A Message to Rudy, Thirty years later

by Jack Newcastle

Friday, 18 July 2008 09:22

Being both a fan of Jerry Lewis and rude boy style – the Jamaican ska look of the sixties notably revived by bands like Madness and The Specials in the seventies – it would seem natural that I would have long taken to the combination of white sock and black loafer. I hadn’t. As a kid, I had raided the local thrift stores for sixties mod and continental suits to emulate my heroes, but as for their footwear of choice, I had this complete psychological block that precluded my venture into that realm. It was one of those styles that I knew looked better on someone else and that if I tried it, the results would be nothing less than disastrous. Like that devil-lock I would sport for about six months in the eighties. I had been thinking Glenn Danzig but it came out…No, it’s too horrible to describe, so let’s just say that even The Misfits would have screamed in terror from that haircut of mine. Over the years, I did take to light colored socks: powder blue, cream, yellow, tan, and even a screaming red, but never white, till this week. My nephew said he was in need of new trousers and I needed to get away from the typewriter for an hour, so on Monday afternoon, I got the car out of the garage and we took a little drive down Queens Boulevard to Macy’s. He picked out a few things to try on and while he did, I picked up a few necessities like t-shirts and socks. Of the latter, Gold Toe were going three pair for twenty-one bucks, but being that I had enough blue and grey, and that I rarely wear brown, I desultorily selected three pair of black.  When my nephew returned from the dressing room, I was in the middle of an epiphany. ‘You know what,’ I said to him. ‘I’m going to try white,’ and he raised his brow. Sure,  Why not?  They were there on the rack, they looked crisp and clean, and what did I have to lose if I didn’t like them? Seven bucks? I had been feeling like I needed to try something new in my wardrobe anyway, and this was a quick and cheap way to do it. Yesterday seemed right for taking them out for a spin. I had some research at the library to perform, but with the heat I was going to go casual: a vintage 50s turquoise short sleeve shirt, the narrow black trousers available through our Kingston 66 line, a pair of black brogues, and, of course, the white socks. As soon I was all rigged out and looking in the mirror, I realized I had been, for all these years, missing out on a really sharp style. With a lift of trouser from shoe, those socks popped - much more than the yellow, much more than the powder blue. I felt jaunty in them. Rude boy cool, and, as such, my second thought was that while the wingtips looked good with them, I might have to go out next week to find a pair that would really mate with this new addition to my wardrobe. Hmmm… Dare I try loafers? We’ll just have to see what’s out there.