Lida Ascher

Take One Scarf

1970s, Butler & Wilson, Dick Polak, Fenwick, Honey Magazine, Inspirational Images, Lida Ascher, Martha Hill
Take a scarf (at least 48″ long) and tie it across your bust with a knot at the back. Take another long thin scarf (at least 68″) and then wind once round neck, taking the two ends across from back of neck, under arms and winding round first scarf, tying at back. Pin a brooch on first scarf in middle to gather together. Enamel brooch £4 from Butler & Wilson.

And wind it round yourself, fix it with clever knots and little rings, and you’ve got yourself the most baring and daring top of all – a boob tube. Then, when the summer’s over you can untie all the knots and put the rings back on your fingers and you’ve still got a scarf left at the end of it all.

Photographed by Dick Polak.

Scanned from Honey, August 1972.

Find a triangular piece of material like cotton jersey or stretchy towelling which measures 42″ along the bottom and 28″ along each side, and turn over the top corner about 2-. Pin or sew to make a loop. You’ll need to hem the edges if it’s likely to fray. Thread a piece of tape or a long bootlace through the pinned corner and tie round your neck in a bow at the back. Take the bottom two corners and tie in a knot at the back. Antique necklace £3.50, carved ivory bangle £4 both from Butler & Wilson.

You’ll need a scarf about 68″ by 8″. Fold over a third of width so that it easily covers bust. Wind straight across bust and cross over at the back. Take the two ends, bring them up over your shoulders (you may need some help here !) and pin inside the horizontal piece at the front to make a square necked top. Scarf, Lida Ascher boutique £5.20.

Take a long thin scarf (again !) and thread it through a small plastic ring; tie the scarf across your bust with the ring in the middle at the front and knot at the back. Thread a long bootlace or a two-foot-long piece of tape through the ring and tie at the back of your neck in a bow. Long silk scarf, Fenwicks £1.40; cut-out bangle, Butler & Wilson £3. Plastic bangles, Paul Stephens 10p.

Take a scarf measuring at least 68″ but preferably 80″ and then tie two knots, one 12″ each side of the centre of the scarf. With the centre of the scarf at the back of your neck, cross the scarf over at the front, with the two knots in the middle of your chest. Thread the ends through a ring or secure the knots side by side with a pin and tie the ends at the back with a knot. Double silk scarf about 68″ long from Lida Ascher boutique, £4.75.

Ready-made halter-neck top, £1.50 from Martha Hill, 39 Marylebone High Street, W1, mail order 20p extra. Flowery plastic antique brooch Butler & Wilson £1.75.

Create a Tropical Heatwave

alkasura, Ara, Baltrik, Browns, Buckle Under, cosmopolitan, Deirdre McSharry, Dorothy Perkins, Emesse, Inspirational Images, jean varon, john bates, Laetitia, Lida Ascher, mic mac, norman eales, oliver goldsmith, outlander, Park and Warriner, Sacha, Vintage Editorials
Lime knit jacket by Outlander. White crêpe trousers by Ara. Ascher cotton scarf.

Oh to be out of England now that April’s here, and whether you are planning on Majorca, the far-flung Bahamas or the Isle of Wight this year, now is the best time to shop for holiday clothes. And having just stepped out of a QANTAS jet that took Cosmo island-hopping via Bermuda to the Bahamas, I have a slight tan and a strong feeling that summer’s fashions will be as refreshing, bittersweet and highly coloured as that tropical drink, Planter’s Punch.

Oh to be anywhere but home, quite frankly. I shall have to recreate these styles on the balcony and dream of even going as far as the Isle of Wight…

All jewellery by Adrien Mann. Fashion by Deirdre McSharry.

Photographed by Norman Eales.

Scanned from Cosmopolitan, April 1973.

Sundress by Mic Mac. Scarf by Ascher.
Vest from Dorothy Perkins. Trousers by Alkasura. Sunglasses by Oliver Goldsmith.
Striped cotton outfit by Buckle Under. Shoes from Sacha. / Cotton separates by Baltrik.
Dress by John Bates for Jean Varon
Lemon yellow knit dress by Park and Warriner.
Cheesecloth outfit by Laetitia at Browns.
Top by Emesse. Trousers by Ara.

Celtic Summer

1960s, Elliott, Inspirational Images, Ken Lane, Lida Ascher, norman parkinson, thea porter, Uncategorized, Vogue

Fire Red Paisley - Norman Parkinson

Fire red paisley for a Celtic summer: The haunted house at Parc, near Afon Crosesor, where ghostly things happen all the time. Wild red flickering skirt, paisley and red gold organdie blouse with gold Turkish bodice. Skirt, blouse and top to order from Thea Porter. Fire red boots by Elliott. Sash pin from Ken Lane. Amber beads ,wrist scarf and long red scarf by Ascher.

Photographed by Norman Parkinson.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, July 1969.

Inspirational Images: Tipper Ipper Appa

1960s, Arnaud de Rosnay, british boutique movement, Chelsea Antiques Market, granny takes a trip, Inspirational Images, Lida Ascher, Tipper Ipper Appa, Vogue

Some of the most perfect shells in the world get washed up on Stocking Island beaches; as does this small jacket and wide trousers in stripes from a beach umbrella. In crepe with a fine rolled gold chain almost invisible at the waist. By Tipper Ipper Appa, 25 gns, at Granny Takes a Trip. Chain with a small pearl, 40s, at Paris House. Striped scarves round the head, Lida Ascher Boutique. Enamel bird, Chelsea Antique Market.

Some of the most perfect shells in the world get washed up on Stocking Island beaches; as does this small jacket and wide trousers in stripes from a beach umbrella. In crepe with a fine rolled gold chain almost invisible at the waist. By Tipper Ipper Appa, 25 gns, at Granny Takes a Trip. Chain with a small pearl, 40s, at Paris House. Striped scarves round the head, Lida Ascher Boutique. Enamel bird, Chelsea Antique Market.

Photographed by Arnaud de Rosnay. Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, May 1969