The Absence of War

Although we’re told don’t judge a book by its cover, those of us of the Mod ilk know that more often than not, what you’re wearing is the face you present to the world, so you might as well make it look good and perhaps a bit distinctive.

Nowhere is this easier to do than in the kind of shirts you wear. There are a billion combinations of colours, patterns and styles that one could look to for a distinctive look, but in this post I wanted to highlight something in particular that I thought was slightly missing its niche from the market at the moment and that is the military-style shirt.

“Style” might be a strong phrase. A shirt with any other pattern can be military style, but I would usually describe it as a shirt that is one colour, with epaulets on the shoulders and two front flap-pockets.

They're pretty rock 'n' roll and also, IMO, a good look for hot weather. Think Michael Caine, or Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. 

I always browse the usual clothing sites in my free time (/ time I’m wasting) at work just to see what goodies are bubbling away beneath the surface. This is usually quite rewarding, because I tend to just drift through the sites from page to page, clicking on links that I might not normally pay any attention to, just to see what’s there.  On Thursday, for instance, I was excited to see Adaptor had a few very bold polka dot numbers from Relco. Likewise they have a bit of paisley. Then I went to DNA Groove and Art Gallery just to have a browse and there are some serious checks and stripes going on in those places. At the moment, my favourite is the Noddy from Art Gallery, great colours, strong pattern. Then to Ben Sherman of course, where they can always be relied on to produce a powerful no-nonsense Oxford that always goes well with a jumper or suit.

But of a “military style” there is nothing to be seen.

It doesn’t have as strong a popular tradition as some of the other styles, but it was a thing. They were prominently worn by the Who some of the early pictures (especially Keith Moon), as well as by the Creation on the cover of their How Does it Feel to Feel record. If anyone’s got any other band examples, I’ll be happy to post.them here.

In the 2000s, DNA Groove had a good series of smart shirts with their classic collars, but with epaulets on the shoulders and a distinctive button style. They also had contrasting colours. All the ones I’ve got are ones I’ve designed myself on iTailor.

But I guess the only conclusion can be that this type of shirt just doesn’t sell as well as I think it should!