Those Mod Fashions

I fear I've been lagging a bit behind, fashionwise. I've always been a step or two out of step with things. In the '60s, I had long hair but I was never a hippie. "Don't trust anyone over 30," they used to say. Since I'm now over 80, I'm guessing I still don't qualify for trust. 

I woke up this morning with a germ of understanding as to where current fashions in Europe and the USA originated. TV and films, of course, those superheroes and sci-fi flicks . . . and 14 years of the Kardashians. Those are the main culprits. The K family's show is coming to an end. All that the world will be able to see in the future is about another 14 years of reruns. Out of step? Me? I guess so; I've never seen the Kardashians show. 

I worry about the heavily tattooed. Making a style adjustment from that won't be easy. But not all tattoos are bad. This nice Liverpool lady below allowed me to capture the stylish, tasteful bird she has on her back. Notice how the color on the bird's breast matches her hair color. 

The first time I'd seen someone heavily tattooed, head to toe I mean, was at Speakers Corner in London. That was about 1966. I was shooting a magazine story called The Sounds of Hyde Park. It's interesting that the tradition continues, even if the subject matter of the speakers has changed. 

There are many "speakers" on the streets in the Western World now. In Liverpool, they come as buskers, religious zealots, vendors, and simple beggars who just sit silently and hope for a donation. Here's one busker who works a Liverpool high street and shows up in a different outfit every day. The man can't carry a tune in a bucket but that doesn't stop him from sharing his painful attempts with us.

Even traditional Muslim women have added the most common new fashion accessory to their wardrobe these days—the face mask. Nice. I like that touch of blue amid the somber black.