Photo: Michael Hussey (YoughalOnline.com)

Members of the South East Scooters from Waterford and members of the Cork City Mod scene on their Vespas and Lambrettas stopped off in Youghal on their monthly ride out. Mods use motorscooters for transportation, usually Vespas or Lambrettas. Scooters had provided inexpensive transportation for decades before the development of the mod subculture. Mods stand out in the way that they treated the vehicle as a fashion accessory. Italian motorscooter are preferred, due to their cleanlined, curving shapes and gleaming chrome. For young Mods, Italian scooters are the “embodiment of continental style and a way to escape the working-class row houses of their upbringing”. They customized their scooters by painting them in “two-tone and candyflake and overaccessorized with luggage racks, crash bars, and scores of mirrors and fog lights”, and they often put their names on the small windscreen.

While the mod style has been around for some 40 odd years, it is constantly being updated by the next generation of Mod youth. The stylish suits like Ben Shermin and Fred Perry shirts are still a staple of Mod dress but new brands and clothing have cropped up. Mods today, in their quest too look as sharp as possible are wearing adidas, kangalo, any style of clothing that is “the next big thing”. Track suits, vespa, lambretta, and vintage clothing are all in style now too. 

Please click on image below to start slideshow of Mods in Youghal including pictures from last years visit.