"Originally involved in Acme on King's Road which along with Westwood and McLaren's shop SEX, clothed most of the early punks. John Krevine went on to open Boy in 1977 with is bondage gear and T-Shirts, gaining immediate notoriety with his shock value window display and inevitable prosecutions. Despite its punk roots the shop-cum-label soon became a mainstay of the high street boom with the Boy logo becoming the most bootlegged name of the decade."
I'm almost positive I became aware of BOY LONDON fromt he "Bogeys" catalog...which i ordered from the back of "Smash Hits"....It was an amazing catalogue of all kinds of Punk/Goth/Teddy Boy loks my little american heart always longer for...Brothel Creepers...Bondage pants...and also BOY London...I guess it was also my first run in with branding...and in this case I LOVED it...add in the fact that my icon at the time {and in some ways FOREVER} Boy George wore it...i was sold!!!! I did some reseach with Pre-internet was NOT EASY and found a shop in Jersey that sold it...So I got a tee and a hat and wore both until they either were lost or stolen....there also used to be a BOY store on Spring street in NYC...after awhile it only sold watches but i remeber going in there and just being in awe...It was just so bold and iconic...something about it just engrained itself witin me.....Recently I went to London and bought a new T-shirt and In my flea market searches have also found an original BOY belt buckle!!!!! So my small collection grows....
Simple...Sexually ambiguious....{or perhaps very sexualy forward}...stylish and timeless....
XOXO
P.S I STILL want some "BOY" suspenders!!!!!
I remember being the only punk/goth/darkwave kid on my Indian Reserve in the middle of Buttfuck nowhere, northern Canada,back in '84 & buying shit outta the Bogey's catalogue from the UK!! Good times! I was the hippest dude back then, and now!...(Still wear creepers to this day!)
ReplyDeleteHello - what a BIZARRE coincidence to end up on this blog just two days after above commenter, wolfchild!
ReplyDeleteI landed on this page in searching for anything about the 1980s Bogeys catalogue, which I too remember so well from my youth! I saw The Damned last night [they were EXCELLENT] and reminiscing about Dave Vanian's look over the years made me think of Bogeys.
Every few years when I think of it, I try to find someone online who remembers the catalogue and perhaps posted pics. Never happens. I am SURE that I still have mine somewhere in storage. What a prized possession that was! I recall punching holes in it and putting it into a little blue binder. Somewhere, in a box, it must still there. I have faith that it is!
I grew up in Southern California and have lived in England for the last ten years - certainly drooling over photos of creepers and plaid bondage trousers in the mid-80s, I never could have guessed that I'd someday be living in the land from where it all came. :D It is moments like this when I remember how lucky I am.
Maybe I should begin a Bogeys Appreciation Blog? We three can not be the only ones to remember them and their impact on our lives!
Cheers