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Oct 12 2018 22 Comments

1950s fashion and the future?

A style from the past beneath the somewhat perplexed looks of the present.

tokyo rockabilly quiffs and modern looks

Categorized: Fashion, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Linda says

    10/12/2018 at 8:40 am

    Is that guy wearing a wig, or does he just have a really weird forehead?

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/12/2018 at 7:34 pm

      Very much the latter, although from what I’ve seen in the past, some fella’s shave their forehead to get the required hairline. So quite possibly this is the case here.

      Reply
      • Linda says

        10/13/2018 at 12:42 am

        So funny. he looks like he’s wearing one of those cheap samurai-style wigs, except with a rather different hairstyle. (I say that in the most loving possible way – I think these guys are awesome).

        Reply
  2. Harry says

    10/12/2018 at 2:05 pm

    That’s a big forehead he’s got! 😮

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/12/2018 at 7:35 pm

      I think it might be the way he’s shaved it, but must admit, it does look considerably larger than normal!

      Reply
  3. cdilla says

    10/12/2018 at 5:44 pm

    Wow. What a set of characters. Great photograph.
    It actually takes me back to one of my first contacts with Japan way back in the late seventies. I got to know a Japanese girl when she was over in London and after she returned home she would send me photos and stuff. One popular place she would visit is Yoyogi Park on a Sunday and I would bet a beer that amongst her photos of the Rockabilly and Elvis influenced guys dancing away in the Park to a shed sized “portable” music system would be these guys.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/12/2018 at 7:40 pm

      Thanks. Not your average blokes about town, are they?

      I reckon your bet is a safe one. Definitely seen the fella whose talking at Yoyogi on a Sunday, so probably his similarly dressed mates are regulars too. Somewhat surprisingly they were sat outside a venue that had a punk festival on, so clearly they have broader music tastes than you’d perhaps imagine.

      Reply
      • cdilla says

        10/12/2018 at 7:53 pm

        Interest that. Hiromi told me at the time that the punks would bring cassettes to the park and the teds/rockers would let them play their songs. So some of the photos she sent included the bequiffed and leathered dancing alongside the saftey pinned and chained tartan trousered. I really must have a root in the attic to find them. All polaroid instaprints which have probably aged wondefully 🙂

        Reply
        • cdilla says

          10/12/2018 at 8:01 pm

          I’ll just leave this here for your entertainment 🙂

          https://youtu.be/DC1yjKWzBho

          Reply
          • Lee says

            10/12/2018 at 9:03 pm

            Yes, you really should dig those out. They’ll be absolutely fascinating, especially the mix of fashions on display.

            Oh, and cheers for the link. Interestingly, around the 1:50 mark this fella makes a cameo: http://bit.ly/2RKsRZk

            Reply
  4. john says

    10/12/2018 at 8:18 pm

    One of them could be having a bad hair day?
    It’s certainly a place where Dr John Cooper Clarke in his sartorial splendour might just fit in (on a windy day).

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/12/2018 at 9:06 pm

      Quite possibly, or the perpetual shame in his particular circle of a no hair day…

      I’m sure he would. Welcomed with open arms I’d suspect.

      Reply
  5. Anonymous says

    10/12/2018 at 9:14 pm

    These dudes are OLD.

    Reply
    • john says

      10/12/2018 at 11:05 pm

      only my age…or a bit younger

      Reply
      • Lee says

        10/13/2018 at 12:09 pm

        In ageing Japan these fellas are mere youngsters.

        Reply
  6. john says

    10/12/2018 at 11:04 pm

    “Black cat (a rockabilly hat)”
    it should be ‘cap’ but a cat wouldn’t look out of place.

    Hats off to Mr Bolan and co.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/13/2018 at 12:22 pm

      Which track is that from?

      Reply
      • cdilla says

        10/13/2018 at 5:15 pm

        One of my favourite Marc Bolan songs. It has a few different lyrical variations with “the wizards hat” version probably the most well known. But for me this version is the best…
        https://youtu.be/28vQmrXtrno

        Reply
        • Lee says

          10/13/2018 at 5:57 pm

          Cheers for that.

          I always enjoy listening to Debora among many others, plus I have a real soft spot for Children of the Revolution. Memories of a particularly hedonistic new year in Leeds when I was still young and naive enough to believe there could actually be a revolution…

          Reply
          • john says

            10/13/2018 at 10:13 pm

            I think their revolution happened when they discovered T. (as in T. Rex)

            Reply
  7. MrSatyre says

    10/17/2018 at 8:18 am

    I’ve always assumed these fellas wear wigs whenever they decided to have meetings. They’re all probably Fortune 500 captains of industry during their regular working hours.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/17/2018 at 9:54 am

      Haha, now that really would be something! Must admit, I’ve always wondered what they do work-wise. Clearly not you average salarymen. Unless, of course, they actually wear sensible wigs during the week and quite literally let their hair down at the weekend.

      Reply

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