Inspirational Images: Dress to decorate summer evenings

1970s, bus stop, caroline arber, celia birtwell, Gill Hutchings, Inspirational Images, lee bender, ossie clark, Pierre Elegante, quorum, radley, Simon Ellis, Sujon, Vintage Editorials, Vogue

Crepe dress by Simon Ellis, £8 15s

Photographs by Caroline Arber. Vogue, June 1970.

I wish summer would come. I wish my entire wardrobe consisted of these clothes. I wish every day could be a Caroline Arber kind of day…

Blouse by John Craig, £3 16s. Skirt by Pierre Elegante, £7.

Poppy red moss crepe dress with print by Celia Birtwell, by Ossie Clark for Radley, 11 gns at Quorum.

Dress by Gill Hutchings for Fair Lady, £4.

Blue-grey voile midi dress by Sujon, 7gns.

Rose and green jersey midi dress from Bus Stop, £6 15s

We are not the first, and we will not be the last…

1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1960s, 1970s, biba, bill gibb, british boutique movement, bus stop, catherine buckley, cosmopolitan, ossie clark, yves saint laurent, zandra rhodes

I think it is safe to say that I love old clothes. I dream them, I live in them and I covet the ones I don’t have. But I am under no illusion that there is anything inherently unique or radical about this. The uniqueness comes from the impression of your personality in whatever you choose to wear. The fabrics, the colours, the shapes, these are the expression of my inner self in one, superficially superficial, way.

It is important to remember this: each generation thinks it invented sex, and I fear the same goes for ‘vintage’ clothing. This article makes for fascinatingly familiar reading. Commercialisation is the death knell each time, but in turn becomes the coveted piece of history for the next generation of disillusioned people (see the mention of Catherine Buckley’s old jacquard fabrics in the text of the article. My Buckley skirt is one of these pieces). The irony does not escape me; I wear clothes by Ossie Clark, Biba, Bus Stop… all of who were creating clothes heavily inspired by their own childhoods.

Just wanting a period look is not the important part, anyone can buy a reproduction and plenty of people will, the expression comes from the colours, fabrics, shapes and accoutrements you pick. There is absolutely nothing wrong with new clothing taking influence from old, although my thoughts on direct duplication are well known, but why would you limit yourself to the prints they have chosen this season? There are limitless possibilities when you look around you and take inspiration from a variety of sources other than from conventional fashion magazines or ‘how to’ guides.

That is partly the aim of this blog, and I hope to continue in such a vein for a long time yet…

The Cosmo Girl’s Guide to the Cast-Offs Cult… Cosmopolitan, August 1974.

Something To Cling To

1970s, biba, bus stop, david hurn, Foale and Tuffin, georgina linhart, just looking, petticoat magazine, Sacha, Vintage Editorials

Stretch towelling midi dress from Foale and Tuffin. Cotton velour tie-front dress from Phase One. Armband from Biba. Hats from The Shop.

It’s such a shame that towelling has been so roundly bastardised and rendered unwearable by the likes of Juicy ‘Pepto Bismol’ Couture and consequent high street replicas. Even Ossie was using it in the late Sixties!

“High summer towelling” feature scanned from Petticoat, August 1970. Photos by David Hurn. Scanned by Miss Peelpants.

Jacket with belt and long skirt by Bellino. Stretch dress with matching trousers from Foale and Tuffin. Sandals by Sacha. Crochet hat from The Shop.

‘I love you’ top by Clobber

Top, shorts and skirt by Just Looking. Hat from Bus Stop. Sunglasses from Biba. Shoes by Sacha.

Top by Mr Freedom. Shorts by Georgina Linhart.

Inspirational Images: Fashion’s Upper Crust

1970s, bus stop, caroline baker, corocraft, duc, lee bender, nova magazine, stirling cooper

Cheesecake sweaters by Phyllis Collins at Stirling Cooper. Voluminous batwing sweater by Lee Bender at Bus Stop. Jewellery by Corocraft.

Not only is this a delightful image, but I have a green version of the ‘cheesecake’ Stirling Cooper jumper. Whee!

Photo by Duc. Nova Magazine, January 1972. Scanned by Miss Peelpants.

The New Avenger in Lee Bender

annacat, bus stop, chelsea girl, harold ingram, jean varon, joanna lumley, lee bender, murray arbeid, norman hartnell, polly peck, terry de havilland, the avengers, website listings

I have just listed some stunning new pieces over at Vintage-a-Peel, but the real star of the show has got to be this incredible Lee Bender for Bus Stop skirt and halter top set. For it is identical to the one worn by Joanna Lumley in a photocall for The New Avengers in 1976. Deliciously bright and saucy, and the one thing which might distract the world from your pudding-bowl haircut!

Photos and links to other newly listed items follow underneath…

Late Sixties cord jacket (click to view listing)

Murray Arbeid 1980s turquoise cocktail dress (click to view listing)

Terry de Havilland 1970s gold glitter shoes (click to view listing)

Norman Hartnell early 1960s chiffon and soutache evening gown (click to view listing)

Annacat 1960s blue velvet jacket (click to view listing)

Harold Ingram 1970s knitted top (click to view listing)

Polly Peck 1960s white cotton blouse (click to view listing)

Chelsea Girl 1970s stripe jumper (click to view listing)

Tom Bowker for Jean Varon 1970s silver lamé top (click to view listing)

Jean Shrimpton – At Home With Fashion

1970s, bus stop, cherry twiss, coopers, janice wainwright, jean shrimpton, jean-loup sieff, ossie clark, sonia rykiel, telegraph magazine

“It is so beautifully cut”. Sabbath Suit by Ossie Clark.

As with so many of my favourite people, I far prefer ‘Seventies Shrimpton’ to her earlier, more famous Bailey-era. This photoshoot is from The Telegraph Magazine, April 1973, and shows Jean returning to the family farm – decked out in all the best designers of the time.

Jean Shrimpton has gained fame, fortune and glamour through her spectacular modelling career, but she seldom spends much money on clothes – although she will, on occasions, treat herself to an extravagance from Ossie Clark, one of her favourite designers. So we asked her to make her own practical choice from the clothes that are in the shops now. We photographed her at her parents’ home – Rose Hill Farm, Burnham in Buckinghamshire.

“Basically I always choose dark clothes because they are practical and don’t show the dirt. I like fairly simple, well-cut, Forties type clothes with big shoulders. I wear a lot of trousers and long skirts and prefer jackets to coats. If I do wear colour it is usually in tights or shoes”

Images scanned by Miss Peelpants

“I like long skirts and I liked the shape of this sweater with the cuffed sleeves and the lower neckline”. Sweater by Rykiel.

“Super, very Forties, lovely grey colour, loose and easy to move in. Very much the sort of thing I wear”. Suit by Coopers.

“A nice simple dress that could be worn anytime”. Dress by Janice Wainwright

“I like small flower prints and this is a very pretty one”. Dress by Bus Stop.

“Very comfortable, I can wear it anywhere”. Jacket and trousers by Coopers.

All images scanned by Miss Peelpants

Book review: The Faces 1969-75

alkasura, book reviews, bus stop, menswear, rod stewart, ronnie lane, ronnie wood, the faces

Ok, so this can’t possibly be a proper book review, because I don’t own the book. The reason I don’t own it, is because it costs £345. It’s £345 well spent, if you have the money, in my opinion. But it’s still £345. You pay for superior materials, lush production and great exclusivity; it’s bound (ha!) to hold/increase its value. It also contains a lustworthy amount of photos of rockstars in beautiful clothes.

I did, however, get to see a preview at the launch, at Genesis HQ in Guildford, on Tuesday night. Once the crowds had cleared somewhat, the feather-headed pseudo-mods had drifted away, I had spotted Peter Blake (again!! It’s the Zandra Rhodes effect; you start feeling bored of seeing them everywhere!) and gobbled up as many canapés as I could find, I carefully flicked through the book and tried to take some lousy phone shots of the photos up on the walls. I was in heaven. Men in satin. Men in flares. Men in feather boas. Men in platforms….

Rod in an Alkasura cherry jacket.

The "Bus Stop" blouse.

Men in blouses. Fantastic.

Funny Faces

Plonk!

Personally I’m a Ronnie Lane kinda girl. Rod Stewart is fine in this period, and he wears some of the most brilliantly bonkers gear out of all of them. Ronnie Wood is tolerable, but he doesn’t float my boat. Ian McLagan has instantly gained major points in my book for being seen wearing a Bus Stop Forties-lady print blouse throughout the book. And Kenney Jones is….there. But put them all together, and it’s just magical. The photos are largely unseen; vivid, candid and energetic.

I’ll just have to keep hoping for that windfall so I can buy the damn thing! The Faces: 1969-75 is available here:
http://www.genesis-publications.com/faces/default.htm

Legendary Beauty

alice pollock, bus stop, celia birtwell, fashion mouse, janice wainwright, john kelly, ossie clark, pre-raphaelite, quorum, seventies fashion, simon massey, vanity fair, wightwick manor

By Alice Pollock at Quorum*, 19gns. The settee is covered in the original William Morris Bird Design.

There’s a marvellously romantic feeling about the Pre-Raphaelite look. It starts with your hair…soft, natural, framing your face in a ripple of tiny waves. It touches your skin…pale, delicate, un-made-up looking. It colours your clothes…crepe, chiffons and satins in rich hues. Start wearing this great, romantic look today – who knows, he might just start being very romantic to you!

Scanned from Vanity Fair, May 1970. Photographed by John Kelly at Wightwick Manor.

*This is a misattribution, the dress is actually an Ossie.

Dress by Simon Massey, £15. Photographed against a Burne Jones tapestry.

Dress by Fashion Mouse, £22. Photographed against the Kempe stained glass windows.

Dress by Bus Stop, £5. Photographed against a painting by Rossetti pupil Treffry Dunn.

Short and Sweet

19 magazine, 1970s, alistair cowin, bus stop, gillian richard, gladrags, Illustrations, lee bender, medusa, michael roberts, mr freedom, stirling cooper

I feel sad for the summer which never quite came to these shores. We had some nice days early on, but nothing consistent. I’m no sun worshipper, and I freely admit to preferring autumn, but it would have been nice to have been out and about a little more frequently in a little less clothing. I’m considering a little seaside jaunt in October, so I’ll just have to wear this kind of gear with some thick tights, hat and a coat over the top.

Stunning illustrations from 19 Magazine, May 1971, by Michael Roberts. I did a little reading up on Roberts, and he seems like a fascinating, Renaissance-style man. I pay far more attention to the names of illustrators these days, for obvious reasons, and it’s always nice to discover something about these all-too-often unsung artists.