The way we wore, a life in threads

I was reading a book called “The way we wore, a life in threads” by Robert Elms. The fashion obsessed author takes us through his early years of what it was like to live in Notting Dale in the 60’s, now known as Notting Hill in West London. He takes us on a tour through his youth and the Waddington estate where he and his two brothers grew up on. He shows us how fashion was and still is intrinsically linked in to class, race, gender and the very fabric of society.

Robert Elms writes of the time when he caught head lice and the stigma attached to having them, once considered the parasite of the poor and unclean. His father taking his son to the barber and having to have his head shaved and how the he cried and protested. Clearly distressed, but how the father has his head shaved too, as a show of support and love and so not to let his son think he was on his own. The irony being that Robert Elms would be protesting again a year or so later because he couldn’t have his head shaved, for the era of the Skin Head had begun. Robert Elms’s father died soon after the head lice event and we slowly begin to realise that a style of clothing is not just about the look and material, but how like minded young people come together, stick together and protect their own and in Robert Elms case, the “youth tribes” are almost like an extended family, providing him with an identity and sense of belonging. This book whilst telling a story of a young lad growing up in a working class area of London, gives us a glimpse of the real Skin Heads, Teddy Boys, Mods, Hippies and Rude Boys, the uniform they wore and what it stood for.

We are taken on a biographical fashion show through the Political climates and winds of change in post war Britain. How fashion and society was divided then and had been since time and memoriam. On a side note, I was tickled to find out that Robert Elms lives in Camden Town, famous for its clothing markets. I remember hanging out there in my Punk days late 70’s. A nice touch in this book is when Robert Elms as an adult, finally buys the Crombie coat he could not afford as a youth. A fantastic piece of literature.
The Way We Wore, A Life in Threads

TheBigFashionBible Editor