Mohair

by Eva Pasco

In the Sixties there rose the Motown Sound originating from the Motor City of Detroit under Berry Gordy, Jr. A blend of R&B and Pop, strong vocals, and the distinctive sound of the tambourine, drums, and bass guitar put the motion in Motown for artists such as The Supremes, The Miracles, Marvin Gaye, and The Four Tops.

“I Heard it Through the Grapevine” Motown wasn’t the only thing that had its mojo working in the Sixties.  Across the pond where British rockers bowed to the Queen, Carnaby Street hosted the coveted fashion boutiques with all the latest sensations. One retailer who stands out a cut above the rest was John Stephen, a grocer’s son. Ending up a successful entrepreneur who owned several shops, he popularized mohair jackets and suits.

Mohair

Give me a sweater with mohair-- long, shaggy, fluffy mohair

Flaxen, durable, warm, insulating, gleaming, streaming

Mohair, yarn made from the hair of an Angora goat, makes fluffy and shaggy sweaters. An eighth grader at Lincoln Jr. High, I did my utmost to perfect Mod fashions by adding a mohair sweater to my wardrobe. As one of mohair’s unique properties is its ability to take on dyes, just letting you know my sweater was bright aqua. As that garment alone would not have made a sufficient fashion statement, I also wore my white go-go boots.  During that same time frame, most of us girls wore dangling wooden earrings before the principal banned such distractions. However, I continued to wear my clunky wooden bracelets and bold rings, in tribute to Ringo, no doubt.

A rather warm weave, mohair could actually be worn trekking the Mojave Desert where winter month temperatures dip below 20 degrees F on valley floors, and below 0 degrees F at higher elevations.

Needless to say, wearing mohair in the Sixties wasn’t about insulation from the cold, but keeping up with Carnaby Street’s hottest Mod fashions on Main Street, USA.