Rocksteady & Reggae Icons, and How to Recreate the Look

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Listening to Dawn Penn’s classic rocksteady hit You Don’t Love Me (No No No) on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I found myself searching for images of her out of pure curiosity.

Someone with such a stylish sound simply had to have an equally stylish — or at least distinctive — dress sense. Google images proved I wasn’t far off the mark. Though there isn’t an abundance of images out there, over the years Penn’s style seems to vary from an exotic glamour to a kind of rebel punk:

This got me thinking about Jamaican dancehall fashion as a whole — a style rarely touched upon by Western fashion media. Of course the most obvious designer to have been influenced by such styles is Gwen Stefani’s label L.A.M.B. which — alongside Harajuku and The Great Gatsby — cites ‘rasta’ fashion as one of it’s major influences.

However, I’m not terribly interested in Stefani’s version of Jamaican fashion, which, playing on the stereotypical red-yellow-green colour scheme, largely reduces it to a motif. I’m more interested in what the original reggae/rocksteady stars of the sixties and seventies wore. Following a little research, here’s some of the best looks from the leading ladies of reggae:

The Gaylettes
Joya Landis
Judy Mowatt

Marcia Griffiths
Phyllis Dillon
Susan Cadogan
What with spring/summer 2011’s orientalist, exotic take on fashion (see Louis Vuitton and Prada’s SS11 collections and this Too Gallant post), there’s never been a more appropriate season to work Jamaican rocksteady chic into your wardrobe. Style it right, and you’ll have a far more original and eye-catching festival/poolside look than the tried-and-tested denim cutoff and white tee combo. Here’s one wearable rocksteady inspired look:

P.s. — it may seem a little early to start thinking about high summer styles, but I guess fashion is all about thinking ahead these days. We’re already pouring over NEXT WINTER’S looks what with the Pre-Fall having just been released, after all!

I also figured a little daydreaming of bright blue skies and sandy feet might ease the January blues a little…

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