
These classics I have blogged about before - they are from Marks and Spencer of all places. Out of stock sadly, but they’re a good variation on the traditional blue boot with a grey elastic section, blending well with a blue suit.

Friday - eBay Beige
On Fridays I can usually get away with something a bit more casual, so jeans and these would go down a treat (as long as it’s not raining out). Like desert boots, only without faffing around with any laces. Also from eBay, competitors beware!

Saturday - French Grey
These ones are a bit more pop arty and casual, as being out and about on Saturdays should warrant. Very pricey, but then I’ve never seen anything like them. Eye-catching, but also neat around the edges.

Sunday - Sky Blue & Cognac
Ok so these are a bit bright again. But hey, it’s Mod isn’t it and it’s fucking Sunday…so give me a break.

Annoyingly, the text here has not updated properly - I meant to say something along the lines of: There are so many different types of Chelsea boots now that I could wear one for every day of the week!

​These are probably some of the best looking shoes around. Brogues are, as the cliche goes, a timeless classic. In black they’re slick but severe. In dark brown or oxblood, as here, they carry off a landed gentry-type air that takes the edge off that severity. 

They’re a traditional English gentleman’s shoe certainly, but if you ditch the country tweed and trade in the silly hats for a decent button-down and jeans, you’ve got the makings of a strong modern, but also Mod, look. The nod to tradition with a modern casual style. 

I get the idea of retro or vintage, but I think the key to Mod is avoiding either of these two labels and I think you can’t go wrong with oxblood brogues, especially with a leather sole.

These are some pretty good ones below from Beatnik Shoes. These ones made in Spain of course, but if you fancy something from a little closer to home (and you've got a bit of a budget), Loake or Barkers should do the job too.