Mad Dogs

​Patterned trousers (also known in personal circles as “Jam trousers” after an Eddie Izzard sketch, or even “Ruperts” as a Northern acquaintance affectionately liked to refer to them) are one of fashion’s great mysteries. They have a volatile history at the forefront of almost every phase of 20th Century youth history, believe it or not. Starting with the Small Faces, they seem to have been an almost permanent feature. Even the Who, manufactured artfully as they were by Pete Meaden, performed a lot in Ruperts in their early period. One of my favourite record covers from The Specials has Terry Hall and Jerry Dammers both wearing quite powerful tartan trousers. They’ve also been referred to as a punk staple, worn by the likes of The Clash, The Damned and of course The Sex Pistols. Miles Kane even appeared to be dressed in a pair of subtle grey dogtooth on stage in Birmingham, but these claims are unconfirmed and probably owe more to dodgy eyesight than to style renaissance. We live in hope.

​Anyway, I have recently taken delivery of a pair of light brown dogtooth trousers from Madcap England, one of those zany companies that supplies stuff on Atom Retro. And they are, frankly, some of the best I’ve worn.

I think they must be a winter season, as the material is quite heavy, but they fit well and appear to be of excellent quality. The outer shell is polywool, a blend of wool and polyester which nevertheless looks great, especially given the price.

​However, what I most like about these boys are their style. Madcap are generally known for their slightly outrageous pattern choices (think striped blazers, whacky Trip Op Art shirts, etc) and in many ways this is their unique selling point. But these trousers are more subtle, darker and far less attention-grabbing. They look sick without making themselves the centrepiece. So much so that I could even get away with wearing them day-to-day if I wanted to - they fit with so many of my other outfits.

“Jam trousers” or “Ruperts” make a great addition to any Mod wardrobe. But if you’re looking for a strongly versatile pair of dogtooths - go for these ones.