Put yourself on show

1970s, biba, Browns, bus stop, crowthers, gillian richard, Inspirational Images, Jean Claude Volpeliere, lee bender, Lena Stengard, miss selfridge, ossie clark, petticoat magazine, quorum, radley, van der fransen, Vintage Editorials, wallis, way in

Gillian Richard print midi with laces from Marshall & Snelgrove Just In, £12.12s. Silver butterfly pendant, £9.9s. and plastic rings, 3s. each, at Biba. Chiffon printed scarf, £5. Browns, W.1. Belt, £4.. Way In. S.W.1.

Don’t waste dresses like these by taking them someplace quiet. Give them all the freedom they want and a lot of personality and more besides. Just for once take something really special and show off!

Model is Lena Stengard.

Styled by Sue Hone.

Photographed by Jean-Claude Volpeliere.

Scanned from Petticoat, December 1970.

Cream and red printed crepe dress by Ossie Clark at Radley, £13.19s. from Quorum, S.W.3. Biba plastic rings, 3s. Cream silk embroidered shawl, 15s., Van-der Fransen, S.W.6. Gilt moth brooch from a selection at Biba, W.8.

Crepe floor-length dress, £9. at Bus Stop, London W.R. Velvet coat with star print, £12.12s., from Crowthers, W.8. Way In tie choker, £1.

Grey satin midi dress, £9.9s., from Biba, W.8. Black lace jacket, £5., Van der Fransen, S.W.6. Way In reversible choker, £2.2s.

Velvet midi dress with ribbons, £16.16s., from main branches of Wallis shops. Miss Selfridge choker, £1.2s.6d. Printed velvet hat with coins, £4.15s. at Way In, London S.W.1.

Gillian Richard striped lures vest with lurex dress, £12., from all branches of Irvine Sellars and branches of Owen Owen. Fringed scarf, £2.8s., from Biba, W.8. Snake belt from a selection at Laurence Corner.

Jaeger’s autumn colours

19 magazine, 1970s, Jaeger, Vintage Adverts

Single-breasted Jersey blazer with rounded lapels over a softly pleated jersey jacquard skirt and washable long-sleeved wool blouse. Blazer £17.50, skirt £11.50, blouse £6.50. Wrap-over jersey skirt and long-sleeved wool blouse worn with a single-breasted jersey jacquard blazer. Skirt £9.50, blouse £6.25, blazer £18.50. All in Young Jaeger’s autumn colours. Jersey hats to match.

Scanned from 19 Magazine, September 1971.

Colouring Up

1970s, Adrian Mann, Browns, cacharel, charles jourdan, Correna, Crochetta, Derber, Dianyk, Escalade, Evelyn Desbrueres, Guy Taplin, Inspirational Images, James Drew, Janet Ibbotson, Janice Peskett, Knits and Leathers, manolo blahnik, Marc Leonard, mary quant, Nigel Lofthouse, Pedro Garcia, platforms, terry de havilland, vanity fair, Vintage Editorials, zapata

Leather platform-soled shoe (left), £17.50; sandal, £17, both from Charles Jourdan, 47 Brompton Road, SW1; tights by Quant, 40p at Peter Robinson, Oxford Circus, W1.

Take a dekko at the accessories screaming their brilliant way across these pages. Nothing quiet, tasteful or ladylike, about them. Hard shocking pinks grating with parrot green, brilliant turquoise, electric blue, and Elvis Presley metallics. Shooting adrenalin into your get-up, so that you go. Hardly the gear to wear if you want to be a lady spy and overlooked.

Photographed by Marc Leonard.

Scanned from Vanity Fair, January 1972.

Bit of a rescan from about ten years ago, when I only seemed to scan the Terry de Havilland boots and the Derber shoes. Anyway, the whole spread is a delight and deserves to be seen. Also, for the millionth time, no I’m not making up magazines. Vanity Fair was a UK publication of the Sixties and Seventies which got absorbed into Honey magazine in the early Seventies. It has nothing to do with the earlier or later American/International magazine of the same name. Presumably as a defunct magazine name in a different country there were no copyright issues. It was also a work of absolute creative bloody genius in this early Seventies period (see the category tag for other scans, including an editorial by Saul Leiter).

_{n.b. I have omitted the image alluded to further down in the black and white section but haven’t edited the word so you can see why I have omitted it. My apologies for any offence caused.}

Boots by Terry de Havilland, £17.50 and £22.50 at Derber, 79 Wardour Street, W1. Tights by Quant, 40p at Peter Robinson Oxford Circus, W1.

Two shoes by Dianyk, both £8.50 at Derber, 79 Wardour Street.

Belt made from hand woven tweeds, by Nigel Lofthouse, about £7.25 from Escalade, Brompton Road, SW3 .

Striped flat shoe by Pedro Garcia, about £6.95 at Derber’s, 79 Wardour Street, W1; sock by Cacharel, £1.70 at Galeries Lafayette, Regent Street, W1. Watch by Gay Designs, £6.95 at Escalade. Knitted glove, £2 Browns, 27 South Molton St, W1

Knitted hat; and shoebag, by Janice Peskett, both £6 at Countdown, 137 Kings Road, SW3. Plastic rings, £1 each at the Adrien Mann boutique, Dickins & Jones, Regent Street, W1.

‘Fifties sunglasses by Correna, £1.25 at D H Evans, Oxford Street, W1 ; pearls from 75p at the Adrien Mann boutique, Dickins & Jones, Regent St, W1; plastic brooch, 50p at Universal Witness, 167 Fulham Road, SW3; plastic bangles, 45p each at the Adrien Mann boutique, Dickins & Jones.

Hand-woven multi-coloured tweed and leather clutch bag by Nigel Lofthouse, £25 at Escalade, Brompton Road, SW3. Striped peep-toe shoe by Mary Quant £5.50 at R.P Ellen, Oxford Street.

Blue tartan shoe on metallic blue platform, £16.50, tweed shoe, £17.75, both by Manolo Blahnik for Zapata, 49 Old Church Street, SW3.

Yellow suede belt with paste umbrella buckle by Guy Taplin, £2.80 at Bourne and Hollingsworth. Striped gloves, £1.45 from Miss Selfridge, Duke Street.

Black knitted pedal-pushers, £5, by Crochetta at Knits and Leathers; black plastic shoes £5.99 at Derber; silver and perspex clutch bag by Nigel Lofthouse, £10 from Escalade.

Wide black buckled belt, £10 from Janet Ibbotson, 9 Pond Place SW3; red and black knitted tie by Evelyn Desbrueres for Gay Designs £7 at Escalade; glasses by Correna, £1.50 at Selfridges.

Purple velvet bow tie, £2.50 at James Drew, Burlington Arcade, SW1. Sunglasses by Correna, £1.50 at D H Evans.

Shoe-bag £1 at Knits and Leathers, 5 Harewood Place, W1; turquoise gloves by Kirgloves, 65p at John Lewis, Oxford Street; turquoise plastic bracelet, 77½p at Selfridge, Oxford Street.

Wear it with flare

19 magazine, 1970s, anjelica huston, Bob Richardson, bus stop, C&A, Dolcis, gordon king, lee bender, McCaul, mr freedom, Phyllis Collins, R. P. Ellen, ravel, Sheraton, sheridan barnett, simon massey, stirling cooper, universal witness

Single-breasted blanket check coat, £21.50. Black corduroy peddle-pushers, £5.95. Both by Lee Bender at Bus Stop. Nylon socks, from Mr. Freedom, 60p. Black suede high-heeled peep-toes, by R. P. Ellen, £5.95. Net veil with poppies, from Fenwicks, £1.45.

Swagger around this autumn in one of the most dramatic coats ever. Gone are skimpy shapes, instead there’s a swirling full-cut look, strongly reminiscent of the ‘Fifties. Back comes the walking-out coat and the ‘jigger jacket’. Big checks —the bigger the better—are hot news. Striped ankle socks and tarty high heels complete this new look.

Model is Anjelica Huston.

Photographed by Bob Richardson.

Scanned from 19 Magazine, October 1971

Mainly blue all-wool plaid swagger coat with inverted back pleat and tabs on cuffs and shoulders, from C&A, £14.95. Plaid peddle-pushers, by Phyllis Collins at Stirling Cooper, £6. Striped socks, from Mr. Freedom, 60p. Black suede peep-toe, sling-back shoes with rust insets, from Dolcis, £4.99.

Yellow and black check coat in pure new wool, by Stirling Cooper/Sheraton*, £19.95. Black wool gaberdine peddle-pushers, by Gordon King, £7. Woolly socks, from Mr. Freedom, 90p. Black suede and patent heels, by Ravel, £5.50.

*Coat is an Antony Price design for Stirling Cooper. With thanks to Sheilagh Brown for the information.

Floppy red wool coat with red and white tartan patch pockets, collar and yoke, from Mr. Freedom, £20. Black wool gaberdine peddle-pushers, by Gordon King, £7. Green and white socks from Mr. Freedom, 60p. Black suede high heels, from R. P. Ellen, £5.95.

Striped sweater, by Phyllis Collins for Stirling Cooper, £4-50. Grey wool peddle-pushers with turn-ups, £5-25. Fur fabric swagger jacket, £14.95. Both by Lee Bender at Bus Stop. Stripey nylon socks, from Mr. Freedom, 60p. Brown suede high heels, by Ravel, £5-50.

Navy blue and pillar box red fur fabric three-quarter-length coat with patch pockets, by Sheridan Barnett for Simon Massey, £13.95. Black corduroy peddle-pushers, by Lee Bender at Bus Stop, £5.95. Socks, from Mr. Freedom, 60p. Black suede high-heeled shoes, from Ravel, £5.99.

Striped polo neck acrylic sweater, by McCauls, £2.60. Rust wool jigger coat, by Lee Bender at Bus Stop, £15.95. Tight wool plaid peddle-pushers, by Phyllis Collins at Stirling Cooper, £6. Yellow woollen socks, from Mr. Freedom, 90p. Rust suede sandals with black heel and platform, from R. P. Ellen, £6.95.

Brown and white checked coat with skirt flaring from a high-fitted waist, in Courtelle pile fabric, from Universal Witness, £15.75. Black corduroy peddle-pushers, by Lee Bender at Bus Stop, £5-95. Green and white striped socks, from Mr. Freedom, 60p. Black suede high-heeled shoes, from Ravel, £5-99. Netting from all large stores.

How hand-me-downs become pick-me-ups

1970s, Antiquarius, Camden Passage, Carla Sklan, Chelsea Antiques Market, David Tack, Diane Logan, Essences, Essenses, Honey Magazine, Inspirational Images, Orange Box, Portobello Road Market, Vintage Editorials

Admittedly it takes a good eye, the sort that can look over a pile of old garments and see what you can make of them, and they of you. Then it needs a little adventure, to team old clothes with improbable but right accessories. It may also demand scissors and a needle and thread, but it’s the perfect way to beat imitation—and inflation.

Photographed by David Tack.

Scanned from Honey Magazine, November 1974.

I’m always delighted and fascinated by articles like this, somehow proving that certain interests are just innate in some people, and some things simply never change. Fifty years later, new generations are still discovering the joys of second hand clothes as though nobody ever thought of it before.

There was a storm in a Tiktok teacup earlier this year when someone declared that resellers were the Landlords of the Millennial generation. In what felt like a heady mix of inverted snobbery and undiluted envy at some people’s eye for a bargain, they declared second hand clothes were only for the poorest people and it was immoral to be making money out of them. In fact, I think it’s safe to say that it must be one of the oldest jobs in the world. In centuries gone by, the finest clothes were left in wills, given to servants, resold, remodelled and recycled until they were practically rags – which is why we have so little left in completely original condition.

On top of this long history, here in the Seventies (and then right up until the present day) you can see the glamourising of second hand clothes as a perfect counterbalance to the ever-expanding, and ever-cheapening, fashion industry. I also can’t help noticing that the belted sack dress (see further down) and bangle combination looks like something you might have seen in Topshop in the early 1980s. Proving that secondhand is often more fashion-forward than what you find in the shops.

A new look at dressing gowns: Soft cotton or silky wrapover dressing gowns can easily be found at jumble sales and markets. Fastened with a pretty brooch or with a scarf tied round the waist, they’re much nicer to wear around the house than that tatty old quilted thing your mum gave you! A bonus is that they can double as a dress or even a coat over jeans for the daytime. Paisley print robe £1, from Portobello Road Market. Painted bone fan with slotted blue ribbon, Chimera.

A little colour goes to your head: To follow the 20s,30s look which has become hot fashion for the evening, why not add a little glamour to a crocheted or knitted beret by sewing on tiny bugle beads (they’re the cylindrical ones). A geometric or floral design can look good—or a motif on one side if you haven’t got the patience to cover the whole of the beret. Antique beaded beret from a selection starting at about £10 from Carla Sklan at Antiquarius, 135 King’s Road, SW3.

The soft touch pulled into shape: Most of the prettiest second-hand dresses to be found have waist measurements which are really enormous and the idea of darting and reshaping them can offset the low price. To combat this we cut a strip from the hem about 3in wide, cut it in half width-wise and doubled it over to make two strips to tie round the back. Even easier would be to attach two narrow ribbon ties. Our dress from a selection at Orange Box, Camden Passage, N1.

Two for the top:Hats are still one of the most important accessories you can buy or make, and they look especially good if they’re bedecked with feathers or trimmings. If your purse demands you try your own hand at millinery, we’ve come up with an idea for trimming a plain felt beret. Just make two small incisions approximately one inch apart and add a natty trio of brightly coloured feathers. This smashing felt cloche with painted applique flowers and leaves is more of a good investment at £10 from Diane Logan, 40 Chiltern Street, WI.

Best suited: Ladies’ tailored suits abound for a mere pittance in most second-hand haunts and, if you accessorise them well, they can become the mainstay of your wardrobe. But nothing ruins the line of a tailored jacket more than out-of-shape shoulders. If you carefully unpick the lining around the armhole and search about, you’ll find it’s probably the fault of deflated shoulder pads. Buy a new pair of foam ones (from haberdashery departments of large stores); enclose each pad in a little square of plain fabric and it’s easy to tack them into place. Another idea to liven up a plain crepe jacket is to add some contrasting fabric on the pocket flaps or, if you have the patience, embroider your initials on a breast pocket. Authentic tweed costume courtesy of Mrs Kilford. Collarless green crêpe embroidered jacket, Orange Box £4.50. Feather-trimmed felt hat, to hire from Diane Logan ; long crêpe-de-chine patterned scarf, Essences £2: belt from a selection at Fenwick ; cane, Biba ; fox fur, Orange Box £4.50; green earrings and double bird brooch, Medusa’s Heirlooms. All Orange Box clothes from Camden Passage, 33 Islington Green, London N1.

Taking your nightie to a party: It doesn’t have to be a choice between a jewelled gown or your old jeans for a party. A long old-fashioned satin nightie is just about the prettiest and sexiest thing you could wear—and you won’t look too dressed up or contrived. And if you do get home late and tired you’re dressed for bed as well. Ankle-length cap-sleeved embroidered pink satin nightdress £5, from Bombacha, 104 Fulham Road, SW3.

Anything goes: To prove that even the most ordinary old dress can look bang up to date with just a little attention, we found this pleated black sack dress and re-vamped it. Pulled in at the waist with a wide red belt, with lots of red and black glass jewellery, black seamed stockings and your hair up, it soon becomes a show-stopper. Dress from a selection of oldies at Martha’s Market, Martha Hill, 39 Marylebone High Street, W1. All jewellery from Chimera, Antiquarius.

For the good sport in you: Smart dresses and feminine bits and pieces are easier to find than casual sporty outfits, but here’s one solution to show the tomboy in you, and it’s a great way to use that too-big sweater or cardigan you’ve discovered. Team it with striped cut-off men’s summer trousers and a shirt or blouse and flat shoes—the whole outfit could easily cost you less than a fiver. For a more feminine touch, appliqu6—or even sexier, inset—your own lace motif on a blouse. You can buy one at a haberdashery store or cut out a bit of lace from an old petticoat. Hip-length baggy hand-knitted cardigan £1, striped cotton men’s shorts 50p, both from Portobello Road Market. Short-sleeved cream lace-inset Rayon blouse, Essences £3.50. Thin red leather and hessian belt, Fenwick. Huge perspex initial, Mid Twentieth Century at Antiquarius. See-through plastic tube bracelets, £1.50 each from Reflection and Light at Antiquarius. Socks and shoes, model’s own.

Two for the price of one: Above and below : Along with casual clothes, skirts are about the most difficult things to buy secondhand. Here’s a way to solve the problem and gain a matching blouse and skirt from a dress. First remove the side zip (if there is one), then carefully unpick the waist seam. Run a row of gathering round the top about 4″ in, then gently ease it up to fit your waist measurement plus 2″. Attach a strip of petersham about 14″ wide to the outside edge, turn in and finish off the side opening. For the blouse, turn up 1″ of the bottom edge, and thread with a narrow strip of elastic. Yellow and black floral-printed cotton dress, Portobello Road Market £1. Floppy cream silky blouse with elasticated waist and lace-trimmed collar and insets, shown with skirt, £3.50 from The Orange Box, Camden Passage, 33 Islington Green, London NI. Bangles and necklace from a selection at Chimera ; earrings from Medusa’s Heirlooms.

Tighten up: Baggy blouses and shirts may be the most fashionable shape but sometimes it’s nice to show your waist—and with this idea you don’t have to worry about endlessly tucking slippery material back into the waistband of your skirt or trousers. Gather the waist with two rows of shirring elastic, machined close together, remembering to sew a little lower than your actual waistline as the blouse will ride up a bit once it’s gathered. Our candy-striped cotton blouse is from the Portobello Road Market, 60p.

Michael Chow’s think tank

1970s, barry lategan, Fortuny, interior design, interiors, michael chow, Tina Chow, Vogue

Mickey Mouse is an obsession of Michael Chow, figuring five times, in cast iron, in Chinese rug work, in china, in tin, and even in abstract—Oldenberg’s sculpture in front of the desk. Michael, who runs five restaurants and one club in London, and is opening a restaurant in Los Angeles, is a compulsive collector. His office in a studio flat in Knightsbridge contains a splendid Art Deco desk on a platform, an Art Nouveau rug, two Richard Smiths, and a Robyn Denny, all bathed in Mozart and Bach, with windows opening on to a flower-filled verandah. “It’s a thinking office more than a working office. I sit at the desk and toss a coin for where I’ll go to lunch.” Michael and Tina Lutz were married recently. Tina is wearing an orchid pink mushroom pleat Fortuny bought at a Christie’s sale.

“It’s a photograph dress, not a wearing dress,” says Michael Chow. “And that reminds me of a story. This man sold a thousand tins of sardines, and the buyer rang him up and said, ‘I’ve just eaten one of your sardines. It was disgusting,’ and this man said, `You fool, they weren’t eating sardines, they were buying and selling sardines.’ “

Photographed by Barry Lategan.

Scanned from Vogue, October 15th 1973.

Conjunctions of Beauty

1970s, barbara daly, belinda bellville, christa peters, Hair and make-up, Inspirational Images, Kutchinsky, Make-up, Marcel Fenez, marie helvin, Nettie Vogues, Vintage Editorials, Vogue, yardley

White paper taffeta wedding dress, frilled, ruffled, goffered, tucked. To order. White hat with ostrich and snowy veiling. Both, Bellville Sassoon. Marquise and diamond earclip, £12,580, David Morris. Two strings of pearls, £935, £1,120, Tecla. Pure hypo-allergenic make-up by Almay: Sugar Plum Colour Moist Pearl Lipstick, Fresh Parsley Superlight Eye Shadow, Fir Green Creamy Cake Eyeliner, and Night Green Mascara. Soft Peach Near Nude Foundation, Hush Peach Blusher and Translucent Powder.

To look really beautiful for your own satisfaction, and other peoples’, is one of the pleasures of living—health, dress, make-up, joie de vivre in happy conjunction with each other. Here, the most beautiful of everything, together in beauty.

Model is Marie Helvin.

Make-up by Barbara Daly.

Photographed by Christa Peters.

Scanned from Vogue, December 1971.