art deco

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.

Miners Movie Queens

1970s, art deco, Deco Inspired, Hair and make-up, Honey Magazine, Make-up, Miners, Vintage Adverts
Bring back glamour with Miners Movie Queens

An exemplary bit of Seventies-does-Deco, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Scanned from Honey, November 1974.

You know how good it feels (Part 1)

19 magazine, 1970s, art deco, Deco Inspired, Illustrations, Lyn Gray

Magic moments, happy moments, moments alone and moments together—you know how good all that feels. And nothing feels better than that touch of luxury when it comes your way unexpectedly. Just in case you don’t know, we want to prove it, by putting that touch of luxury within your reach. For us, the ‘Thirties, perhaps more than any other era, set the mood for elegance and glamour, and we’ve chosen all our prizes in styles and shades to capture that mood.

A series of eight blissfully brilliant illustrations accompanying a competition feature. There is also a stunning photograph which I will post tomorrow as I thought these deserved their own post.

Illustrations by Lyn Gray.

Scanned from 19 Magazine, July 1974.

Waiting For Your Sugar Daddy

1970s, anello and davide, Angela at London Town, Ann Reeves, art deco, charlotte martin, Deco Inspired, Inspirational Images, John Bishop, mary quant, michael chow, Norma Moriceau, nostalgia, ossie clark, Tony Berkeley, Tony Berkley, Vintage Editorials
Halter-necked backless midi dress. brown with red and white splodges. has a peplum waist. by Tony Berkeley. 9,gns. Grey tights by Biba. 10s 11d Metallic silver-pink T-bar shoes. by Mary Quant. E4 19s.11d. Photographed at the Boulestin Restaurant. 25 Southampton Street. Covent Garden. London. W C 2 (01-836 7061)

Every girl, if only once in her life, gets the opportunity to eat out at one of London’s smart restaurants. so when the time comes you may as well make the most of it. The main thing is not to feel intimidated by your surroundings. but to be very cool and nonchalant. as if you do it all the time. (No slumping down in your seat or staring around the room with your mouth open.) If you just don’t understand the menu. ask your escort or the waiter. don’t just point to something and hope for the best. Make sure your hair is clean and shiny. and please don’t have it set and lacquered (very uncool). Wear some-thing soft and romantic in crêpe or voile, that moves well when you walk. or a halter-neck dress with a low back to make the most of the remains of your summer tan. Make sure your dress length isn’t mini (it might be the only one in the room. and then they’ll all know you’re from out of town). Don’t spoil the effect of your midi with the wrong accessories—wear a pair of new Granny shoes with the higher heel and bar strap for added authentic ‘Forties’ glamour.

Ignoring the title (which I have, as always, left for posterity) this editorial is pretty damn perfect. On the cusp of what we more clearly think of as ‘Seventies’, just before platforms and the extremes of Glam, but turning its back very determinedly on the ‘Swinging Sixties’ and looking further back with nostalgic eyes. It’s also a delicious, possibly unique, snapshot of the most fashionable restaurants in London at the time.

Model is Charlotte Martin.

Fashion by Norma Moriceau.

Photographed by John Bishop.

Scanned from 19 Magazine, November 1970.

Cream satin hat from a selection at Feathers. Purple and cream chiffon dress. by Tony Berkeley. 15gns Purple tights. by Mary Quant. 15s Ankle-lacing shoes. by Anello and Davide. 75s. Photographed at Julies Restaurant. 135 Portland Road. London. W.11. (01-229 8331)
Brown panne velvet short-sleeved midi dress has a sweetheart neckline decorated with tiny bunches of flowers by Ossie Clark. for Radley. £14 10s. Photographed at Mr. Chows Montpelier Restaurant. 13 Montpelier Street. London. SW7 (01-589 0032)
Backless halter-necked brown and cream chiffon dress, by Tony Berkeley, £13 Aubergine tights. by Mary Quant, 15s. Metallic silver-pink T-bar shoes, by Mary Quant, £4 19s. 11d. Photographed at Prunier’s Restaurant, 72 St. James’ Street, London, S.W.1 (01-493 1373)
Multi-coloured triangle dress. by Ossie Clark for Radley, 12 19s 6d. Neutral tights. by Biba. 6s 11d. Ankle-lacing red shoes. by Anello and Davide. 75s. Photographed at Burkes Club, 10 Clifford Street. London, W.1. (01-734 1912) All the jewellery on these pages belongs to our model.
Purple crepe shirt-style calf-length dress. by Ossie Clark for Radley. £15 10s. Purple tights. by Biba. 10s 11d Black T-bar shoes. by Mary Quant. £4 19s 11d. Photographed at Chez Solange, 35 Cranbourn Street. London. W C 2. (01-836 0542)
Long purple crêpe dress with multi-coloured embroidery,-loosely tied at neck and sleeves, by Ann Reeves, 8gns. Neutral-coloured tights. by Biba. 6s. 11d Ankle-lacing purple shoes, by Anello and Davide, 75s. Photographed at the Garden Restaurant, 9 Henrietta Street, London. WC2 (01-240 0088)
Golden panne velvet top. teamed with a Bordeaux and gold skirt. decorated with butterflies. by Angela at London Town. 11gns Aubergine tights. by Mary Quant, 15s. Black T-bar shoes. by Mary Quant. £4 19s 11d. Photographed at Provans Restaurant. 306 Fulham Road. London. S W.10. (01-352 7343)

Shades of Autumn

19 magazine, 1970s, art deco, celia birtwell, francois lamy, Hair and make-up, Ingmari Lamy, Inspirational Images, karl lagerfeld, Make-up, ossie clark, quorum, Revlon

We’ve tried to capture the golden richness and mellow nuances of a well-preserved old oil painting, and create our October face with the new Moody Hues make-up from Revlon’s Natural Wonder collection. Face tone should be warm and tinged with a hint of tan, and we used foundation colour ‘Bisque Beige’, 66p., dusted over very lightly with translucent pressed powder in the ‘Medium’ shade, £1.02. We rouged the cheeks with Cheek Shine in ‘Red’, £1-32. Pursuing the same rustic-toned theme we chose ‘Soulful Plum’ mascara and lashed it on both top and bottom lids, 85p. Eyes are a muted melange of ‘Tortoiseshell’ Eyeshadow Stick, 66p., and the same shade in Lid Lights, the powder version, fading to complementary ‘Minty Green’ powder shadow just under the brows, £1.10 each. We dabbed over the eyelids with ‘Brown Shine’ cream blusher for extra gloss and softness, £1.32. Lips are outlined in ‘Bracken Brown’, 62p.

Model is Ingmari Lamy.

Make-up was applied by visagiste Jean Duval of Revlon, Paris.

The beautiful décolleté dress with huge winged sleeves is in black with a yellow, red and blue feather print, from Quorum, £24.

‘Forties-style hair was dressed by Tina of the Jean-Louis Davide Salon in Paris.

Photographed in the apartment of Karl Lagerfeld, the designer, by Francois Lamy.

Scanned from 19 Magazine, October 1971.

Perfumed Ladies

1970s, art deco, Illustrations, malcolm bird, vanity fair

One of my favourite illustrators of all time, Malcolm Bird takes the very essence of what I love about the Twenties/Thirties and the Sixties/Seventies and just melds them together with a Beardsley-esque eye for detail in little works of genius like this. Intended to illustrate a frivolous quiz on finding the right perfume for you (I’m resolutely a D, in case anyone was ever in any doubt) he gives us a brilliant cross-section of ‘types’ from 1970. I have separated the illustration above but you’ll find the quiz below for a bit of fun.

Illustrated by Malcolm Bird.

Scanned from Vanity Fair, April 1970.

Gay Young Things

1970s, art deco, Buckle Under, Jean Howell, Miss Impact, miss selfridge, paul misso, petticoat magazine, Sue Hone, Titfers, Vintage Editorials
Doing their thing Twenties style, He and She for £5.25 and an exotic piece of Art Nouveau, £6.25. The printed silk scarf on the former, Jean Howell, £3., brown jersey appliqued hat on the latter, Titfers, £3.15.

In spirit it’s Valentino, Jolson, Talkies and Tea Parties and that outrageous Charleston thing with kinky feather boas and twirly beads. In fact it’s dewey-eyed memories of the twenties matched with today’s sense of cheerful frivolity. It’s fun, it’s gay on a lot of today’s bright young people!

Fashion by Sue Hone.

Photographed by Paul Misso.

Scanned from Petticoat, 13th March 1971.

All the prints shown here are by Miss Impact on Banlon. The dresses come in maxi, midi or tunic length all either with or without sleeves. There are as many as nine different colours to choose from and all now being stocked at Miss Selfridge, W1. Long-limbed lady with turban on cream and lady with cloche, both £6.25. Red panne velvet turban with bunches of fruit, Titfers, £6. Rust brummed hat with more fruit, Buckle Under Enterprises, SW3.

You’ll be tickled pink

1970s, art deco, biba, cosmopolitan, interior design, Vintage Adverts

Two things I will never fail to be tickled by are 1. The far-reaching influence of Biba Deco on Seventies style, up to and including the era of Punk and New Wave and 2. The fact that there was a National Dairy Council who would spend time and money making milk look sexy and elegant. Delicious!

Scanned from Cosmopolitan, February 1979.

The Grand Affair

19 magazine, 1970s, antony price, art deco, barbara hulanicki, Barbara Hulanicki, biba, clobber, David Tack, Inspirational Images, interiors, jeff banks, ossie clark, radley, Sidgreene, stirling cooper, Vintage Editorials

Screen printed satin suit by Biba. Brooch, cigarette case and lighter all from Jolly and Marsh at Kensington Market.
Crepe halter midi dress by Clobber.

Grand affairs call for grand clothes, and provide a welcome opportunity to get out of our peasant blouses and jeans and dress accordingly. The nicest thing about fashion at the moment is that everyone is so confused as to what they should be wearing, that you can wear exactly what you like. We opt for the romantic Garbo fashion, tarted up in the ’71 style, because girls are beginning to look like girls again and, although we sympathise with Women’s Lib., we don’t believe you have to look like a fella to get equal rights!

Possibly the most perfect encapsulation of the Seventies-does-Thirties aesthetic, this homage to Art Deco features some of the most lust-worthy clothes from my favourite designers and boutiques. Including Biba, Ossie Clark and some rare Antony Price for Stirling Cooper!

Photographed in the home of interior designer Graeme Gibson rather than in a studio, the authenticity is heightened by the location and the props, and then finished with the sweet illustrated photoframes.

Photographed by David Tack.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from 19 Magazine, January 1971.

grand affair 3

Crepe dress by Antony Price for Stirling Cooper. T-strap shoes from Sacha.

Aegean print pinafore dress by Sidgreen.
Crepe dress by Antony Price for Stirling Cooper. Shoes from Sacha.

Moss crepe dress by Ossie Clark for Radley.
Black crepe dress with white print by Radley.

Inspirational Illustrations: Eric Boman, 1974

1970s, annacat, art deco, edward mann, eric boman, Illustrations, Inspirational Images, James Drew, salvador, Vogue

Grey wool cardigan, oatmeal overchecked, pale grey silk shirt, both at James Drew. Grey felt hat by Edward Mann.

Grey wool cardigan, oatmeal overchecked, pale grey silk shirt, both at James Drew. Grey felt hat by Edward Mann.

Meet the new fashion collector. She will be about for a long time. Her lipstick is red. She wears only navy, ivory and grey, but so cleverly that there’s no limit to the flattering effects she can compute. Her clothes are so simple and beautiful. It all looks easy. She spends more money on her clothes than most woman, but, when they’re searching around for something to wear, she’s already perfectly dressed. When their clothes are beginning to look wrong, hers are right. So in the end, she probably spends no more than they. Here’s how she does it…

Illustrated by Eric Boman.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, February 1974.

Left: Muffler, long cardigan with scroll embroidery, sleeveless putty crepe de chine gilet, skirt loosely pleated in front at Annacat. Hat by Jacoll. Right: Ivory crepe de chine open-work dress, couldn't be simpler, tied at the waist by Salvador. Straw hat by Bermona.

Left: Muffler, long cardigan with scroll embroidery, sleeveless putty crepe de chine gilet, skirt loosely pleated in front at Annacat. Hat by Jacoll. Right: Ivory crepe de chine open-work dress, couldn’t be simpler, tied at the waist by Salvador. Straw hat by Bermona.