"few of the working class English Mods who wore sharp suits cut short and rode Vespas and Lambrettas realised they were copying Italian fashion, but they were.

The keyboards were right up front on the first Style Council single, ‘Speak Like a Child,‘ and on ‘Party Chambers’ on the

Meeting In Progress In a World’s Strongest Man contest, someone has to finish last.  Someone has to be the weakest of the

It was those Bengal stripes on the latest Pellicano offering that got me.  Broad and bold and bright, I was imagining strolling

Why do tennis stars wear polo shirts? In truth, the modern pique polo shirt is a far cry from the rather smarter

As the weeks pass by and each day merges in to the next, great music is essential to bring life and soul

Those who have nipped by the benevolent beak of Pellicano, or brands mining a similar seam, might be termed, in the broadest

“I’m looking at some photos of The Small Faces as their glorious time together neared its end.  The shoes are still on

“Pellicano is a celebration of that and the attitude of the common man: to always present yourself with pride, dignity and individuality

Sir Horace is a very busy man with many creative skills. He is an established artist and was recently was commissioned to

Neil Clack – author of “Animals! : The Story of England v Argentina reviews the latest film to highlight the life of

Prepare for the holidays  with the latest summer playlist from former Councillor Mr Steve White,  34 years after The Style Council‘s appearance

Pressure Drop An elegant, cultured, summer shirt has been on the agenda for a number of years – several requests later and

Not sure if it was the classic Alfa Romeo sports car, the imposing views of Lake Como or the retro black and

Mr Tim Vickery in conversation with Steve White  (former Style Councillor and Weller sticksman) and now of ‘Hague and White’ fame.  

Style n Stripes
The low down on the quintessential top for the high season
It is a style icon and long been a star of stage and screen, but the Breton stripe shirt is also a summer wardrobe essential.
Stolen from the French marin (sailor), and Italian gondoliers, the classic marinière has long been the preserve of pop royalty, tortured artists and smouldering matinee actors.

40 Years after The Specials first burst on to the scene with their own brand of ska, reggae and  rude boy style,

  The Birth of Italian Style. With exiled fashionista & BBC South American football expert – Mr Tim Vickery I sometimes think

The Breton Cap -Style Icon?   John Lennon, Jeremy Corbyn and Paul Weller cannot all be wrong!   As with many items:

Tim Vickery : exiled fashionista and BBC South American football expert talks James Bond and the style of Intelligence Sock it to

It’s a busy life, snapping the Giro d’Italia, but Scott Mitchell – official photographer to Sir Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish and presently

MARTHA REEVES & THE VANDELLAS WITH SUPPORT FROM BUTCH LEAKE OF THE DRIFTERS LIVE AT VILLAGE UNDERGROUND – SHOREDITCH, LONDON Sunday 11th

Part 2 of “I’m an Absolute Beginner “ By Tim Vickery – BBC south American football guru and fashionista   Tim sporting

"The first building block is modern jazz.  These days it is hard to imagine the traction that jazz had in the time before The Beatles.  But there was a rift in youth culture, before Mods and Rockers, that came to the surface in the 1960 Beaulieu Jazz Festival "

My alterations tailor in Rio de Janeiro is highly skilled, fourth generation in the profession, no less – but he had never

Memphis 68 – The Tragedy of Southern Soul    Following the highly successful ‘Detroit 67’ Stuart Cosgrove follows it with part 2

“Hello, darkness, my old friend.” “The Vietnam War” – A Film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick – THE SOUNDTRACK   Anyone

Friend of Pellicano Sir Horace Panter took time out from preparing  his part of the
Cassette Versus Vinyl Exhibition at the Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, E1 (19th 25th October) to put together an all time top 10 tunes (subject to change!).

Modernist Icon?  The case for Archibald Leech, a poor kid born in Bristol. Presented by Mr Tim Vickery   Recently met up

Sometimes you just feel it...

Detroit is like that. A mighty city, the engine of American capitalism and epicentre of the US automotive industry. The conveyor belts in the ' Big D' haven't just carried Mustangs and Firebirds; the musical heritage of the city is wide, varied and unrivalled: the proto punk of MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges (Ann Arbor) and post punk of The White Stripes; blues: (John Lee Hooker), RnB: Hank Ballard and Jackie Wilson; Eminem, Madonna, George Clinton, jazz, techno and soul ... lots of soul has all rolled off the belts.

THE COUNTER CULTURE IS ONLY A BRETON TOP AWAY

My last post extolled the virtues of all things nautical and in particular the joys of the male winter coat par-excellence- The Pea coat. This week continues with the sea faring theme. Indeed not only is the Breton, which originated as a working top for Brittany fishermen, synonymous with the sea but it has also become a metaphor for all things French. Like the English bowler hat or the US cowboy boot it’s impossible to disentangle said item of clothing with the place of its birth; when we think of the Breton top we picture it alongside onions, berets, bicycles and the dodgy accents of ‘Ello Ello’.

Pellcicano guest reviewer Rick Thomas get to grips with the grooves of a modern authentic soul 45:

"Every once in a while a record comes out that blows you away, this is one of those. from the opening drum beat my feet were tapping and head was nodding to the rhythm! Then Tamika's voice came in, this is a singer with a real soul voice, the sound grabs you and shakes you up, pure passion."

Author, fashionista and friend of Pellicano Paolo Hewitt kindly gave us 5 minutes from his writing schedule to have a chat.

"Was sat in a library thinking about Ronnie Lane when the phone rang. It was Mick, head of Pellicano Menswear. He wanted to know what I thought about popover shirts. I knew only one, that worn by Jagger on Ready Steady Go. ‘There are others,’ he told me. Let me send you some pics.’

A Ghost in the Machine

A review of 'Dread Times' - the latest album from Dreadzone.

All the nice girls love a sailor

And rightly so. Of all the services the navy has to be the most sartorially starred. Sure, the army have kitted out the men’s wardrobe with desert boots, fish-tail parkas and khaki chinos- all indispensable style classics for the modern day modernist. Those magnificent men in their flying machines have bombed us with combat jackets, aviator shades and er, pipes. However, neither holds a ship’s candle to the effortless elegance of the jolly Jack Tar.

A Review of 'Jazz Festival' - Jim Marshall (Reel Art Press 2016)

As the British winter deepens and we clamour for our pea coats and scarves, the sun-kissed pages of Jazz Festival take you to somewhere warmer and rather more exotic.

Question & Answer Session with Steve Cradock

(courtesy of Ocean Colour Scene) - for OCS December UK Tour details see below:

Steve Cradock takes time out whilst on tour with The Specials to answer questions from Ocean Colour Scene fans from the comfort of The Specials jacuzzi at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall...

The Baker Boy cap, said to be a combination of the 14th century Scots bonnet and Irish flat cap, became inextricably linked with working class culture. Not just baker/newsboys but Dockers, steel workers and costermongers wore its utilitarian style with pride. However, it also crossed the classes, becoming a firm favourite among the upper class sportsman and newly emerging topless motorists. A classless classic of the 1920’s only to face its decline in the need to emulate the brilliantine movie stars of the silent screen.

Mr. Tim Vickery - Friend of Pellicano demonstrates how long a 'Long Hot Summer' should be!!


Summer’s light is dwindling in Britain, but as it does so the flame grows brighter and warmer in Brazil and therefore the time is right for making lists of my favourite songs from my favourite season.

Brogues: The shoes that keep on giving

To me the ultimate do-anything shoe has to be the brogue: the shoe which has its roots in the footwear of Irish and Scottish agricultural labour- brogue or brog means shoe in Gaelic. A shoe with class; a shoe with style; a shoe to fall in love with.

“The past isn’t dead. It’s not even past”. William Faulkner.

The difficultly of an art form that consciously adopts the styles and concerns of a by-gone era is that at best it can be seen as a nostalgic homage (a stance which has all the emotional resonance of an 1980’s Levi’s ad) and, at worse, something worthy of satire. After all, shouldn’t we be always searching for the new, the relevant, the now.

A Fresh Look at Weller's Greatest Modernist Incarnation (?)

By Mr Tim Vickery - South American football correspondent for the BBC & friend of the Pellicano Funksters!

Menabrea is a brand built on passion, craft, integrity and true Italian authenticity; we are the oldest continuously producing brewery in Italy.

A film review of Tubby Hayes – A Man In A Hurry’ – narrated by actor and Hayes fan Martin Freeman (produced by

The Story of Franco Franco recently flew in from Italy. Cool, collected and very stylish. A contemporary, highly tailored take on the

by Flash Harry “It is only shallow people who do not judge by appearances. The true mystery of the world is the

Featuring: Dexys, Bobby Parris, Kamasi Washington and David Bowie The latest in our series of ‘Top Tens’ brings MrPaolo Hewitt (Author of

Elizabeth, Peter and Me: The Story of a Gems Heist, Grave Robbing and Bingo! The first solo novel by Mark Baxter –

Groovesville USA – The Detroit Soul and R&B Index, by Keith Rylatt. A critical appreciation from D. Swift Esq My very good

A Modern Classic ‘Electric Blend’ by The Family Silver (released Friday 6th November) When I first heard about this project I couldn’t

“Detroit ‘67”: the story of Motown in the year that the Motor City burned January ‘67 in Detroit brought some of the