u/CrocodileJock

On a bit of trip down memory lane, I started thinking about the shoes of my youth – and the cool shoes – that I was a bit too young to afford – and had gone right out of fashion by the time I could – were called Solatio Boxtops. In my head these were very much an early 70's shoe… more Suedehead than Skinhead proper – although not confined to suedes, and worn by many a Herbert bovverboy of the day. Probably with a 'wider trouser' (ie big fuck-off flares), implausibly large turnups and a brightly coloured – or white towelling – sock.

I thought I'd have a quick Google and see if anybody else remembered them – or if – and I doubted this – there may be some old deadstock for sale on eBay or somewhere. Much to my suprise, I found out Solatio still exist – or at some point have been reborn – at https://solatio.co.uk/

Now, I may be late to the party here… and everyone may be rolling their eyes going "of course they do – we've ALL been wearing them" – but I don't ever recall seeing them mentioned on this forum. The ones I remember – the Boxtops – are still in production – and as magnificently ugly, while the at the same time as cool as fuck – as I remember them. I also remember the 'crossover' style – a super 70s looking shoe, but never associated them with the Solatio brand. Again, very cool in a "if you've got the balls to carry it off properly" kind of way. They do a very nice brogue too – a lot of brogues are very nice, but just don't look 'skinhead'. These are as skinhead as fuck.

So, a nice (imho) addition to the skinhead footwear options, when you want to wear something smarter than boots, and a bit different to loafers. Nice to see they're still around, and clearly have a market somewhere (I'm guessing the Northern Soul scene is a big part of it).

Thoughts? Would you buy them? Would you wear them?

The band in the picture are London band "The Jook" – the pic was probably shot around 1973/74 when they had a residency at North London venue The Edmonton Sundown (famous for gigs by The Faces, The Who and Bank Holiday Reggae Festivals). They were said to have a large 'skinhead' following – although the conventional wisdom was skinhead as a mass movement was dead and buried by the end of '72.
I reckon that the North London 'skinheads' that made up their audience were much more akin to the bootboys described by u/ignant666 in my other post about The Hammersmith Gorillas – and 'skinhead' was just a synonym for hooligan at that point, no matter how long their hair was.

The Jook had quite a cool look… smart and sharp… and one I definitely remember. Although looking at them it's hard to see "skinhead" straight off, there's definitly notes of it – and you can see the lineage. The hair has almost gone back to a pre-skin mod feathercut, a bit different from the suedehead feathercut. But fashions used to change almost monthly back then… I remember one of the markers of how cool you were at one point was the height of your waistband and how many buttons you had on it. There was also a brief fad for a large patch pocket on the side of your trousers. Shoes (and boots) were important too… loafers, brogues and Solatio boxtops or crossovers. Zipped Chelsea boots with a bit of a stacked heel too…

Interestingly, the guys from The Jook said they described themselves as Rudies, not Skinheads (or Suedeheads, which would have been MY guess from the way they're dressed). This was a term (Rudies or Rudeboys) I'd only thought applied to original ('68ish) skins – or later to 2Tone Skins… certainly not a "Bovver Glam" band…

Anyway, probably enough Bovver Glam for now.

I'm in the UK. It's my daughter's graduation in July, and I thought it would be a good excuse to get a suit made. Haven't worn one for a while. I've found a couple of options – https://www.modshopping.co.uk and https://modfashiongs.com Does anybody have any experience of these sites? Any good UK alternatives? Obviously, everything on those two sites is made abroad, and I am on a bit of a budget.

I'm thinking of a navy+black three button tonic, white shirt, hot pink knitted silk tie, pink socks, black loafers (my daughter will be wearing pink).

My only slight concern is looking a bit ridiculous… I've put on a few pounds over the years, and I make Alexi Saye look like twiggy… but if I get the measurements right it shouldn't look too silly, should it??

Any other advice, do's and don'ts… all welcome.

I was given these old cards as a pressie... they date from 1989. I think I've ID'd most of the people in the illustration, Kojak and Clint Eastwood are obvious, I think the lady top middle is Sybil Shepherd from Moonlighting, and the lady underneath is Angela Lansbury from Murder She Wrote (or possibly Cilla Black?). The man far left could be Bruce Willis (Moonlighting) or Jason Donovan (Neighbors) but who is the Indian/Native American chief? And from what show? And who is the lady that looks a bit like Claire Balding (too early for her), our guesses so far are Miss Ellie from Dallas and Liberace...