'My First Post,' or 'Why Bob Dylan Was the Most Stylish Man of the '60s (Or One of Them)'

My first post is dedicated to Bob Dylan, the king himself

The first thing I want to say is that I believe Bob Dylan was the most stylish man of the '60s (or one of them). That is quite a sweeping statement (Brian Jones had a stunning fur coat/ gilet), but Dylan could really could put together a Modish/Beat outfit like nobody else.

Of course, Dylan is primarily known for his protest music that helped transform the minds of a generation into revolting against the Vietnamese war. This, in turn, spurred on the use of mind-expanding drugs and excessive formations of V signs (something that has recently been resurrected on many Instagrams around the world). He is also later known for his tenderly captivating albums where he moved away from the war, focusing his lyrics on personal experiences. This is seen in '70s songs such as 'Simple Twist of Fate,' a fantastically beautiful song (even if it does depict a brief night involving a hooker). 

But, as we shall soon see, Dylan is a poet not only in his musical ventures, but his stylish ones too. Let us start with my favourite 'Bobby' outfit:

The Shirt and Blazer Combo

His first album, 'Bob Dylan' was released in 1962 and sported a fresh-faced Dylan, before the Wayfarers and silk shirts. 

Young Dylan, harking back to Woody Guthrie, loved flannel shirts, jeans or workwear trousers, and striped, long sleeved t-shirts.

Bob later changes his checked flannel and casual workwear look after Freewheelin', and his style becomes more smarter - his shirts became silk and were usually teamed with blazers and pinstripe trousers. This was maybe (consciously or unconsciously) influenced by the early '60s mod-look that was so popular in London at the time, such as the smart suits worn by the Beatles and the Who in the early Sixties.

Highway 61 Revisited 

I fell in love with this album, twice. After adoring the music,  I bought it on vinyl and fell in love with the cover. Silk shirts are pretty easy to pick up on Etsy, the Asos Marketplace or vintage stalls, but so many of them never seem to be right for me (the pattern is too wild, the colours too bright) and I ended up coming to the conclusion that I could never emulate this style as well as Bob does. Because this is the greatest silk shirt to exist. And he pulls it off so well.                                                                                                                                 Bob really does rock the shirts. Whether it's a casual look, an open-buttoned silk shirt paired with a cool motorcycle tee and some black/brown trousers or a plain (...or polka dot) shirt with a skinny black blazer (as seen below).

                     

Bobby looking dashing in his polka-dot shirt we see him in so often

Coats and Jackets
Dylan also had an incredible collection of jackets and coats. In the early days, he kept his 'Woody Guthrie' image through this camel coloured suede jacket as seen on the famous Freewheelin' album cover, as he poses with the beautiful Suze Rotolo.

For a suede jacket in a similar colour, the best bet is to head to vintage shops or markets. I've seen many beautiful lookalikes in vintage stalls in Camden Market, for example. Bob later evolved into smarter, more stylish - usually black or grey - coats, paired with a plain shirt or a patterned scarf. 

He wore this checked scarf and funnel-neck double-breasted coat combo on the cover of Blonde on Blonde

When Dylan seems to be feeling rebellious (such as when he 'went electric' in 1965, at the Newport Festival) he sometimes pops on a black leather jacket to accentuate the mood. 

Cuban Heeled Chelsea Boots

After Dylan shied away from his Guthrie era, and in turn his brown leather work boots and he began to sport a signature Sixties look. Lately, I've seen a bunch of women, such as Kate Moss, Alexa Chung and the like wearing cuban heels, (otherwise known as 'Beatle Boots'), yet the Sixties and Seventies brought a time where any man could freely wear cubans (and not look like Noel Fielding). And Dylan pulls them off better than anybody else.

Dylan, Chelsea boots and Donovan. Newport Folk Festival, 1965

Cuban heeled chelsea boots are pretty easy to find (I found a pair spitting to Bob's, with the silver zip up the inside on Topshop), and when worn with drainpipe trousers or jeans, they look fantastic. 

Drainpipe Trousers

A humble early Dylan sporting denim jeans

Early Dylan stuck to his folksy down-to-earth look in the early '60s, sporting casual, baggy jeans (and when paired to a checked flannel, a look to give woodcutters a run for their money). Later, smarter Dylan seems to prefer black drainpipe trousers to pair with his blazers and shirt

Beautiful pinstripes...

Waistcoats

Dylan, Dalton and Neil (and waistcoat)

Turtleneck Jumpers

Wayfarers and Messy Hair

Probably the most signature 'Dylan-esque' image, the awesome 'I don't give a fuck' pair of Wayfarers paired with messy bed-hair. Obviously, it looks much better if you grow your hair out. And you smoke...

Anyway, I'm probably going to do a couple of Dylan inspired photoshoots in upcoming posts, with both male and female models.

Thank you for reading!

I do not own any pictures or GIFs unless otherwise stated