Bottoms Up

1970s, alistair cowin, Big Scene, Dorothy Perkins, gillian richard, gladrags, Guy Cross, Honey Magazine, Inspirational Images, Jacqmar, Miss Impact, ossie clark, radley, ravel, Rodger Bass, Russell & Bromley, Shelana, Titfers, Toto, Vintage Editorials
Deep purple Polyester button-through romper suit, Dorothy Perkins, £3.95 (79s.); rust and blue rose patterned cotton mixture vest, Toto, £6.25 (£6 5s.); purple panne velvet plumed cloche, Titfers, £8. / Pillar-box red cotton jersey and Vincel dungarees, trimmed with yellow, £7, and bright sun-shine high-necked shirt, £5, both by Alistair Cowin. / Brick and rust moon-in-orbit sweater, Toto, £4.50 (£4 10s.); calico midi skirt with coloured nursery print border, Alistair Cowin, £8; beige suede ankle strap shoes, Ravel, £3.99 (£,3 19s. 9d.); dolls’ house patterned cloche, Titfers, £1.75 (35s.). / Scarlet jersey pinafore dress with yellow appliqued apples, Rodger Bass, £9.50 (£9 10s.); tangerine, blue and purple striped sweater, Miss Impact, £4.20 (4 gns.). / Dusty pink Acrylic jacquard jacket, £5.25 (5 gns.), and matching gauchos, £3.50 (£3 10s.), both by Gillian Richard; red panne velvet Wee Willie Winkle hat, trimmed with an apple, Titfers, £4.20 (4 gns.).

At last we’ve reached the bottom – the latest erogenous zone to be limelighted by shiny shorts, skin-tight jumpsuits and all kinds of sexy bum-huggers.

Interesting to note the dual pricing as the UK adjusted to decimalisation, and also that the Radley outfit in the photo below is actually an Ossie Clark design (I’ve seen it pop up with the Ossie for Radley label) but wasn’t properly credited as such.

Photographed by Guy Cross.

Scanned from Honey, March 1971.

Navy and scarlet polka dot cotton boiler suit, Alistair Cowin, about £4; plain pink suede boots, Biba, £8.97½ (£8 19s. 6d.). / Shiny pink cotton satin dungaree shorts, £6.50 (£6 10s.), and multi-coloured cotton nightsky printed shirt with drawstring neck, £9, both by Gladrags; sheer pink tights, Twiggy, £1; wine wedge-heeled shoes, Russell & Bromley; purple silk headscarf, Jacqmar, £2.37½ (47s. 6d.). / Slippery royal blue satin acetate shorts with bib top and scarlet satin patch pockets, Shelana, `£5.25 (5 gns.); red and blue running vest, Syndica, £3.15 (3 gns.); shiny pink tights, Twiggy, £1; wine suede wedge-heeled shoes, Russell & Bromley; burgundy silk scarf, Jacqmar, £2.37½ (47s. 6d.). / Ritzy yellow moss crêpe fitted jacket and black skirt with red, yellow and black inverted pleats, Radley, £14; black peep toe shoes, £4.99 (99s. 9d.). / Lilac and grape shady lady printed jersey pinafore with lilac shirt top, Big Scene, £8; maroon leather criss-cross sandals, Ravel, £5.97½ (£5 19s. 6d.).

Coats of Many Colours

1970s, Afghanistan, Boutiques, Eva Sereny, Inspirational Images, Margaret Kimber, meriel mccooey, Meriel McCooey, Shakira Caine, Stock, Vintage Editorials

The fabrics, the hand embroideries, the ornate but cheap jewels and the colourful clothes which seem so exotic in Western eyes are accepted as ordinary and everyday in Afghanistan; but it takes sophisticated know-how to appreciate and capitalise on the exquisite workmanship involved. Their shaggy coats, sold over here by the thousand, are bargains, especially when you consider how much warm cloth coats cost nowadays, and even though the Afghans have still to perfect a way of treating the skins to stop them smelling. They undersell their goods, having little idea of what they are fetching overseas, and they have no set sizing system. In other words, to make their fashion industry commercially viable it needs organisation and expertise. Margaret Kimber, an English girl who recently spent 18 months in Kabul, proved in a small way that this can be done. She turned her home into a workshop, bought bales of fabric, employed local labour to make up her designs and returned with the clothes shown on these pages. We photographed them in Paris on Shakira Caine, a flawless Indian beauty from Guyana, a former Miss World contestant now married to actor Michael Caine. A model before her marriage, she was the sexy girl in the television coffee-bean ad. A selection of these dresses, all different, ranging in price from £28 to £40, as well as jewellery (examples of these are shown on the cover), are available from Stock, 236 Fulham Road, London SW10, and at 131 High Holborn, WC1. Some of them are shown on these pages. The cushions and wall-hangings are from Mohanjeet, 21 Rue Saint-Sulpice, Paris 6.

By Meriel McCooey.

Photographed by Eva Sereny.

Scanned from The Sunday Times Magazine, 17th March 1974.

Toeing the Line

1970s, Dolcis, Elliott, Illustrations, leslie chapman, lilley and skinner, mr freedom, petticoat magazine, Russell & Bromley, Sacha, shoes
Painted peep-toe court shoes, Mr Freedom, W8., £10.75, Quant spotty tights, £1; Russell & Bromley suede bar shoes with peep toe, £12.95. Quant dotty tights, £1. Lilley and Skinner leather and suede lace-ups, £4.99, Quant foot-patterned tights, 95p.; Sacha suede shoes to strap calf-high, £4.99. Mr Freedom tights, 52½p.; Russell & Bromley suede wedge shoes with buckle, £5.25. Mr Freedom tights, 52½p.; Suede sandal all the way up to the knee. Russell & Bromley, £10.45.

Sinuous straps, wedgy heels and an all-time comeback for soft summer suede in any number of wide-eye summer shades. Shoes that daren’t be just practical — not now there’s so much happening in the clothes line above! With the sort of prices shown here, any girl can take out enough insurance to make sure her footwear not only keeps pace with the rest of her wardrobe, but even makes it that much more special as well!

Illustrations by Leslie Chapman.

Scanned from Petticoat, 20th March 1971.

Saxone suede four-bar shoes with clumpie heels, £5.50. Mr Freedom tights, 52½p.; Dolcis suede lace-up-leg shoes, £2.99. Mr Freedom tights, 52½p.; Suede wedge-heeled bar shoes, Lilley and Skinner, £5.50 plus Quant sheer stockings with butterfly emblem, 99p.; Russell & Bromley suede wedge-heeled shoes, lacing above the knee, £11.95. Mr Freedom tights, 52½p.; Suede and leather laced shoes Dolcis, £4.99 with Quant ankle-patterned tights, 95p.; Elliotts suede wedge-heeled ankle-laced shoes, £12.95. Mr Freedom tights, 52p.

Today’s Paper

1970s, 1980s, alice pollock, Inspirational Images, interior design, interiors, Over 21, post modernism, roger stowell
She wears: Vivien Knowland’s paper ‘coolie’ hat, a fan necklace to make as well, and a stripey strapless knitted top by Alice Pollock and Catherine Blair, £20 at 16 Russell Street, London WC2. Paper fan, comes with wooden stand, £5.94 from Ehrman, 123 Fulham Road, London SW3.

Light, bright, plain or pleated, it’s the new way to put colour back into your home and fun into furnishing.

Photographed by Roger Stowell.

Scanned from Over 21 Magazine, April 1979.

Lothars of St. Tropez

1970s, Escalade, Lothars of St. Tropez, mild sauce, Vintage Adverts, Vogue
If you can find these Lothars casuals anywhere else in London, we’ll buy them for you.

Hand-dyed shirts and pants by Lothars of St. Tropez. Shirt: £10.10.0. Pants: £9.10.0. Escalade, 187/191 Brompton Road, Knightsbridge.

Scanned from Vogue, February 1971.

A Legacy of Lace

1970s, art deco, Deco Inspired, Inspirational Images, janet reger, Linda Dagenais, meriel mccooey, Meriel McCooey, Sarah Moon, sunday times magazine, Vintage Editorials
Long beige slip in lace and crepe, £19.50; soft-lined crepe bra, £5.40.

It is not often that they auction old knickers at Christies, but earlier this year the celebrated wardrobe of Heather Firbank went under the hammer, and an integral part of the collection was her exquisite underwear. Heather Firbank, sister of the novelist Ronald Firbank, was famous for her unique, occasionally eccentric clothes, and though most of them now belong to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the highest bid for the underclothes came from the lingerie manufacturer Janet Reger and her husband Peter. They made copies of the pieces they bought, and tomorrow they will be on sale from Bottom Drawer, 33 Southwick Street, London W.2, and by mail order. They are expensive, certainly, but unfortunately the luxury of Twenties underwear no longer comes at Twenties prices. All accessories are from Maria Cavallo‘s shop Dignetts, at Antiquarius, King’s Road, London S.W.3.

Model is Linda Dagenais.

Words and styling by Meriel McCooey.

Photographed by Sarah Moon.

Scanned from Sunday Times Magazine, November 17th 1974.

Oyster satin cami-slip, £25.00.
Black lace slip, £19-50; black lace camisole top, £28.50
Original cami-knickers from Heather Firbank collection (also shown on cover). The seam-for-seam copy costs £19-50.

Unseamly tights

1970s, Barbara Miller, Inspirational Images, ossie clark, pretty polly, Random Ossies in Adverts, Vintage Adverts

Another in my irregular series of random Ossie Clark sightings in adverts. This time a wrap around Cuddly dress, made from a crinkle pleated crepe with satin trim.

I think the model is Barbara Miller.

Scanned from Cosmopolitan, March 1975.

All the pinks

1970s, Browns, Emeline, francois lamy, harpers and queen, Inspirational Images, sonia rykiel
Wide-sleeved jersey coat in pale rose pink; panelled skirt in same jersey, worn slightly longer than the coat ; same colour round-necked sweater; all by Sonia Rykiel; £111, £43 and £34, Browns. Narrow maroon leather belt ; about £6.50. Browns. Wide varnished wicker bangles ; £6 each, Emeline.

Showing your colours: Sonia Rykiel for France goes for all the pinks.

Photographed by Francois Lamy.

Scanned from Harpers and Queen, February 1975.

Aubergine cardigan with lilac band on collar and cuffs ; long lilac sweater with aubergine band at the waist ; wide culottes in aubergine jersey; about £76, £35 and £43; all by Sonia Rykiel; Browns, 27 South Molton St, W1. Ivory and jet octangular bracelets ; £25 each; Emeline, 45 Beauchamp Place, SW3.

Kaffe Fassett’s Peony and Mosaic Bedroom

1970s, horrockses, interior design, interiors, James Mortimer, Kaffe Fassett, sanderson, Vogue

Starting with the pale pink of peonies for the walls, Kaffe Fassett built a room of mosaic and flower patterns. Inside the arch: a bed with Gazebo sheets from the new Horrockses’ Wamsutta range. Oriental carpets from Franses of Piccadilly. Strips of mosaic pattern from Sanderson wallpapers. Paintings, needlework cushion by Kaffe Fassett. The shower cubicle, Tahiti by Leisure, a surprise in a bedroom, but it fits. Horrockses’ towels. Porcelain pots, shells and shell boxes, cane and lacquer furniture. Patchwork quilts.

Photographed by James Mortimer.

Scanned from Vogue, February 1975.

Aloha

1970s, Adrian Mann, clive arrowsmith, Hair and make-up, Inspirational Images, Make-up, Max Factor, pat cleveland, Vogue, yves saint laurent

Gauguin got the message and in every island from Tonga to Tahiti, from Fiji to the Ile des Pins to Hawaii, his pictures come to life with beautiful girls in vivid sarongs, necks encircled with leis . . Here, Gil of Max Factor brings South Sea sun and warmth to the January ’72 face with Moisturized Nouveau Beige Whipped Creme Make-up, Honey Translucent Powder and Pinki Cake Rouge. Adds brilliance of hibiscus flowers to lips with Sunset Rose Lipstick and California Transparent Lip Gloss … and to the eyes with Clear Red Creme Rouge, lots of Transparent Lip Gloss, Grey Automatic Eye Pencil and Black Mascara Wand. Hair by John at Leonard, printed chiffon shawl by Saint Laurent Rive Gauche; earrings by Adrien Mann. Flowers by Pulbrook & Gould.

Model is Pat Cleveland.

Photographed by Clive Arrowsmith.

Scanned from Vogue, January 1972.