LEFT: Flower-appliqued denim sundress with back ties £19.90, from Fiorucci, Brompton Rd, SW1. RIGHT: Lace, beaded denim skirt £15.95, and lace-up appliqued waistcoat £7.95, both by Jump Jeans, from Wallis, Oxford St, W1 and branches; Miss Selfridge, Duke St, W1 and branches; all branches of Top Shop Debenham’s, Oxford St, W1 and branches; Jane Norman, Oxford St, W1.
Summers may come and summers may go but denim never fails us.
Modelled by Joanna Jacobs and unknown model.
Photographed in Florida by Roelof Wennink.
Scanned from Honey, April 1976.
White cotton broderie anglaise lace-up camisole top with ribbon trim, Charles Grahame £6, from Bombacha, 104 Fulham Rd, SW3.
Denim shorts £8.90, from Elle, New Bond St, W1 and branches. Cotton jersey T-shirt £2, from Martha Hill, Marylebone High St, W1. Denim waistcoat with popper fastening and ‘V’ stitched front, Eagle £6.95, from Dickins & Jones, Regent St, Wl. Red velvet pouch bag, Macondo.
Button-through denim boiler suit, £18.99, from Jean Junction, King’s Rd, SW3 and branches. Red shoulder purse, Macondo ; scarf from a selection at Fenwick.
Skimpy striped cotton tube sun top with thin halter-neck straps, Jap £5.95, from Jap & Joseph, 20 Brompton Rd, SW1. Denim stitched Bermuda shorts, Eagle £6.95, from Miss Selfridge, Duke St, W1; Dickins & Jones, Regent St, W1.
LEFT: Navy and white striped cotton back buttoned sundress with kick pleated front, Inega £10.95, from Jigsaw, Heath St, NW3 and Putney; DJ Girl, Dickins & Jones, Regent St, W1; Superstar, Leeds. Sunhat, Charles Batten £7; pale blue sandals, Russell & Bromley £18-99. RIGHT: Denim jeans with detachable cream braces £12.99, from Jean Junction, King’s Rd, SW3 and branches. Tropical printed cotton shirt, £6.50, from Tropical Belt, Beauchamp Pl, SW1. Boots, model’s own.
Oatmeal sweater with maroon and green trim, Ivory £13, from Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, SWI ; Miss Selfridge, Duke St, W1; Virgin Rags, Hull and branches. Denim painter’s jeans, Marshall Lester £10, from Harrods, Knightsbridge, SW1 ; Jane & I, Blackheath, SE3 ; Sidney Smith, King’s Rd, SW3. Sunhat, Charles Batten £7.
Hooded zip-up denim anorak £10.50, from Jean Junction, Kensington High St, W8, King’s Rd, SW3 and branches. Denim shorts, Marshall Lester £7, from Harrods, Knightsbridge, SW] ; Jane & Blackheath, SE3 ; Boa, Sheerness. Lime green and white striped cotton T-shirt, Stirling Cooper £2.95, from Ronnie Stirling, Bond St, W1; Top Shop, Oxford Circus, W1; Owen Owen, Coventry and branches.
Green cotton jersey t-shirt from Jean Junction. Floral print skirt from a selection at Van Der Fransen. Scarf around head from a selection at Biba.
You’re on holiday. It’s evening. You feel like dressing up, but staying casual. Something that’ll take you just anywhere. These skirts are ideal. Right for the beach. Perfect for a rendezvous.
(One of the models I believe is Uschi Obermaier.)
Photographed by Michael Berkofsky.
Scanned from 19 Magazine, July 1973.
Silk head scarves from a selection at Essences at Antiquarius. Both tops and long skirt made with different fabrics, from Van Der Fransen.
Silk scarf from a selection at Essences. White lacy top by Erica Budd. Long cotton skirt by Janice Wainwright.
Silk scarf from a selection at Essences. Yellow t-shirt trimmed with plastic ring from Biba. Cotton floral skirt by Medusa. All jewellery from local markets in Kenya.
Black printed scarf from a selection at Essences. Black bra top by Erica Budd. Black cotton skirt with embroidered floral by Janice Wainwright.
White blouse and pantaloons, gingham pinafore and skirt, all by Gina Fratini, to order from Lucienne’s, 89 Knightsbridge SW1. Shoes by Anello and Davide.
Brigitte Bardot first glamorised gingham, mixing it with sex and broderie anglaise to set a devastating new trend. It’s back, showing every sign of being the big summer ’76 story, versatile enough to go from ingenue to sophisticate.
Always incredible to see Gina Fratini clothes being worn to their full effect, this time by lovely Vivienne Lynn, and also to see the Hard Rock Cafe in its earlier, less gimmicky life.
Hair by Kerry at Molton Brown.
Photographed by Elisabeth Novick.
Scanned from Over 21, April 1976.
Gingham dress by Rose Bradford at Radley and net petticoats from Quorum, 52 Radnor Walk. Scarf from Acme Attractions, patent pumps by Gamba. Photographed at the Hard Rock Cafe, Piccadilly, London W1.
For the final stage in our gingham story we photographed a “real” woman rather than just a model: actress Ruth Rosen. Ruth has recently been edifying and diverting us with her performances at major art exhibitions where she virtually brings the artist to life, presenting a one-woman show based on his life and works. Recent subjects have been Turner at the Tate Gallery and Burne-Jones at the Hayward. The next one will be Constable at the Tate. Look out for it…
Ruth wears Dora Reisser’s gingham waistcoat and culottes and pique blouse, all from Crocodile. Shoes by Chelsea Cobbler, scarf from Medina Arts. Ruth’s daughter, Doraly, wears a check shirt and dungarees from Jean Junction and cardigan by Jump for Jamie from Harrods. Hair by Nicky at Leonard.
If you can’t tango, simply steal into the spotlight in these flamboyant rumba dresses. The slipped shoulder strap, the bared midriff and the full-blown flouncy skirts all spell out the sexiest numbers for summer.
The main difference between the content of a magazine like Honey, as opposed to Vogue or Queen, is that the designers tend to be the more intriguing and less well-known of the period. If you want names like Miss Mouse, Granny Takes a Trip or Antony Price, these magazines should always be your first port of call. This shoot alone features one of my Holy Grail pieces by Granny Takes a Trip: the ruffled tie front top and skirt ensemble designed by Dinah Adams. Previously a designer for two other cult London boutiques, Mr Freedom and Paradise Garage, painfully little is known about Dinah Adams (misattributed as ‘Diana’ in the original credits). Which is why it’s always lovely to see her work represented anywhere.
Also shown here is a frothy, frilly delight of a frock by Miss Mouse, a.k.a Rae Spencer-Cullen. A personal favourite of mine, the Miss Mouse aesthetic is precisely why this early Seventies period is my favourite for fashion. Her work was heavily Fifties-inspired, quite ahead of the curve in the scheme of things, but always with a novel twist. Spencer-Cullen is yet another designer whose life remains something of a mystery, despite being a part of a hugely influential circle which included artists Duggie Fields and Andrew Logan. It seems that this anonymity was (at least initially) intentional, as an article from the Glasgow Herald in 1976 declared.
“At first, six years ago, when presenting her quirky designs on fashion, she seemed shy and utterly retiring. Miss Mouse could not be contacted easily by the press. She was elusive, hazed in shadows, a real mouse about publicity in fact. The only evidence of her entire existence was her clothes.”
In a world where we are so used to having information at our fingertips, there is something quite enchanting about this; tiny scraps must be stitched together to create a flimsy silhouette of a creative genius.
Photographed by Roy A Giles.
Scanned from Honey, July 1973.
(Please note – this blog originally appeared in 2016 on Shrimpton Couture’s ‘Curated’ blog project which has since been removed. It seemed a shame to let the posts disappear completely so I hope to eventually repost all my work here.)
Rose-strewn wrapover cotton bolero and long frilled skirt from Spectrum. Raffia and cotton tie belt by Herbert Johnson. Right: Tightly ruched off-the-shoulder top and long skirt with deeply riched waistband from Wallis.
Ritzy ruffled satin bolero top with frilled skirt by Dinah Adams for Granny Takes a Trip. Wavy leather sandals by Samm. Right: Slinky spotted Tricel dress by Ian Batten at Stirling Cooper. Crackly taffeta long flounced skirt by Antony Price for Che Guevara. Wooden and patent sandals by Russell & Bromley.
Flouncy black and white gingham off-the-shoulder dress printed with orange and lemon flowers by Gillian Richard. Canary yellow sandals by Samm. Embroidered cummerbund by Herbert Johnson.
Swirling striped cotton skirt by Jean Junction. Off-the-shoulder pleated blouse by Martha Hill. Polished leather boots from Dolcis.
Black cotton ruched and flared rumba dress printed with multi-coloured flowers and birds by Miss Mouse. Apple green shoes by Russell & Bromley.
Left: Crisp cotton gingham blouse and flounced skirt both by Martha Hill. Oval bead choker and bangles by Paul Stephens. Right: Ruffled cotton check blouse and tiered skirt by Polly Peck. Cummerbund by Herbert Johnson. Shoes by Russell & Bromley.
Liz Eggleston 