The White of May

1970s, Adrian Mann, Bilbo, bus stop, che guevara, granny takes a trip, Herbert Johnson, Inspirational Images, lee bender, manolo blahnik, pablo and delia, Peter Knapp, quorum, Rose Bradford, Screaming Mimi, sheridan barnett, simon massey, stirling cooper, The Purple Shop, Vintage Editorials, Vogue, yves saint laurent, zapata

Left: White cotton edged with red, lots of frills tied up with bandanna bows. By Rosie Bradford, about £15, at Quorum; Che Guevara. Fine white straw, £10, Herbert Johnson. White ribbed gloves, Kir, 75p. Red and white striped canvas shoes laced onto a high wooden platform, £12.50, Manolo Blahnik for Zapata. Right: Three deep cotton frills and a halter bodice edged and tied in red. By Sheridan Barnett for Simon Massey, £9.95. Small white straw, £8.50, Herbert Johnson. Peppermint earrings and clips by Adrien Mann, about £1, at Marshall & Snelgrove. White block and string shoes, £7.75, Manolo Blahnik for Zapata. Helanca gloves, Kir, 75p. Hat pins, from a selection at The Purple Shop.

more of it, less of it, what there is of it, frilled.

Preview of new white shapes you’ll be seeing when the sun’s hot: all cut out, cropped or split, beginning with flamenco frills piped in with red.

Well, it may not be May any more but this editorial feels perfect for the current weather. And those Manolo Blahnik for Zapata shoes? Pass the smelling salts…

Hair by John at Leonard.

Photographed at the Serpentine Gallery, Kensington Gardens

Photographed by Peter Knapp.

Scanned from Vogue, May 1972.

Left: Small cotton broderie anglaise blouse under the shelter of a big frilled collar, with a thin gabardine skirt split front and back. Blouse, Stirling Cooper, £4.25, at Peter Robinson. Skirt, Screaming Mimi, £6.50, exclusively for Granny Takes a Trip. White Openwork Helanca gloves, Kir, 80p, at Dickins & Jones. White shoes, £7, Bilbo. Hat, £10, Herbert Johnson. Right: Buttoned padded halter bodice, edged and buttoned in scarlet. White pleated Colonial cotton shorts, buckled each side. Bodice by Rosie Bradford, about £7, at Quorum ; Che Guevara. Shorts, £5.95, Bus Stop. White patent shoes, £16.50, Saint Laurent Rive Gauche. White straw, £11.50, Herbert Johnson. Hat pins from range, The Purple Shop.

Wide wide cotton trousers gathered on elastic, a gathered cotton halter top, the edge let go to frill. By Pablo & Delia, £18, at Browns. White peep-toe shoes, £7, detachable bow £1 extra, at Bilbo. Hat, £8.50, Herbert Johnson. Earrings, Adrien Mann. Laced cuffed Helanca gloves by Kir, 75p, at Derry & Toms

Let Yourself Go

1970s, 2007, alistair cowin, corocraft, David Finch, gillian richard, Inspirational Images, just looking, Lena Stengard, petticoat magazine, Pinet, Pourelle, Sacha, Shelana, Sue Hone, Vintage Editorials, way in, Xanthe leathers

Voile skirt, Pourelle, (with matching blouse), £18.18s., from Sidney Smith, S.W.3., Spotlight, W.1. Peasant blouse, by Alistair Cowin, £5.15s., Peter Robinson, W.I., Fifth Avenue, S.W.3. Thonged sandals, £2.2s., Xanthe Leather, N.W.3.

If there’s one time in the year when a girl can really let herself go—it’s on a hot summer holiday evening, And what better clothes to let yourself go in than these? Be a bit flamboyant with your fabrics, now’s the time for chiffon and clinging velvet and the styles that only need a suntan for company!

Model is Lena Stengard.

Styled by Sue Hone.

Photographed by David Finch.

Scanned from Petticoat, 18th July 1970.

Printed midi dress with long fringing, Gillian Richard, £10 10s., from all branches of Irvine Sellars, Just In, and Marshall and Snelgrove, W.I. Roman sandals. £2.2s., from Xanthe Leather, and Pussy Cat, Cambridge. Beaded belt, Way In, S.W.1.

Cotton voile dress. Shelana, £4.19s.6d., from 2007, W1., and Manchester. Biba brooch, £4.5s., worn on a chain.

Pourelle voile jacket and pants, £16.16s.. from Just Looking, S.W.3. Miss Pinet sandals, £4.19s.11d. Corocraft watch, £14.10s.

Midi velvet halter-neck dress, Shelana, £10.19s.6d., from 2007, W.1. Corocraft silver and amethyst necklace, £1.5s., and ring, 7s.9d. Sacha sandals, £9.9s.

Midi cotton jersey dress with printed hem, with scarf, by Gillian Richard, £5.10s., from all branches of Irvine Sellars. Consortium belt, £2.10s. Booty silver bangle; £12.10s.

On the sands of summertime

1970s, anello and davide, annacat, barry lategan, Bombacha, Brigid Martineau, Buckle Under, Casa Pupo, Charles Batten, chelsea cobbler, Crocker Wilson, Diane Logan, Early Bird, edward mann, Inspirational Images, jap, jeff banks, Joseph, Juliet Dunn, katharine hamnett, Ken Lane, kenzo, laura ashley, liberty, liberty's, Rayne, Rosie Nice, Russell & Bromley, sanderson, sarah frearson, Scott Adie, Sujon, The Purple Shop, Vintage Editorials, Vogue, wallis

Long and frilly flower print cotton frocks, all at Wallis main branches. Peachy, below left, a puff-sleeved shirt with deep skirt frill. £12.95. Pink, green, red, white chintzy parasol with sapling handle, £15.50, Crocker-Wilson. Straw with bright ribbon and flowers, Edward Mann, £3.40, at Barkers. Flower and bird glass necklace, £3.50, Bombacha. Flowered cream papier-mache bangles, £7 each, at Emeline. Peachy, below right, with wide sleeves and sash. £13.95. Green/white leafy parasol, £34.50, at Crocker-Wilson; Elle. Wide lacy straw with flowers, by Buckle Under, £11, at Lucienne Phillips ; Smiths, Bath. Cotton and lace drawstring bag, £4.50, at Rosie Nice. Bunches of sweet peas, by Novelty Import Co. Inky blue and brown frock, opposite left, extra beige and scarlet flowers, ecru lace and sweetheart neckline, £15.95. Red/white/green striped parasol, £19.50, Crocker-Wilson. Light blue glass beads, 80p, at Rosie Nice. Rough straw with chocolate velvet, creamy flowers, by Sarah Frearson, £13.75, Lucienne Phillips. Provençal cotton drawstring bag, £3.75, from Brother Sun. Sky blue, brown, natural frock, below centre, in two—camisole lacy top and skirt £15.95. Sandy lacy shawl, £8, at Scott Adie. Opaque amber glass fruit beads, about £28, from Emeline. Plum, blue, orange cotton, right, with lots of lace. £18.95. Sky blue lace shawl, as above. Flowered black chintz and tasselled parasol, £25.50, Crocker-Wilson. Enamel pansy brooch, on silver chain, £6.50, at The Purple Shop. Liberty print Country Cotton drawstring bag, by Brigid Martineau, £7.25, at Harrods. Canvas espadrilles, both pages, £3.50, from The Chelsea Cobbler.

Photographed by Barry Lategan.

Scanned from Vogue, May 1974.

Green, cream and red Liberty printed Tana Lawn halter dress, left, a salad of flowers shirred to the hips. with tiny frills. About £32, at Annacat: Harvey Nichols. Pink, white and blue glass beads, bangle, ring, from Rosie Nice. Cream and green cotton dress, right, trellised and bordered with flowers, flounced and bordered with lace. By Earlybird, about £14.95, from Earlybird; Fenwick. Glass flower necklace, £12, The Purple Shop. Blue bird’s nest earrings, £1.50, Bombacha. White nylon openwork gloves, by Kir, about 95p, John Lewis. Flowers by Novelty Import Co. Deep green and red night-flowering smock, right, each tier with creamy lace. Liberty Country Cotton, by Sujon, £23, Liberty; Parkers of Hampstead; SuperStar; Leeds. Matching green flowered hand-bag with wrist strap, by Brigid Martineau, £7.75, at Harrods. Green/red bird sparkling necklace, Bombacha, £3.50. Espadrilles, £3.50, The Chelsea Cobbler. Hair by Christopher at Vidal Sassoon. Sanderson Wallpaper. Smilax leaves from Pulbrook & Gould. Bird-cage from Casa Pupo. Budgerigars from A1 Studio, 164 Princes Gdns, W.3.

Pale blue, ivory, light terracotta Liberty print Tana Lawn and lace flouncing skirt, above left. Cap-sleeved top. By Sujon, £24, Liberty; SuperStar, Leeds. Long frilled white petticoat, £4.75, at all Laura Ashley branches. Lacy straw, with harebells, by Buckle Under, £10, at Lucienne Phillips;’ Smiths, Bath. Glass beads and flower necklace round wrist, £3.50. Bombacha. Embroidered white espadrilles, £7.99, Russell & Bromley main branches. Black and bright red flowered white jacket; frilled skirt,: above right, piped in black and white. By Jeff Banks, £14.50, £13.50, at Selfridges; Adele Davis. Petticoat, as above. Straw hat, £14, at Diane Logan. Blue bead bracelet, 80p, Rosie Nice. Espadrilles, as above. Blue, scarlet, cream Liberty print Tana Lawn flowered shirred top and skirt, opposite left. About £13, £19.95, at Annacat; Harvey Nichols ; Unicorn, Birmingham. Ribboned straw, Edward Mann, £2.50, at John Lewis. Flowered cream papier mache bangles, £7 each, Emeline. Lacy shawl, £8, from Scott Adie, Flower necklace, £2.50, at Bombacha. Cream chocolate laced boots, £13.95, Anello & Davide. Powder blue, green, pink cotton pleated skirt and cap-sleeved crossover top, cenre. By Jap, £25.95, £16.95, at Jap & Joseph. Espadrilles, £3.50, The Chelsea Cobbler. Lacy shawl, as above. Straw hat, Buckle Under, £11, at Lucienne Phillips. Powder blue, cream, beige tiered pleated skirt, right: Liberty print Tana Lawn with creamy lace and matching button-down bodice. About £23, £14, by Juliet Dunn, at ZigZag; Adele Davis; Smiths, Bath. Green straw with flowers, £14, at Diane Logan and Hampstead Bazaar. Cream laced espadrilles, £6.50, front Rayne at Harvey Nichols. Mother-of-pearl leaf necklace, about £15, Emeline. Hair by Christopher at Vidal Sassoon. Fishing gear, front Harrods. Picnic hampers and raffia bags, all from Habitat. Liberty print Dick Whittington bags and care shopping basket, all from Liberty. Stripy parasol, £19.50, from Crocker-Wilson.

Rose crepe de chine dress, far left, flowered brightly red and white. With V neck, slightly gathered sleeve. Jeff Banks, about £21, at Jeff Banks Shop ; Puella, Croydon, Purley and Reigate. Pale straw bowler with flower-painted brim, Diane Logan, £8. White beads with red and white flowers, Rosie Nice, from a selection, from 60p. Gold locket engraved with flying bird, Goldmine at Woolworths. Rose and cream flowered Liberty cotton and leather purse, Chris Trill, £13, at Flight Studio ; Jap & Joseph. White nylon gloves, by Cornelia James. Sunglasses, Elle. Eau de nil crepe de chine dress, centre, stippled with beige and white flowers. Jeff Banks, about 823.95, Jeff Banks Shop ; Puella, Croydon, Purley and Reigate. Blonde straw with a bunch of harebells, Buckle Under, £10 at Lucienne Phillips ; Smiths, Bath. Mother-of-pearl leaf necklace, about £15, at Emeline. Flowered glass brooch, £1.50, at Bombacha. Eau de nil leather purse with quilted flower sides. £30, to order from Clive Shilton. Eau de nil and grey silky cotton gloves with violet/blue embroidered cuffs, £5 Browns. Clear flower-patterned Perspex sunglasses, £25.95, Elle, Bond St and Sloane Square. Snake bangle, £2.50, Mulberry Co at Selfridges. Gold bangle, £16.75, Andre Bogaert. Gold rings, from £5.50, at Ken Lane. Sepia flowered crepe de chine dress to mid-calf, left. Sujon, £15, at Liberty ; Image, Bath ; Super-star, Leeds. Flat straw with cream petersham, £7.50, Charles Batten. Mother-of-pearl hat pin, £1, Diane Logan. Pale cream, yellow fake orchids, Crocker-Wilson, £1.65 a pair. Seed pearls, Corocraft, from range at Peter Robinson. Raffia purse, Chris Trill, .E7.70, at Flight Studios ; Jap & Joseph. Speckled cream net gloves, by Katherine Hamnett for Tuttabankem, £3, Browns. Ivory, gold and diamond, pale amber rings, £4, £25, £4, Andre Bogaert.

Now it can be revealed

1970s, Antiquarius, Chelsea Antiques Market, Emmerton and Lambert, forbidden fruit, Inspirational Images, michael roberts, ritva, sunday times magazine, The Purple Shop, Uschi Obermaier, Vintage Editorials, Willie Christie

White kebaya with violet lace trim, £15, from a selection between £12-50 and £30 at Forbidden Fruit, 325 Kings Road. Broderie anglaise skirt, £8, from Vern Lambert, Chelsea Market.

A kebaya is the traditional organdie blouse which Malay and Indonesian women wear over their sarong. It is lavishly embroidered and trimmed with lace. No two are alike. Now available here, selling from £12.50 for plainer ones to £30 for the most elaborate, they provide summer’s latest exotic look. Worn with old jeans or peasanty skirts, pinned together with antique clasps, the kebaya is the sexiest thing in town.

Model is Uschi Obermaier.

Report by Michael Roberts.

Photographed by Willie Christie.

Scanned from The Sunday Times Magazine, July 7th 1974.

Blue/pink embroidered kebaya, £18, from a selection priced between £18 and £30 at Ritva, 8 Hollywood Road, London S. W.10. Art Nouveau jewellery from The Purple Shop, Antiquarius, Kings Road, London S. W.3.

Floral-embroidered kebayas, £20, from a selection between £18 and £30 at Ritva. Deco clasps, £1 ; broderie anglaise skirt, £8, all from Vern Lambert. Pendants and butterfly brooch from The Purple Shop.

Floral-embroidered kebaya, £20, from a selection between £18 and £30 at Ritva. Deco clasps, £1 ; broderie anglaise skirt, £8, all from Vern Lambert. Pendants and butterfly brooch from The Purple Shop.

Cover Up

1970s, Antiquarius, Buckle Under, caroline smith, Christopher Morris, Du-Du, Equinox, Escalade, Foale and Tuffin, forbidden fruit, harpers and queen, Illustrations, Le Bistingo Boutique

A holiday necessity—to entice your gigolo, or simply preserve decency on the terrace for lunchtime drinks — is a cover-up. We’ve looked around, found the nicest ones in town and had them sketched here by Caroline Smith. Some you tie Polynesian style (remember Blue Lagoon?) round you; others you lie on, or in; others are like the simplest dress slipped over your head to demurely cover you up (don’t shock the curé) for church-seeing.

1 Du-Du at 95 Parkway, NW1 are in for a sell-out this summer with their ‘Kangas’. Kangas, for the uninformed, are long pieces of cotton in a huge variety of colours and patterns. They come from Africa and act like a sarong ; they cost about £3 and pack to the site of a handkerchief. 2 Foale & Tuffin‘s new swimsuit will take you right back to Nanny and the sand-pit. White and orange spotted seersucker with a shirred bodice and bloomers ; £7.50, from Countdown, 137 Kings Rd, SW3; Lucienne Phillips, 09 Knightsbridge, SW1. Proving that the cottage industry is thriving, Christopher Morris and his wife Lera, with a friend, Hazel McKenzie, recently opened Habari at 39 Sussex Place, W2. Christopher designs all the clothes, while Lera and Hazel dye the fabric and screen-print it into luscious patterns. They also sell things like the small basket shown below. It’s in brown and cream string and really pretty; £4.25. The dress has a hessian bodice and a low back (or front —depending on how you wear it) with a short voile skirt: £18-50. Peeping out from under the dress on the extreme right of this page you can see their leather sandal, shaped like a trapezium ; £4. 4 Le Bistingo Boutique at 93 Kings Rd, SW3, have gone to town on the Piz Buin collection of swimwear. Its made of polyester fabric —see-through and also tan-through. The designs are rather Tahitian with bright colours and bold flower prints. There are sarong skirts to match the bikinis and make you more respectable. If these still aren’t enough, the bikinis do also come in a less revealing material. The bikini is £7.80, the skirt £10.90. Le Bistingo have also latched on to another idea … if you find that by some strange quirk of fate you need a different sized bikini top and bottom, ‘Huit’ ) now make them separately up to 38″ bust ; £5.50 the set at Le Bistino. 5 Equinox in Antiquarius (135 Kings Rd, SW3) is owned by David Scott and James Goldsack who have got together a fantastic conglomeration of stock from all over the world. It’s a haven for all Indian enthusiasts, as there’s a jolly collection of Navajo Indian carpets and jewellery. You can also buy Spanish crockery which is very, very ‘earthy’ looking, or if you prefer to sit on a prayer mat and sip your tea out of a little Chinese bowl, then Equinox can cater for both these needs as well. So as not to stray too far away from the point of this month’s Shopping B, they also do a very nice line in beach cover-ups ; this one is Mexican and hand-embroidered on cotton, £20. 6 Guaranteed to keep off sunstroke : pretty red straw hat with tanan ribbon ; by Buckle Under about f6.50; from Harrods, Knightsbridge and Darlings, Bath. 7 Essential beach bag to hoard biros and postcards — in canvas, comes in various colours (this one is green). £4.95, Escalade, 187 Brompton Rd, SW3. 8 If you like long skirts and dresses beautifully embroidered, and soft cheesecloth skirts with appliqués, then the place to go is Forbidden Fruit at 352 Kings Rd, SW3. We chose a long cheesecloth skirt with dark brown embroidery around the hem and a matching shirt with shirring round the waist and neckline. Very soft and feminine; sold together, £15.

Illustrated by Caroline Smith.

Scanned from Harpers and Queen, July 1972.

Is there anything you can’t wear?

1970s, Ace, cosmopolitan, Daily Blue, Midas, Vintage Adverts

Silver jumpsuit Dailyblue at Ace, boots Midas, reassurance by Panty Pads.

Sanpro goes New Wave! Of course this image is far too good for a Dr. White’s advert really.

Scanned from Cosmopolitan, July 1977.

City Slickers

19 magazine, 1970s, Antiquarius, Baggage and General, biba, bus stop, clobber, Deco Inspired, Elgee, erica budd, Feathers, gladrags, hollywood clothes shop, Inspirational Images, Jasper, Jean Charles Brosseau, jeff banks, lee bender, Michael Berkofsky, Norma Moriceau, ravel, Shubette, Simon Ellis, Sue Baloo, Sunarama, The Purple Shop, universal witness, van der fransen, Vintage Editorials, wallis

Felt hat. by Jean-Charles Brosseau from Feathers, £5.75 (£5 15s.). Crêpe shirt. by Jeff Banks. £6.30 (6gns.). Natural calico blazer has yellow braid edging and matching shorts, by Wallis, £7.95 (£7 19s.). Tights, by Mary Quant, 75p. (15s.). Artificial flowers from a selection at John Lewis. Photographed at the Purple Shop, Antiquarius, 153 Kings Road, London, S.W.3.

Yves St. Laurent’s ‘Blast From The Past’ award is taken by the blazer. Fashioned a la Dietrich, casual but smart, it looks especially good with shorts, hot-coloured tights and long knee-socks, or pleated skirts. The best choice is plain white, black or red; or hot checks and stripes.

A superb editorial, giving us an insight into the short-lived but legendary Hollywood Clothes Shop and The Purple Shop in Antiquarius (which I feel like I’m regularly crediting in other posts on here) and also designer David Mellor’s shop. It also has the unusual element of every price being given in new and old money – with decimalisation having been introduced in February of the same year. I’m surprised I don’t see this a lot more in editorials from 1971.

Modelled by Sue Baloo

Styled by Norma Moriceau.

Photographed by Michael Berkofsky.

Scanned from 19 Magazine, May 1971.