Men's File + Clutch

Covering the vintage scene in Japan, the USA and Europe Men's File features denim and work-wear, hot rods and classic cars, custom motorcycles, surfing, architecture, art and design. It's about real people doing real things with vast amounts of style. This is a 100% English language publication of 144 pages that comes in a single wrapper with special edition of Clutch magazine (approx. 200 pages). This special edition of Clutch focuses on the leading personalities within the world of vintage-style, their environments, collections and personal take on clothing and wider apparel. Clutch is a Japanese language magazine with well-written English subtitles.

Frequency: 2 times each year (June/ July and Dec / Jan).

Price for the two magazines in one wrapper.

The Scooter Issue

The world of the scooter is a complex one as these ubiquitous machines continue, after at least 70 years as a distinct sub-set of motorcycle design, to fulfil their original role of transporting one or two (sometimes more) persons short distances in a relatively fast and efficient manner. Found across Europe and Asia, the concept of small wheels with underpowered engines never really took off in the USA – although Vespa, Lambretta and Honda made attempts on the market. That doesn’t mean that smaller wheels didn’t make their mark in the States. Assuming we define the Super Cub as a bona fide ‘scooter’ there was a memorable mention from America by the Beach Boys in Little Honda and a stylish glimpse of The Monkees riding Honda CA100s over sand dunes in an episode of their 1966-68 TV show. Nevertheless, to most people the highpoint of the scooter was in Italy and Britain in the post-war epoch. In this issue of Men’s File we explore the reach of modern-day scooter culture from the alleyways of Nagoya to the piazzas of Milan, and introduce the stylish people who keep scootering relevant. Often initiated by a the briefest of encounters with some element of scootering, the hipster or purist takes a similar route to the same destination. Such an observation on the nature of inspiration prompts a multitude of questions on the glimpse.

The Theory of the Glimpse

There are few readers of this publication who will not have been moved, in terms of style and aesthetic choices, due to a fleeting glance of an object such as a car, pair of shoes or some perfectly cut jeans in a classic movie. Or perhaps an emotional button has been pressed when flicking through a magazine on a news-stand. You know the routine, an unexpected image appears, the eye blinks a few times, but the brain has no time to process its significance. There’s a delayed reaction and that momentary look, that is cut short by an immediate failure to recognise the importance of the content, can later influence a sensitive individual’s entire appreciation of style. Naturally, this can equally happen in the street. Picture yourself standing on the Sunset Strip in the mid-1980s. The roar of a barely baffled shovelhead breaks your reverie and a chopper flies past. The rider wears old greasy jeans, boots and a cut-off denim jacket and is bare-chested. His long and partially matted hair blows in the wind. Then, gone. The entire event taking less than 10 seconds. You know nothing of the individual and any comprehension of detail was impossible. One week later and back in England, you resolve to only travel by motorcycle. Six months later the grease is gradually soaking into your denims and you are riding a big twin. Your life has changed forever. Such experiences are all part of the private world of the collector and street-stylist for whom the need to share their discoveries with the mainstream world is almost non-existent. However, fortunately for Men’s File, those rare and inspired people are prepared to allow our readers to gaze, sparingly, at their personal realms of style and endeavour. This is the territory of the glimpse, in which an entire life can be turned on its head after the first sighting of an elegant grandfather on a frame-breather Lambretta negotiating the road up the Rome’s Colosseum on a balmy summer evening. If, at this point, you are confused, then you are probably new to the idea that for certain outsiders, style is everything. But fear not. We are a happy bunch here and new friends are always welcome.

Nick Clements (Editor-in-Chief)