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POLKA DOTS AND STRIPES | PHOTO DESCRIPTIONS

POLKA DOTS AND STRIPES: Unusual Fashion Choices of 1965. A photo album featuring John Lennon wearing an assortment of polka dot and striped shirts. For reasons unknown, in 1965, polka dots and stripes held quite an appeal for John, as it seemed he made that fashion statement on numerous occasions during this time period. Here, I have brought together a collection of photos to illustrate this fact. Enjoy! ~ladyjean

1: The Sensitive Type: Here John Lennon wears a trendy (at the time!) basic white shirt with black polka dots. This photos comes from a photo shoot that took place at John’s home in Kenwood.

2: Here John seems to be asking: Is there something wrong with polka dots? A nice closeup of John Lennon (looking a little surly) from a 1965 photo session taken at his home in Kenwood in 1965.

3: Polka Dot Smile. Here John Lennon looks pleasant enough as he poses in a casual white shirt with black polka dots in a 1965 photo session taken at his home in Kenwood in 1965. Even though this photo is not of the best quality, you can see the freckles on his arms (a fact that many photos of John do not reveal).

4: Polka Dot Hip: A sophisticated look for John Lennon in 1965, a while shirt with black polka dots under a black suit jacket. The Beatle makes his hip look complete with a pair of very cool sunglasses.

5: Casual Stripes: One of John Lennon’s other fashion choices in 1965 was stripes. Here John poses in a casual white sweater-shirt with red and black stripes. This photo was part of a photo session at John’s home in Kenwood that produced a famous cover shot for Cosmopolitan magazine.

6: The Sporty Beatle (not really, ha ha): Another photo from the Cosmopolitan photo shoot which took place at John’s home in Kenwood. This is a very unusual fashion choice for John Lennon, as he was not the sporty type in the least. This was also the time frame in 1965 that John was slightly overweight and quite uncomfortable about many aspects of his personal life. Regardless, this is a lovely photo, showing John’s extreme good looks even under difficult circumstances and conditions.

7: Rockin’ Stripes: Although the most well-known photo of John Lennon from this photo session in 1965 appeared on Cosmopolitan magazine, here is another one of the sporty stripe shirt photos as it was seen on Rockin’On magazine. A rather odd choice of cover photo, as the rock ‘n’ roll image of the time and a knit sport shirt didn’t quite seem to gel (not to mention that this probably wasn’t the most flattering photo from the bunch!)

8: Relaxing in 1965: John Lennon relaxes in a patio chair wearing a casual outfit of striped knit shirt and black pants. Note his trademark Beatle boots. It is clear from John’s expression in this photo that he was doing his best to cooperate with the photographer, although it might not have been one of his “better” days.

9: Hanging Out Stripes: This photo of John Lennon was taken backstage at a concert venue during the Beatles’ American summer tour of 1965. Here John is wearing casual white pants, a striped knit shirt and a sporty jacket (and his trademark Beatle black boots).

10: Arriving In Stripes: John Lennon gets off a plane during the Beatles’ American summer tour of 1965. Wearing casual white pants, a horizontal-striped knit shirt and a contrasting multi-vertical-striped sport jacket (note his trademark black Beatle boots and hip sunglasses).

11: John Lennon’s Striped Jacket: A photo of John during one the stops on the Beatles’ American summer tour of 1965. He’s wearing a multi-striped sport jacket over a basic black tee-shirt. A very groovy, casual look for a busy pop star on the move.

12: Studio Stripes: At London’s Abbey Road Studios in 1965, John Lennon pauses for a photo in casual white pants and a black and white horizontal striped lightweight sweater. He’s still sporting his trademark Beatle boots and cool shades.

13: Take That! (In Stripes): At London’s Abbey Road Studios in 1965, John Lennon (left) makes a “digital” statement to the photographer. John is again wearing casual white pants and a black and white horizontal striped lightweight sweater. Ringo Starr (center) and Paul McCartney (far right) look on.