The Drawing Room Stage

1970s, barry lategan, bill gibb, Inspirational Images, manolo blahnik, Vintage Editorials, Vogue, zapata

Cream broderie anglaise full-tiered halter dress, lace on halter, pink satin and bee buttons on bodice. Silk lace jacket: £350, jacket, £50, — at Bill Gibb. Gold shoes, Manolo Blahnik, £39, at Zapata.

Hit looks from Bill Gibb: fashion on the drawing-room stage starring net and ribbons and flowers.

Photographed by Barry Lategan.

Scanned from Vogue, March 15th 1977.

How very pretty. Cream net coat, tied with ribbons over matching full skirt and top. Skirts embroidered with sugar pale flowers from scallop hems. Top, a knitted bandeau with crossover halter. Coat, £98, top, £18, skirt, £116, at Bill Gibb.

Silvered peach skirt, this page, lace appliquéd with shine, wrapped and gathered at waist, with superfine silvered peach cape, £246, cape, £190 at Bill Gibb. Gold shoes, Manolo Blahnik, £39, at Zapata.

Frosted lilac silk organza dress, wrapped, bandeau bodice backless, crossed with silver. Hems of pastel flower embroidery; £380. Lilac hooded cape with silver lace, £190, at Bill Gibb. Gold shoes, Manolo Blahnik, £39, at Zapata.

Because it’s Christmas

1970s, baccarat, biba, bill gibb, Frank Horvat, Inspirational Images, The Purple Shop, vanity fair, Vintage Editorials

The kind of dress that might have got you Henry VIII — if you had wanted him. Tapestry tunic over a long skirt ; beautiful, low-necked blouse in silk. By Bill Gibb for Baccarat.

Because it’s Christmas. You’re going to forget, for once all the dreary practicalities of life. You’ll have no connection with the girl in the bus queue, wet winter mornings, tiresome clients, ceaseless telephone battles, budgets & diets, mortages and shopping. You’re going to experience the womanly spelndour of long, sumptuous gowns, shaped from luxurious stuffs – rich brocades, painstaking tapestries, beautiful braids; the whole piled into pattern on pattern so that the woman we know we could become emerges from grubby little Cinderella with a nonchalant elegance – relaxed, seemingly pampered and so obviously desreving a custom-made Prince Charming.

And because it’s Vanity Fair, it’s quite a long and endearingly meandering editorial on a loose theme which I will divide into a few different parts. Today, the glorious work of Bill Gibb for Baccarat, photographed so exquisitely I want to live in these images.

Photographed by Frank Horvat.

Scanned from Vanity Fair, December 1970.

Mediaeval splendour in a long tapestry coat, richly panelled in hamster, over a tapestry skirt and silk blouse. Rings, Purple Shop, Chelsea Antique Market ; Biba cameo.

The leisured life – something you can try out at Christmas, no matter how much organisation goes into it, epitomised by the slash-sleeved, printed panne velvet tunic over a ruffle-necked, ruffle-wristed blouse in festive red and green print. Bill Gibb for Baccarat.

Just A Little Something I Ran Up Myself…

1970s, Ace, bill gibb, Clio Goldsmith, cosmopolitan, Gamba, Inspirational Images, Jane Cattlin, liberty, liberty's, manolo blahnik, Midas, Peter Golding, Russell & Bromley, Sheilagh Browne, sheridan barnett, Terence Donovan, Vintage Editorials, Wendy Dagworthy, Yuki, yvonne gold, zandra rhodes, zapata

DESIGNED BY YUKI . . . and typical of the elegant raciness that Yuki breathes into everything he creates, a sultry bloomer dress to wear if you dare and if you’ve got the shape. Make it from a 1.5 metre square of cotton jersey. Simply cut two holes for your legs in the centre, step inside and tie the corners on your shoulders. Fake lily, Novelty Imports. Jewellery, Adrien Mann. Gold leather shoes, £40, Manolo Blahnik for Zapata.

. . . with the aid of Yuki, Sheilagh Brown, Wendy Dagworthy, Sheridan Barnett, Bill Gibb, Jane Cattlin, Zandra Rhodes and Peter Golding, eight top designers who were each persuaded to whip up a creation for when you still haven’t got a thing to wear.

Hair by Harambee, 19 Avery Row, London W1.

Make-up by Yvonne Gold.

Persian carpets from Liberty.

I think one of the models is Clio Goldsmith.

Photographed by Terence Donovan.

Scanned from Cosmopolitan, January 1978.

DESIGNED BY SHEILAGH BROWN … who goes the whole way with glamour, whipping silk and lace and ribbons into deliciously pretty confections. Here she transforms a 2.25 metre length of soft lace into beautiful balloon trousers gathered twice on ribbon drawstrings. A square of silk crepe de Chine, slashed in the middle for a sliding neckline, ties at the front with wide black satin ribbon. Silver sandals, £24.95, Midas.

DESIGNED BY WENDY DAGWORTHY … the designer who makes sporty Viyella and rough tweeds look soft. Sunray-pleated cotton—hunt for the ready-pleated kind—is cut to make a piecrust collar that’s prettily tied with trailing velvet ribbon, on a poncho top belted like a tunic over a matching skirt. The skirt is one width of fabric gathered on a cord at the waist. Fringe the edges of toning check fabric to make the shawl. Boots, £44.99, Russell & Bromley.

DESIGNED BY SHERIDAN BARNETT who knows how to put together the luxury of velvet and lace in the new romantic style. Sheridan Barnett’s big cosy chasuble is made by folding in half a 2.5 metre length of velvet and cutting a straight line in the centre for the neckline. Tuck under the sides and wrap. closed at the waist with glossy black moire. Knot a fichu of black lace at your throat. Jewellery, Adrien Mann. Patent ballet pumps, £11.50, Gamba.

DESIGNED BY BILL GIBB . . . who creates like no other designer. Here’s a little numero (main picture) from Bill’s sketch-pad that’s four straight pieces of jersey and need be only as expensive as the fabric you choose. Cut four 120 X 90cm oblongs of fabric—Bill picked soft ice-cream shades in Qiana jersey. Overlock the edges and run a ribbon drawstring through one short end of each piece. Two oblongs gathered up and tied on each shoulder make the back and front of the dress. The remaining two pieces, gathered in tightly to wrists and draped over your shoulders, make a floaty jacket that can be knotted back and front. Soft gold leather straps are Bill Gibb’s newest accessory. Gold sandals, £24.95, Midas.

DESIGNED BY JANE CATTLIN Sew one short seam in an oval of silky jersey and you’ll have added a glamorous Jane Cattlin creation to your wardrobe. Jane makes it sound as simple as that, though the result looks like the ritziest evening gown in town. Jewellery, Adrien Mann. Gold leather shoes, £40, Manolo Blahnik for Zapata.

DESIGNED BY ZANDRA RHODES .. and called Conceptual Chic by Zandra. For her New Wave look, drop a sliver of shocking pink jersey on top of a plain black T-shirt dress. First cut several jagged slashes in a 105 x 114cm oblong jersey, making two of the cuts big enough for armholes. Overlock the edges and decorate with spangles and safety pins, preferably jewelled. Tie bright satin rouleaux around your neck. Stitch pearl or diamante beads on to plain safety pins or buy one of Zandra’s rolls of pins ready-jewelled from her shop at 14a Grafton Street, London W1. At £10, they’re the punk status symbol! Shoes, £40, Manolo Blahnik for Zapata.

DESIGNED BY PETER GOLDING … whose rhinestone-studded jeans, spangled T-shirts and satin waistcoats glint and gleam in his shop, Ace. If you’re star-struck but can’t afford the glittering trappings or spare the time to stitch sequins on your jeans here’s Peter Golding’s tip. Hang your Christms-tree decorations on to ponchos of sheer black lace, add a few stick-on silvery stars and moons, fasten your Lurex sotckings with silver suspenders, shake your feathers and enjoy yourself! The mirrored belt is made by pasting handbag-size mirrors on to any plain belt. Shoes, £40, Manolo Blahnik for Zapata. Lurex stockings, Mary Quant, £1.60.

Ireland Lends Poetry to Fashion

1970s, Anders Holmquist, baccarat, bill gibb, chelsea cobbler, cherry twiss, christian dior, Deliss, Diorling, Gina Fratini, Inspirational Images, Mexicana, Nettie Vogues, telegraph magazine, The Sunday Telegraph Magazine, Vintage Editorials, Worth

A white cotton lace dress by Mexicana, seen in the tranquil green surroundings of Mount Kennedy in Co. Wicklow.

Many designers look increasingly to the past for their inspiration, and, to find suitable backgrounds for modern clothes. Fashion Editor Cherry Twiss took a selection to Ireland where, with the help of the Irish Georgian Society, she discovered magical, timeless settings for the newest fashions.

“Upgathering Feather-like frills, they step demure as nuns, Nor heed the menacing eyes on every side, Dead set unceasingly like levelled guns. Truly I think each woman is a bird.” Seamus O’Sullivan, Birds.

As always, no shouting at the me for the furs please. Pretend they’re fake. Enjoy the pretty clothes and landscapes instead…

Plaits by Tovar Tresses at Miss Selfridge.

Hair by Roger at Vidal Sassoon.

Make-up by Estee Lauder.

Photographed by Anders Holmquist.

Scanned from The Telegraph Magazine, August 21st 1970.

Lofty ancestral staircase at Mount Ievers, Co. Clare makes a beautiful, subdued setting for Baccarat’s pleated skirt and printed suede tunic. The laced boots are by Deliss.

Recalling former glories at Dollardstown, a drifting Ascher silk giselle dress, all frills and flounces, designed by Gina Fratini and worn with a beaded choker. Taffeta boots from The Chelsea Cobbler.

Mount Ievers, reflected in its own pool, speaks for the brooding timelessness of old Ireland. The black velvet Diorling midi suit is worn with a winged, onyx clip. The black silk boots are made by Deliss.

Feather like frills in the tangled splendour of the grounds of Dollardstown, Co. Meath. Black pleated organza cape and dress by Nettie Vogues. Boots by Deliss.

At the gates of Mount Ievers, a swirling tweed cape, fringed in black wool, by the House of Worth. Leather boots by Deliss.

Liberty on the tiles

1970s, bill gibb, Elle, interior design, interiors, James Mortimer, liberty, liberty's, Sarah Campbell, Susan Collier, Vogue

The Countess Emma de Bendern’s dining-room and kitchen, left: Terrace wall and floor tiles to match cotton union curtains, green as green. Paint, Carson’s Grassy green no 7Q. Emma’s dress, a Liberty print Bill Gibb, to order from Elle, her hair cut by Karin of Derek Roe.

Liberty has covered another few indoor acres with flowers and trellis and the acres are acres of tiles made by Fired Earth. Refreshingly pretty as might be expected, with fabrics to match exactly or very nearly. The _project was initiated by the late Blair Pride, co-ordinated by Susan Collier, Liberty’s design consultant, who with Sarah Campbell produced the designs. Here they are in situ.

Photographed by James Mortimer.

Scanned from Vogue, May 1974.

Designer’s Liberty, above. Susan Collier’s Primrose tiled kitchen, the table set for an Easter tea party on matching Primrose Cloud cotton cloth. As her daughter Sophie said : “The kitchen’s so lovely I’m almost jealous of myself.”

The Collier house is Queen Anne, the oldest in Clapham, but the corner room, right, is a Victorian addition, with Kazak tiles, Karabag blind and cushions of luscious Mercury satin from Susan Collier’s Summer Dance Collection. All tiles in Liberty pattern by Fired Earth, 6 or 8 ins square, from £16.50 a sq metre four days delivery, from 102 Portland Rd, W.11. Fabrics from £2.45 a yd, 48 in wide, at Liberty.

Get-Up-at-Eight and Live-on-Air Dressing

1970s, bill gibb, charles jourdan, chelsea cobbler, david bailey, Gina Fratini, Jane Goddard, jean varon, john bates, Vintage Editorials, Vogue, zandra rhodes

Silk chiffon with shadow lilies in white and iced green, washed over with a few pearly shells. Big full skirt over petticoat, a sash of Edwardian peach satin. Zandra Rhodes , £160, petticoat, £26, at Fortnum & Mason. Opal choker, £210, N. Bloom. Long opaline rope, £12, drop mother-of-pearl earrings, £15, from range, The Purple Shop. Opal/diamond ring, £550, at Andrew Grima. Snakeskin sandals, £29.50, Charles Jourdan. Scent, Vivre by Molyneux. Hair by Michael at Michaeljohn.

Model is Jane Goddard.

Photographed by David Bailey.

Scanned from Vogue, April 1st 1974.

Quatrefoil layers of silk chiffon in melon, apricot, candy pink, frilling over the arms. By Gina Fratini, £244 , at Selfridges ; Lucienne Phillips ; Diagonal, Guildford and Lucinda Byre, Liverpool. Carnelian and silver gilt ring, £30, silver and gunstone ring, £18.50, Bakelite drop earrings, £3, all from range at The Purple Shop.

Crossover bodice of black silk crepe framed in lipstick red a full Liberty print silk skirt and enormous gathered pockets edged in stripes. By Bill Gibb, about £140, at ZigZag ; Chic of Hampstead ; Vicki, Cobham ; Julie Fitzmaurice, Harrogate. Scarlet high heels, £28 to order, at The Chelsea Cobbler. Pale sheer tights, Charnos. Scent, Audace by Marcel Rochas.

Polyamide georgette rainbow gathered from small brassiere top, one strap going straight over shoulder, the other angled to centre. By John Bates at Jean Varon, £49.95, Fenwick ; Earkers ; Kendal Milne, Manchester ; Campus, Oxford. Green hoop earrings, £2, from range at The Purple Shop. Scent, Fidji by Laroche.

How You Dress is an Escape

1970s, anne schaufuss, baccarat, belinda bellville, bill gibb, charles jourdan, chelsea cobbler, Chloe, christian dior, clive arrowsmith, Hair and make-up, jean shrimpton, Jorn Langberg, karl lagerfeld, kurt geiger, leonard, Moya Bowler, Nettie Vogues, pablo and delia, Savita, The Purple Shop, thea porter, Vintage Editorials, Vogue, zandra rhodes

DEPTHS OF EVENING CHIFFON,
CAFTAN AND DIRNDL DRESS
MERGED WITH GOLD AND VELVET
Above: Tobacco chiffon caftan with smoked gold leaves, hooded, boot-buttoned, Arabic sleeves weighted with tassels. Gathered from the waist with a twisted gold rope belt. Choker, The Purple Shop, 15 Flood St, S.W.3. Soft gold boots with open lacing, 22 gns, Kurt Geiger. Right: Black organza with a bib and skirt of brilliant panne velvet, red, green and yellow printed in ribbon bands, with bangles and cuffs of the velvet. Rings, Andrew Grima. Beaded black velvet choker, The Purple Shop. Black satin ankleboots, with bright passementerie, by Moya Bowler for Edouard Jerrold. Dresses, both pages, to order at Bellville Sassoon.

How you dress is an escape and an adventure in itself… never more so than the evening.

Hair by Leonard

Models are Anne Schaufuss and Jean Shrimpton.

Photographed by Clive Arrowsmith.

Scanned from Vogue, December 1970.

SHEER BLACK OF NIGHT,
WISPS PUT TOGETHER WITH
JEWELS, VELVET AND GLEAMS
Black chiffon blouse and skirt tiled with cut velvet mosaic. Blouse of velvet harlequins, bibbed with jet beads set in little studs of gilt; the skirt, striped with studded circles and squares. £184, at Thea Porter. Feather fan, to hire at The Purple Shop. Satin shoes, dyed to order, £18, dyeing, 21s, Charles Jourdan.

Black chiffon dress with a glittering apron tied around the skirt — turquoise and rusty velvet shapes shot with silver, with a striped hem, and cuffs to match. By Chloe, to order from Fortnum & Mason. Mirror necklace, £70, and gold sash clasped with turquoises, 140, both from Thea Porter. Rings, David Morris. Black velvet laced boots, 19 gns, from Kurt Geiger

KNICKERBOCKER BALLET ALL SURFACES RIPPLED WITH COLOUR AND SHINE
Grass green silk satin glossed with an intricate paisley of red, ink, black, tremendous sleeves and tunic gathered from a yoke over ballooning knee pantaloons. 85 gns; choker 25 gns, and belt, 58 gns, all at Savita. Green moire boots, 18 gns, at The Chelsea Cobbler.

Water markings, waves of colour pooled in a chiffon blouse honeycombed at the shoulders, antique tunic and panne velvet knickers. The tunic has a fitted bodice, full sweeping skirt. Blouse, £59, tunic, £75, knickers £24, heavy silver belt, £100, all Thea Porter. Burgundy velvet boots laced to knee, 19 gns, Kurt Geiger. Rings, Blooms. Chokers, The Purple Shop, 15 Flood St, S.W.3. Make up by Lancome, with Climat scent.

A NEW SLEEVE
CUT ACROSS NARROW FALLS
OF GOLD LACE
AND CLOUDY CHIFFON
Spun gold laced with mauve, the bodice cut wide into the sleeves. sashed with deep purple velvet above a basque and a gathered skirt. By Jorn Langberg from Christian Dior London. Amethyst string and brooch, at Blooms: rings. Hooper Bolton. Satin shoes dyed mauve. £18. 21s for dyeing at Charles Jourdan. Amethyst tights. Mary Quant. Make-up by Dior. with new Dioressence scent.

The bodice sleeve in chiffon, clouds of mauve blowing across. The top crossed low over the bosom and simply gathered at wrists. slight gathers in the skirt catchir the air. By Nettie Vogues, at Harrods: Hilda Hanson. Nottingham. Velvet choker. The Purple Shop at Antiquarius. Amethyst and diamond rings. Blooms; emerald and diamond ring. David Morris. Make-up by Orlane, with Jean d’Albret Casaque scent.

GLORIOUS NIGHT SHAPES.
TAPESTRY BELLS
AND SATIN PAGODA
Misty blue tapestry and gold leaves. left. edged with wide ribbons of sprigged tapestry. A gold thread laces the deep neck of a small jacket belling from the Yoke, with short arabesque sleeves. Fade-print chemise underneath, with full sleeves and crossed braid ; a slim bell for a skirt. By Bill Gibb for Baccarat, at Fortnum & Mason. Pearly black velvet choker, The Purple Shop at Antiquarius. Tangerine braid decorations, from Savita. Rings, Andrew Grima. Honey-gold and gilt velvet slippers, 20 gns, to order, The Chelsea Cobbler. Make-up by Eve of Roma, with the new Eve scent.

Sunset burst of satin, right, a pagoda of quilted tiers, wide sleeves set up to a bib bodice. Feather-print of celestial blue and of black for sun-rays. By Zandra Rhodes, at Fortnum & Mason. Diamond and blue enamel rings, at Blooms. Neck lace stringing pale beads and colourless feathers, by Pablo & Delia. Make-up by Mary Quant with P.M. scent.

Twiggy by Justin de Villeneuve

1970s, bill gibb, Inspirational Images, Justin de Villeneuve, petticoat magazine, twiggy

The dress is uncredited but it looks like a Bill Gibb to me.

Photographed by Justin de Villeneuve.

Scanned from Petticoat, 16th October 1971.

Back to the Drawing Board

1970s, Antonio, Bellini, bill gibb, countdown, Frances Vaughan, Illustrations, Kaffe Fassett, Lady Fingers, Vogue

Man’s smoke-grey kimono knitted in oriental patterns, rivers and islands fading up sleeves and hem, black to charcoal, ginger to peach. Stripe sash. 30 gns. Child’s plum red tunic in diamond design, purple and pale blue all over, violet and khaki, rose pink and blue on the edge. 5 gns. Woman’s long black kimono with a sky of blue and ginger stars, giant satellites of black, dark brown, plum red and violet circling. Black and grey stripe sash. 30 gns. All by Kaffe Fassett at Beatrice Bellini, 11 West Halkin St.

Fashion constantly starts afresh and now it has travelled far back into the imagination, retuned to the basics of craft and design. Grass roots is the mood for this summer and the look is handwoven, hand painted, handknitted, handstitched. Here is how appliqué was recreated and a shepherd’s smock came in from the fields. How lace came to be painted with butterflies and sewn onto tartan, how knitting grew into something remarkably new.

Illustrations by Antonio

Scanned from Vogue, July 1970.