All About the SOUL CLOTHING ;
Year's ago people wore string vests. They wore Wigan baggies, patent leather shoes, beer towels tucked through their belts. Girl's sewed weighted objects into the hems of their full skirts.
Now ... Nothing! Why's that then? Could it because people have grown a little older and don't give too much of a toss really what they wear to soul do's? I can remember owning and wearing baggy trousers and even patent leather shoes (never string vests or beer towels though). These days jeans and a dark top, so as to not look too much of a fright if I dance a lot and get all a bit sweaty. This the standard mode of dress for me.
I do see mods still smartly dressed at soul do's. But the northern soul scene is still as much of a scene as the mod scene or any other for that matter. So when soulies are still passionate about vinyl and other aspects of the scene, why not about clothes? Are northerners smarter than southerners, or midlanders? Or as I suspect have we all slipped into mediocrity when it comes to what to wear. Or should that be what not to wear?
PS, If you want to know who in the queue are soulies and who are interlopers; look at the shoes. Brogues or loafers; they're soulies. Anything else, they're impostors. Footwear is the only thing not to have changed over the last thirty years.
PPS, Keb & the Sub Keb's Hawaiian shirts and turned up jeans are exempt