The Youth of Today

I've been mulling things over recently and it crossed my mind that today's youth generation may be the first generation without a defining subculture. If you look over previous decades there has always been a subculture for the youth to engage with and become a part of. The 1950s had the teddy boys; the 1960s had the mods; the 1970s had the punks; the 1980s had the football "casuals" while the 1990s had a clear youth culture with the Madchester and Britpop scenes enjoying their peak of popularity during that decade.

This generation doesn't have that defining subculture.

In some aspects this is sad but in other ways I'm quite glad it's turned out in this manner. The lack of a defining youth subculture or movement enables me to seek out and forge a more personal identity which is independent from the majority of my friends and this can only be a good thing. After all, who wants to look and like the exact same things as their mates?

I may get stick for wearing garments which are different or "out there" to what the majority like but I'm glad of this as it helps make me who I am.

Here are some photos of Britain's youth subcultures in years gone by.

Good Sites

You may have noticed that at the top-right of my blog I have a good sites section (soon to be updated further) featuring a number of websites and blogs which I frequent. I've written briefly about them and would urge you to have a look at them yourself as there all worth a browse.

Casual Connoisseur: The Casual Connoisseur is a clothing company based in Stockport which at present principally produces tee shirts. However other items of clothing / accessories have been produced such as bobble hats and pin badges. There are also plans to produce bucket hats, polo shirts as well as outerwear. Based on the design sketches I have seen and the quality and originality of their present garments this is definitely a brand to keep an eye on. I also post on their forum regularly, where all aspects of "casual" culture are discussed.

Casual Connoisseur Blog: A very interesting blog associated with the Casual Connoisseur which posts updates on their latest products as well as all sorts of other interesting things including clothing, film and other aspects of popular culture.

County Lads: Another good site run by the Stockport County fan going by the name of Oneupmanship. Among the website's numerous interesting features are a brief look at the history of football fashion, little bits of information about shops (including OiPolloi), photography of "casual" icons and a host of great photos of footwear and clothing you may see or have seen on the terraces. All of this is set to a great soundtrack including songs from the Clash and the Kinks.

Oneupmanship Journal: This regularly updated journal (associated with the Casual Connoisseur) has a wide focus, with features on footwear, functional outerwear and film all regular occurrences. A great read – his Flickr account is also home to some cracking jackets and shoes to browse at and admire if you're killing time / interested in that sort of thing.

Red Bricks and Coal: This blog is run a Wigan Atheltic fan (and poster on the Casual Connoisseur forum) and centres around his experiences following his team around the country. There's also a focus on ale, clothing and other random (and interesting) musings.

The Hovian: This very well written blog is, like Red Bricks and Coal, is about a man following his local football team. This time, however, it's Brighton & Hove Albion instead of Wigan Athletic. It's not purely about football however with regular updates on his latest clothing purchases and other cool features such as book reviews and the like also commonplace.

All of these blogs / sites are definitely worth a read / visit.

Last Film Watched... - Gone Baby Gone

Adapted from the Dennis Lehane novel of the same name, crime thriller "Gone Baby Gone" is Ben Affleck's debut directorial feature. Starring his brother Casey as well as Michelle Monaghan and Morgan Freeman, the film revolves around the investigation into a young girl's disappearance from a blue collar Boston neighbourhood. There is, as you would expect for a film nearing two hours, much more to the story than initially meets the eye, with an excellent cast of unsavoury and even more unsavoury characters including drug lords, junkies and corrupt police officers all playing their part in the plot.


I thoroughly enjoyed the film. The acting was good, especially from the ever reliable Morgan Freeman and from Amy Ryan while the film's moral dilemna left me pondering the film's conclusion for a long while. Without wanting to give too much away, the climax leaves you realising that at certain times there is no right or wrong, just that some things are worse than others.

I'd definitely recommend this film. It's gripping, well acted and thought provoking.

4.5/5

Recent Purchase - Casual Connoisseur Party People Tee

With the summer heat coming on strong it's time to get rid of the winter jackets, trousers and footwear and embrace tees, shorts and trainers.

Courtesy of the good lads from the Casual Connoisseur I have bought the "Party People" Tee. Over at the Casual Connoisseur inspiration is taken from numerous areas – casual culture, pop culture, film and music. This particular tee takes clear inspiration from the Madchester music scene and rave music scene. In particular, the logo is a clear nod towards the artwork of the Happy Mondays "Madchester Rave On E.P." (which was released in 1989.


The tee is made of heavyweight cotton and the quality and fit are clearly top notch. The tee is a nice navy colour while the "Connoisseur" logo comes in pink, yellow and sky blue – vibrant, colourful and perfect for the summer. A nice touch is the pin badge which arrives with the tee which although I forgot to photograph can be seen on the Connoisseur website.

Woolrich Woolen Mills S/S 2011 Preview

Here is a glimpse of the Woolrich Woolen Mills collection for Summer 2011. It will be the last collection that Daiki Suzuki is is in charge of with Mark McNairy set to take over the reigns as Creative Director.















A bit hit and miss for me in those photos but the jacket in the second photo looks stunning, and in a cracking colour too. There is sure to be more on offer as well so it looks worthwhile keeping your eyes peeled.

Icons - Keith Richards

Few people embody the spirit of rock n' roll more than Keith Richards, rhythm guitarist and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Born in the December of 1943, Richards discovered his fondness for blues artists like Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters at an early age. It was a shared love of this music that drove Richards and schoolfriend Mick Jagger together and inspired them to form the Rolling Stones in 1962.

It didn't take long for the Rolling Stones to become a major success; a key element to it being Richards simple, catchy and incisive guitar riffs. Songs such as "Street Fighting Man" and "Start Me Up" all became famous due to Richards' innovative use of open tunings on rhythm guitar, a technique more frequently seen on slide slide guitar.

Richards songwriting can also not be doubted with classics such as "Wild Horses" having clear and heavy Keith influence in them. Occasionally Richards also takes to the microphone, "Happy" (a song often described as encapsulating the Keith spirit) being arguably the best example of this.


Richards is just as famous (if not more so) due to his lifestyle as he is because of his undoubted musical genius. Tales that have helped to define his outlaw persona included falling out of a coconut tree at the not so tender age of 62, snorting his father's ashes and frequent drug fuelled binges. In a band which is famously destructive (see Brian Jones and Gram Parsons), some consider it a miracle that Richards has managed to survive a life of alcoholism, obscene drug use and all that comes with it.

As he recently said in "Stones in Exile", a film documenting the recording of the masterpiece Exile on Main St. (often known as Keith's album due to the chaotic manner of its recording), "Mick (Jagger) needs to know what he's going to do tomorrow. Me, I'm just happy to wake up and see who's hanging around. Mick's rock, I'm roll."

Football and Ale

Watching England is always a nervy experience and it proved to be the case once more. I went out to watch the England vs. Slovenia match at a local pub with my old man and sampled a few nice ales while doing so.

First up was a pint of Old Speckled Hen, on offer from Greene King. A nice beer indeed; pleasant and easy to drink with elements of fruit, malt and toffee all combining for a top drink.



Second up (and my preferred of the two beers) was two pints of Brains SA Gold. Originally launched in 2006, this golden ale was lovely and refreshing with citrus bitterness adding balance. A boss beer!



Also nice to see England scrape through – bring on the Germans!

What Am I Wearing Today?

Baracuta Harrington Jacket (Tan)
Polo Ralph Lauren Custom Fit Short Sleeve Shirt (Light Blue / Brown Fine Check)
Edwin Raw Denims (Indigo)
Adidas Gazelles (Brown / White)

The Adidas Gazelle are in an American only colourway.

This outfit was actually worn yesterday for a few beers around town.

Universal Works

David Keyte is a designer with a serious track record. He has spent over twenty years in the industry working for and with such well-respected and renowned brands as Paul Smith, Marharishi, Margaret Howell and Albam. His latest efforts are with his own brand Universal Works and I'm seriously impressed.

Priding itself on high quality, affordable (without compromising on durability) and great looking menswear Universal Works centres its focus on the "function, fit and cuts of garments". Working with small, independent factories in order to produce the highest quality product, much of Universal Works' collection is UK made, something which only adds to its appeal.

Of course all of this would be irrelevant if the garments didn't look good but they don't dissapoint. I have selected a few that have caught my eye the most (excluding the Chambray Workshirt) and they can be seen below.


Universal Works Bakers Jacket (Navy Twill)


Universal Works Cotton Canvas Mountain Parka (Khaki)


Universal Works Fell Jacket (Blue)


Universal Works Fell Jacket (Ecru)

All cracking garments in my view.

The current Universal Works collection can be bought online from stores such as OiPolloi and Oliver Spencer.

Thinking About Getting... - Universal Works Chambray Workshirt

If it's good enough for Steve McQueen then it's good enough for me.

Looking like denim with a feel of cotton, chambray shirts are extremely casual, often associated with prisoners. Along with blue denim jeans, chambray shirts are often referred to as "prisoner blues". The early David Bowie song Come and Buy my Toys (1967) also mentions a cambric (chambray) shirt: "You shall own a cambric shirt, You shall work your father's land, But now you shall play in the market square, Till you'll be a man".

One chambray shirt which has taken my fancy is the Universal Works Chambray Workshirt which at just over fifty English pounds looks like a bargain price. With two front pockets and attentive red stitching throughout, the detailing on the shirt looks to be top notch as can be seen in the photos below. While it may be made in India, I have heard the quality of Universal Works' clothing is without fault.

The shirt should look great with a pair of chinos and some nice shoes. I need to sell a few pieces and purchase a few more before, but if the shirt is still available when I have the funds then it will be on it's way to me.

Future Size? Releases

Two future releases from Size? here. Firstly we have the Adidas Jeans in a Navy / Red colourway then a pair of the Adidas München in a Green / White colourway. I like the look of both pairs to be fair, both are superior to the recent Adidas Dublin in my opinion and both will look good with a pair of cargo shorts down the beer garden in the summer.

The Adidas München were also first released in the 1970s (1979 to be exact) and were, like many Adidas models, designed as a training shoe before becoming very popular as casual footwear with features such as their unique sole making them very popular with trainerheads across the globe.

Originally intended to be worn with jeans, the Adidas Jeans were very popular in the 1970s. The splash of yellow between the upper and the outsole and the gold lettering are the trainer's two most prominent features.

Both models were reissued late last year in different colours. Expect them to retail at around £65.

Tune of the Day - "My daddy was a bankrobber..."

Released as a single on 8 August, 1980, "Bankrobber" never found its way onto any of the Clash's studio albums. The song appears to be about the singer's father who was a bankrobber but on the bigger picture I think it's about the working classes having jobs with zero fulfillment, and how life's too short to spend time working in a shit job that you hate.

Interestingly, ex-Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown is said to have been in attendance when the song was recorded in the studio.

Not one of their best, but an ace song no less.

Adidas Dublin Reissue

In order to celebrate their tenth anniversary, shoe retailer Size? have collaborated with Adidas to produce a limited number of reissued and new trainers with matching tracktops.

As of yet the Adidas London and the Adidas Manchester have been reissued, and as of last week as has the Adidas Dublin.

Retailing at £69.99, many trainerheads have not been best pleased with the whole process. Many have complained about the whole limited numbers situation creating a demand which far exceeds the supply, allowing the touts to sell for a pretty penny on eBay (one seller had his reissued Dublins with a Buy It Now price of £370). Others have said that people's willingness to queue up in the early hours for what is just a trainer is pure craziness.

Either way I'm not impressed with the Dublins.

I have no problem with the limited numbers or the queuing (to a point), it's just the trainer I don't like. Having bought the previous reissue (the Adidas Manchester) I was hoping for a nice Dublin reissue as I haven't been prepared to pay over the odds for the trainer but the decision to opt for waxed leather over more traditional suede was a bad one. As showin by the photo showing the four generations of Dublins, the current collaboration just doesn't look as good as the OGs or the previous two reissues.

Adidas and Size? still plan on releasing more trainers together, with Adidas Birmingham, Adidas Cardiff and Adidas Glasgow all due for release at a point in the near future but they're losing popularity fast. Many believe the look has evolved from trainers to shoes and second-rate reissues aren't going to make them change their mind.

Recent Purchase - Dickie's Steel Selvedge Denim

Good denim is a crucial part of the look.

I've never quite understood the reluctance of some people to not bother with putting on a nice pair of jeans. You can see many a lad with a smart jacket, smart trainers (or shoes) yet in between he'll be wearing some bad fitting jeans, often by Blue Harbour or another budget brand. There's nothing wrong with Blue Harbour; it's good for the essentials, but I feel good denim is worth putting some money into as jeans can last for a very long time provided that you take care with them.

Selvedge denim appears to be all the rage at the minute. Everywhere you look brands are churning out their own range of selvedge denim – APC, Paul Smith, Studio D'Artisan etc.

I've opted for a pair of Dickie's Steel Selvedge Denim Jeans having been impressed with what I read and noticing a bargain price for them on the web.

The denim used is made from Zimbabwean cotton, which is regarded as some of the best out there while the selvedge denim is woven in Japan using vintage shuttle looms in order to provide a product with great aesthetics, longevity and feel.

Introduction

I've been thinking of setting up a blog for a fair while and finally decided to go out and do it instead of just flirting with the idea. On the blog I hope to air my views on clothing, footwear, football and anything else that crosses my mind or interests me.

Hopefully you'll all find something interesting on the blog.