BBC4's 'Oh You Pretty Things'

The story of music and fashion; precisely what this programme is about.

Whilst giving a small overview of trends and popular looks throughout the decades of the 1960's and 1970's, I feel that this programme focuses mostly on the bands and artists that helped create this popular trend through interviews and genuine video footage. For instance, BBC have named the band 'The Small Faces' as one of the reasons why Mod became a desired look. Personally, I would have preferred to have seen more about how this subculture became, but I found it interesting to see how regular people were able to purchase the look as I am aware that post-war Britain didn't allow for accessible and affordable clothing until then.

Throughout, it gave subtle nods towards the obvious trends of the subculture and although this would be insightful if you were to watch this programme not knowing anything about the overall look that these subcultures were wearing, I didn't find it depthly enough having previously studied fashion subcultures. For example, there was mention of 'Desert boots', 'tight trousers', 'sharp collars' and 'buttoned shirts' but little more about what gave the look the cool factor such as hairstyles and attitude. I would have also liked to have seen about the transition between subcultures and new bands and music genres. How did popularity grow? How did opinions change?

A lot of my interest lies in men's fashion and I did find this programme helpful into understanding the inspirations behind some of the original bands. However, I question whether a fashion book would have been more informative. A fashion documentary shows genuine footage and imagery, whilst a book can give information that a programme wouldn't mention as it would be considered boring to watch. Definitely something that I will be considering when I'm researching!

Here I've found a page in the book '50 Years of Everyday Fashion' which focuses on the mid 1960's. Whilst 'Oh You Pretty Things' interviewed BIBA designer Barbara Hulanicki about how she influenced women's street style, the book has no mention of her. You would think a larger paragraph would have been written about the reasoning behind what BBC4 believe influenced the whole Nation and their style and this leads me to ponder which is the most informative source.