We’ve been rocking out to this jam like crazy this summer! Ever since it caught the attention of our ear drums while watching the epic film “I, Tonya”, we just can’t get enough!
Hopefully you won’t be able to either.
Lets help give Sir Cliff Richard the resurgence he deserves!
Until next time,
{theEye}
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Don’t forget XIXIXI gets you 25% OFF in the {SHOP} with FREE SHIPPING in Canada.
“The Stroll” was a slow rock n roll dance popular into the mid to late 1950s embraced by cool teens across America. Classic concept: boys on one side, girls on the other – the paired up couples then strut their stuff down the line. A precursor to the iconic Soul Train Line … we can’t help feel something spooky watching these teens slowly glide down the line in one of the original “strolls” captured on television.
Getting major Lynch vibes here . . . not sure exactly what it is? Perhaps it’s their eerily slow movements, and often times, complete lack of expression. Maybe its the grainy quality of the video and wondering where exactly this was filmed – the atmosphere is so strange.
But most definitely the fact that all this is but mere memory, and who knows what became of these kids or where they are now…
We might never know.
But we’d love to know what you thought, so leave a comment below!
When it comes to bad ass boho gods, I’m sure we could all name a few; but very little do I ever see the name Caetano Veloso pop up, and this is for us….OUTRAGEOUS!!!
We should be worshiping this icon of perseverance, elegance, rebellion, philosophical contemplation, compassion, counter culture, and activism. . .
Very few bohemian icons really get the credit they deserve when discussing men’s style . . . the mainstream would rather iconize GQ demi-gods Tom Brady or Ryan Gosling, and that’s all fine and dandy, but when it comes to that elicit feeling of cool. . . boho gods cannot be beat; and Brazilian tropicalia folk rock artist Caetano Veloso is on the top of our list!
Bad ass to the core, Veloso’s music touched a generation in the heart of Brazil with his inciting lyrics and enchanting melodies that brought a fusion of traditional Brazilian sound with psychedelic rock and folk helping create the “tropicalisimo” movement alongside best friend Gilberto Gil, Os Mutantes, and other bold and innovative artists of the time.
First premiering in 1965, fresh in Rio De Janeiro, Caetano won a lyrics competition for his composition “Um Dia”, getting him signed to Phillips Records. Two years later he received a standing ovation for his song “Alegria, Alegria” at the Brazil Popular Music Festival, marking the first time rock n roll music was ever played at the festival.
Him and his psych rock buddies were pioneers for a new sound, a new world, a new way of being; however, the powers that be would do anything they could to stop this burgeoning. Marxist students and communist supporters condemned the music for commercializing Brazilian culture, and incorporating musical influences from the United States.
The tensions between the Tropicalistas and the student left peaked in September 1968 with Veloso’s now-legendary performances at the third annual International Song Festival, held at the Catholic University in Rio, where the audience included a large contingent of students who were vehemently opposed to the Tropicalistas. When Veloso (backed by Os Mutantes) performed in the first round of the Festival’s song competition on 12 September, he was initially greeted with enthusiastic applause, but the situation soon turned ugly. Dressed in a shiny green plastic suit, festooned with electrical wires and necklaces strung with animal teeth, Veloso provoked the students with his lurid costume, his sensual body movements and his startling new psychedelic music, and the performers were soon being bombarded with loud insults, jeers and boos from the students, who became even more incensed when American pop singer John Dandurand made a surprise appearance on stage during the song.
Tensions would hit an all time high when he and his buddy Gilbert Gil were actually arrested in February of 1969 for little to no reason, and held in prison for three months, followed by four months of house arrest. Brazil’s military dictatorship which held the country under its grips until 1985, further had many and most of his songs banned or censored.
“… if you are the same in politics as you are in aesthetics, we’re done for!”
-Caetano Veloso
The two were exiled from the country for over a year, and spent most of their time in the dark and gloomy dims of London, England. However, by 1972 the pair were allowed back into the country quickly returning to their musical careers that have since landed Veloso 9 Latin Grammy’s and a Grammy for World Music Album in 2000.
Here at The Eye of Faith we always have great respect for people who stand for something. After all, if you don’t stand for something, you stand for nothing! And Caetano Veloso definitely exemplifies this.
Never fearing the opposition, never backing down on his own sense of self; apart from his penchant for wildly magical psych rock stylings, it is his character that truly makes this man an E.O.F. STYLE IDOL.
“I TALK too much…Everybody from Bahia is like this. We are always touching each other, too. We are a bit too much.”
-Caetano Veloso
Let us not forget this beautiful bohemian God and his willingness to stand for freedom, for beauty, and to live life to the fullest!
“Alegria means joy, or joyousness… It is the best-known song of any that I have written, and it was the opening song of tropicalismo, the first to use rock-and-rollish electric guitars. Whenever I sing it, it is just like the Rolling Stones singing ‘Satisfaction.’ It was the first anthem. It’s an affirmation-of-life kind of song, but it has an ironical hint to it.”
The song begins, “I’m walking against the wind, without handkerchief or documents in my pockets,” and ends with a chorus of “Why not?”
It’s about being able to walk and be alive and be real and feel the sun…It was against the dictatorship without saying anything about it. And everybody likes that ‘Why not?’ at the end.”
“They didn’t imprison us for any song or any particular thing that we said…It was a difficult atmosphere for them to understand, so they thought, ‘We might as well put them in prison.’ ”
All the young dudes (I want to hear you)
Carry the news (I want to see you)
Boogaloo dudes (and I want to talk to you all of you)
Carry the news
– All the Young Dudes, Mott the Hoople {written by David Bowie}
The band Mott the Hoople are all Gods of Glam in our eyes; and we weren’t the only ones who see that! In fact, the King of the Gods of Glam himself practically initiated them into the cult with this 1972 cult hit penned by the master himself.
Bowie also offered the band “Suffragette City” after learning the band was on the brink of breaking up just at the verge of their success.
They went through several names for themselves including The Doc Thomas Group, The Shakedown Sound, and the Silence – but it was the 1966 novel, Mott the Hoople, by Willard Manus that truly stuck.
It’s been 5 years since we first began this online source of high quality time traveled vintage clothing and style inspiration we ended up calling The Eye of Faith. November 11, 2011 was a very lucky year to begin a new endeavour according to numerology sources, and with that in mind, and our mind set on success we published our first articles online, and began searching the globe for our unique vintage clothing pieces that make up our collection today.
People often ask us: “What does The Eye of Faith mean?”
The Eye of Faith is definable in many contexts. It is a very ancient symbol that has been burned into our subconscious as humans – Oculata Fides is represented by an eye in the sky watching over us, and us in turn keeping our heart and mind centred on that eye; the eye represents our goals and wants, and as much as we keep our eye on those things fleeting and floating in the sky/mind, our dreams are also watching out for us. Keeping these two aspects symbiotic is the key. Having faith in yourself and your destiny will always turn up fruitful, and the accomplishments we have achieved in just this first five years prove to us that we weren’t off base when conceptualizing our brand and keeping this philosophy a cornerstone of its foundation.
On a basic level we have a keen eye, and faith in our dreams; thus, The Eye of Faith was born!
Everyone talks about rock these days; the problem is they forget about the roll.
-Keith Richards
So, with that in mind, we have chosen a brand new Style Idol to add to our altars!
A beautiful being brought unto this Earth by Gods of rebellion and bad assness. He has been an ultimate icon for us for many years, and its taken us a while to get the time to truly showcase his style savvy salaciousness.
This is the rock ‘n’ roll life, and you had to invent it as you went along. There was no textbook to say how you operate this machinery.
-Keith Richards
I mean some doctor told me I had six months to live and I went to their funeral.
-Keith Richards
We are talking Rolling Stones bad boy Keith Richards!
Such style and such un-grace. If you pay close attention, you will notice many musicians and male celebrities have begun heavily taking from this particular style spirit, which means you can too!
If you’re going to kick authority in the teeth, you might as well use both feet.
-Keith Richards
Don’t be shy! Also, boys and girls alike can summon the vibrations of Mr. Richards with ease; the most important aspect you must wear with it is the attitude. If you don’t have it? Fake it ’till you make it!
Nothing is as rad as showing up for your day, and the world clamouring at your style-wise armour.
About myself I have no great illusions. I know what I am. I know what I’m good at. I know what I ain’t.
-Keith Richards
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Stay wise and keep your eye on that long winding road ahead of us all.
We have all been faced with some disturbing realities this week.
Lets not let this mess with the strides we have made.
We have always believed in tracing the links between the {PAST} and the {PRESENT} to help shape the {FUTURE}.
And, if the {PAST} is any indication to what is in store, we need to be strong and resilient and not afraid to back down from who we are at our core.
In the spirit of the dunes we thought this timeless classic could definitely coincide. . .
This is an ode to Black Sabbath, the mystical heavy blues rockers from Birmingham who knew just the way to make their music crawl.
With the use of the occult and horror-inspired lyrics, and one-of-a-kind 1970s rock ‘n’ roll bohemian swag, we are definitely feeling a brotherhood with this unique quartet!
So let your spirit float to this one, kids. It is sure to take you somewhere…
Sincerely,
{theEye}
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Pictures loaded by Graham Young, Birmingham Mail. The first ever picture taken of Black Sabbath taken in 1968 of Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward, on a bank of grass close to Portland Road, Edgbaston. One hundred prints have been made at £495 each. Jim Simpson says: “If any one band can claim to be the originators of Heavy Metal, then that band is Black Sabbath. Strangely, Heavy Metal was not a term used in those days, though Sabbath certainly prided themselves on being heavier than any of their so-called rivals. In fact, their early publicity claimed, Black Sabbath, the Heaviest Band Around. Makes Led Zeppelin sound like a kindergarten house band. Quite how the Sabs changed from being a perfectly good blues band into the musical phenomenon that we all know and love is shrouded in mystery. It all started with Geezer Butler who contributed the bands name as well as many of the songs. Their music developed naturally from then and its hard to indentify exactly what directly preceded it. Hendrix, yes, to a limited extent, but that only partly explains it. Whatever, Black Sabbath are THE Birmingham Rock Band. Ask yourself this. Who is the worlds most famous Brummie? Without doubt, its Ozzy. Also loaded: Jim Simpson at the private launch of Jim Simpson – A Photography Retrospective, an exhibition at Havill & Travis showcasing Jim’s extraordinary collection of photographs from of pop, rock and blues stars from the 1960s. Jim was the first manager of Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. He has run Big Bear Records in Edgbaston for 46 years (to 2014) and founded the 30-year-old Birmingham International Jazz Festival in 1984. Havill & Travis at 14 Lonsdale Road, Harborne, Birmingham B17 9RA. Tel 0121 427 5763. http://www.havillandtravis.com The gallery is a partnership between fiends Dave Travis (left), ex rock photographer turned concert promoter and Mission Print founder Gerv Harvill. Pictures loaded by Graham Young, Birmingham Mail.
We are so excited to announce that we will be costuming “HAIR” at Hamilton Theatre Inc. this May, and for the first time in ages your boys at The Eye of Faith will be gracing the stage as peace-loving, flower-wearing, fringe-flinging New York City hippies during the Summer of Love!
So to celebrate the news, we thought we’d bring back this {MUSIC MINUTE} that we originally posted back in 2012!
We love this performance from the 6.26.1969 episode of “The Mama Cass Show”! Like, the fact that a celebrity like Mama Cass existed and went as far to hosting her own T.V. show is so flipping cool! This performance features Mama Cass herself, Canadian Lady of the Canyon Joni Mitchell and Peter, Paul & Mary’s own Mary Travers. It’s a beautiful song, and they all look beyond great!
Its a great way to kick-off our dive into the rabbit-hole of 60s psychedelic glory, and we can’t wait! We will be posting more inspirations in the days and months to come!
Also in the spirit of The Eye of Faith and our union of the {past},{present}, and {future} check out how remarkable of a parallel it is between the fashion donned by especially Mama Cass and Joni Mitchell align with Chloe’s latest S/S 16 showcase in Paris!
What’s more is that the Claire Waight Keller’s Chloe collection is actual ly an ode to the 90s (after all, 60s bohemian fashions had a bit of a revival in the 90s), so we are actually being treated to quite the smoothie of fashion style, going to show how important it is, and empowering it is to have all eyes open, and take in all we can to create a richer, and ultimately more beautiful life!
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If you haven’t ventured, be sure to check out the depths of our blog by using the side menu where it says ‘BLOG’. From there you can access the dozen+ topics and categories we have covered over the year, and as we like to say, use it to escape your everyday . . .
If you’re a fan of Lookbook, or have ever had the chance to browse the online showcase of individual styles gathered to help foster the “collective fashion consciousness” that Lookbook is all about. While glancing past looks by a self proclaimed Mermaid from Neverland you are bound to stumble across this true one-of-a-kind Prophet of Fashion.
Just when you thought style couldn’t get more exciting or gloriously out-of-control you will meet Andre Judd. Andre treads the lines of dreaming and reality with a panache and attention to detail rivalling some of fashion’s greats. Time and time again, Andre has proved that the art of dressing is as much an art as any.
This type of talent is rare, and very few can achieve his bold unique punch of imagination, virtual reality, and pure abandon. So, naturally we felt the need to connect with the Stylist, Designer, and Fashion Blogger Extraordinaire who answered a few of our questions on life, style, inspiration, and the unique fashion-forward fashion scene of Manila!
Most of all, we felt Andre was the perfect example of what we here at The Eye of Faith are always harping on about and that’s the courage to find inspiration and be your truest self to the highest extent.
“We see something new. Something exciting”
-Andre Judd.
EOF: There seems to be a lot of excitement and intrigue in the world of fashion in the Philippines. What would surprise or excite people most about the Filipino fashion scene?
AJ: Indeed. Every season we see new bright young talents emerge. These designers score high on the critics and fashion press because they have a refined focus on aesthetics as well being commercial.
I think what excites Filipinos about the fashion scene, is that every season it gets better and better. We see something new, something exciting.
EOF:Where would you say the epicentre of Filipino fashion is right now in the Philippines? Any favourite go-to spots?
AJ: Manila is considered the current fashion epicenter, drawing in designers from different parts of the country, as well as Filipino designers based abroad. There are a lot of cool retail shops and boutiques to check out in Manila. Top of my mind is Greenbelt 5, where a few concentrated stores are found selling current collections from my favourite local designers.
EOF: We love how many looks you create, and your undeniable knowledge for style. Who taught you these secrets? God, or deal with the Devil?
AJ: God. Definitely 🙂
EOF: What has been your most important lesson in life when it comes to your own personal brand of style?
AJ: Never say never. It’s my mantra ever since.
EOF: Creating so many complex and detailed looks must be quite the task. What is your secret to staying focused?
AJ: It’s not really hard. I wake up every morning with a strong idea on what I would wear.
EOF: You mix a lot of items one might typically prescribe as masculine or feminine, and it seems once they get the Andre Judd touch, it’s neither. Instead, it’s a whole new brand of cool. What do you call this?
AJ: Some call it non-conventional, others call it androgynous, but I call it post-modern and irreverent 🙂
“Fashion is about change”
-Andre Judd.
EOF: Interesting shapes, textures, and patterns are essential ingredients to your fashion magic. Do you have any tips on incorporating these ideas into one’s everyday style?
AJ: Try playing with shapes, textures, and patterns. For the novice, one can start with just one different detail. Like if you love black, why not play with colour – lets say fuchsia, and combine it with black. If you like wearing block colors, why not try a printed top? It’s the idea of adapting to new things. After all, fashion is about change. You don’t need to sacrifice your style, you just simply like it to evolve 🙂
EOF: You’ve accidentally conjured up an angry spirit who won’t get the hell out of your closet. You want to call the cops, but you know they won’t believe you so you pull out your exorcism kit and go to work. What is the one thing you are hoping to save from your wardrobe?
AJ: Oh my, toughest question ever. I’d pick my accessories box. You can do wonders to your look just by adding a necklace or a brooch.
EOF: What is your favourite vintage find, and why do you think your devils approve?
AJ: Its my Gianni Versace bomber jacket from the 80s. You wouldn’t believe how super cheap I got it. Its my number one treasured find because its real leather, it has chain mail, looks very contemporary, the color of the leather goes with anything, and it gives an instant edge to any look.
EOF: We have received a lot of botched up advice on fashion in our lives, but we have always stayed pure to what is inside. What is the worst fashion advice you’ve ever been given?
AJ: Men shouldn’t wear women’s clothing.
EOF: For us, fashion is definitely an escape, and the style or look we wear is the story being told. You are an expert in storytelling, with a seemingly eternal well of inspiration. With almost 400 looks on LOOKBOOK, dark we ask – do you have a favourite?
AJ: Every new look I post is my favourite.
EOF: Here at The Eye of Faith, we like to think of ourselves as soldiers marching for a better tomorrow. Are there any causes or struggles in your life that you are fighting for?
AJ: I am a huge advocate of Filipino fashion so as much as I can I like to wear Filipino designers in my looks. That way I can help promote their names in the international scene via LOOKBOOK.
EOF: What sort of things can the readers of The Eye of Faith expect from Andre Judd in the future?
