What is MOD?

According to Ebay everything is Mod. Sometimes it is shot hand for Mid Century or Mid Century Modern . Sometimes its a term for a style created in the period of time. This not applies to furniture clothing, art, ceramic and jewelry. But I think Mod is mainly a description for clothing in that era. Its a style mad efamous by Cardi, Couregges, Rabanne.

It has become such a misused term when it comes to selllling it drives me nuts....

Someone else will add.... I love Mid Centrury era things. I know Iam not alone.

Chris
 
Thanks! Guess I have a reason to be confused. It looked like it had multiple definitions with multiple uses.

You are so right - EVERYTHING on ebay is considered MOD!! LOL! No wonder why I can't figure out the proper usage ;)

Vicki
 
To me, "mod," referring particularly to apparel, was a style or group of styles popular in the mid to late 60s (maybe into the very early 70s), quintessential examples being Carnaby Street styles, Twiggy wear, Mary Quant, Geoffrey Beene Bazaar, etc. But it was far more than a style, it was part of the music and whole culture of the times, as in, "Are you a mod or a rocker?"

Chris is right--the term is so overused on eBay and other sites as to be indistinguishable. But it is not--it is very distinctive. I've never seen anything, say, pre 1963 or 1964 that I would call Mod styling--in its connotation. Perhaps technically Mod refers to mid-century, but if you lived through the Mod age and wore the styles, as I did, you sorta just "know it when you see it."

Scooter dresses, dropped-waist mini dresses, skimmer dresses, hip-hugger shorts with big belts, stewardess uniforms, platform shoes with mini skirts & dresses, empire-waisted baby-doll dresses, bobbed hair... Guys wearing pointy Beatle boots, and dressing more up rather than down. It was a whole style, not just apparel. The music, the make-up, the accessories. Say, Cilla Black (mod) vs. Marianne Faithful (rocker).

Personally, when I see a late 1970's or a 1950's dress referred to as mod, I think, "No way...."
 
If I were Queen of the World, I would smite everyone who abused the word "mod" on e-bay!
 
I forgot to mention.... for a very good idea of mod fashions, think Marlo Thomas's wardrobe on "That Girl." I'm showing my age here, I'm sure, but watch that show if you can find it, and you'll know mod when you next see it!!!! It ran from 1966 through till 1971, so encompassed nearly all the era that I personally think of as having mod fashion.
 
Excellent summation, Lizzie, thanks for that link.

I have this statement, made by Daniel several years ago over on VC&A (before he joined the costume department at the Victoria & Albert Museum), which I also think is helpful. (I miss Danleil!)

Mod should refer to clean lines, cheeky design, eye-catching use of color (be it colorblock or Pucci-style patterns or what have you). Mod also had a lot to do with the "youthquake" movement, and generally speaking, mod pieces should be those that are young in feel, though I have seen a few pieces that nicely toed the line between Jackie chic and playful mod. Maybe have blocky geometric graphics. I think Mod is clean lines, seam details, drop waists, double knits (I don't know why you dread them!), A-line, double breasted, back belts, faux pockets, simple design. Mod can be stewardess style, scooter dresses, bell sleeves, crochet dresses, mary janes, pointed flats, go-go boots (above the knee, below, ankle height), patterned tights, white tights, chunky jewelry. It is a lot of things that are not easily defined, you know it when I see it. Not all Mini dresses are mod and not all mod dresses are mini. Keep in mind that "mini" in the 60s could have been 1-2 inches above the knee. Some Jackie dresses are mod, others are not. Mod style spans vintage clothing from the mid sixites until about 1973.
 
Originally posted by APrizeEveryTime
Excellent summation, Lizzie, thanks for that link.

I have this statement, made by Daniel several years ago over on VC&A (before he joined the costume department at the Victoria & Albert Museum), which I also think is helpful. (I miss Danleil!)

....double knits (I don't know why you dread them!)....[/i]
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WELL....there's double knits and then there's double knits...and I definitely dread the incredibly nasty petroleum-based fabrics that didn't breathe, wouldn't sew, stood on their own in the corner, were freezing cold in the winter, broiling in the summer, held every scent or stain that ever came close, and would melt on the skin if you approached them with a cigarette.

That said, there are vintage stores in Portland that specialize in poly double-knits. And we do have a 'heinous suit' section that features utterly repellent plaids for men.
 
Hee-hee! That's a great wrapup of the downside of poly double-knits, Maryalice. Does the "heninous suit" section move? Or does it take prom season and Halloween to sell it?
 
Originally posted by APrizeEveryTime
Hee-hee! That's a great wrapup of the downside of poly double-knits, Maryalice. Does the "heninous suit" section move? Or does it take prom season and Halloween to sell it?
Click to expand...

Oh, no, we have regular heinous suit customers...one is Elvis Costello.
 
At risk of offending my friends here, I feel compelled to speak up in defense of vintage poly double-knit.

I love it!

It's perfectly comfortable in an air-conditioned office, it doesn't wrinkle while wearing a seatbelt or even stuffed in a backpack, it comes in fabulous prints, and its CHEAP because no one else wants it!

I constantly get compliments from our clients, although my co-workers are mystified at my wardrobe choices.
 
I read somewhere recently that 'mod' was originally short for 'modernist'.

Wikipedia confirms:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mod_(lifestyle)

Modernist/modernism is a term associated with art more than fashion. I wonder how the mods came to adopt it?
 
Well, there are good poly double-knits, and there are bad ones.... Top-quality poly knits are wonderful. Cheap ones are yucky--the stuff that when you bend at the knee, they don't straighten back up when you do, that is spongy, etc. I sewed most of my own clothing during the heyday of the poly-knit boom, and it is not inherently evil.

I like the single knits better, typically, as they had drape and movement. But I have a few double-knit dresses in inventory now that are of very nice quality. And I made a LOT of skirts, vests, slacks, etc, out of double knits, and boy, when you have to go to work every day, it is great not to have to iron them!
 
Maryalice, I had a good laugh at your description of double-knits and heinous suits section *lol*.

Whenever I show my mom any new find that is a kind of very, very synthetic fabric typical of the 60s or 70s, she shudders. And I can't help teasing her with them :saint:.

As for Mod - personally, for me, I'd say about 1966 to 1970. I'm a Barbie and fashion doll collector - and Joe Blitman's book on Barbie's groovy Mod fashion comprises the years 1967 to 1972 (but then Barbie took a teeny bit longer to become really "cool").

Karin
 
Modernist is a term meaning forward thinking this started turn of the century. I have a book of Modernist Turn of the Century Jewelry. This term also applied to art of this era.

A very confusing term because time marches on ideas get old and replaced with new ones.

-Chris
 
Originally posted by Midge


As for Mod - personally, for me, I'd say about 1966 to 1970. I'm a Barbie and fashion doll collector - and Joe Blitman's book on Barbie's groovy Mod fashion comprises the years 1967 to 1972 (but then Barbie took a teeny bit longer to become really "cool").

Karin
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If I was going to collect Barbie and friends, those would be the ones. They're totally great. I do have a MIB 'Now' Ken with the attachable facial hair that I can't seem to bring myself to sell....
 
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