What’s new Alleycat?

1970s, Alleycat, betsey johnson, Escalade, Inspirational Images, Sandy Lieberson, Vogue

whats-new-alleycat-1

It was this close-cropped straw-white head munching a hamburger that stopped Paul Young, Mr Escalade, in his tracks. Within minutes, Suze was the first London fan of Betsey Johnson, young American designer for Alleycat & Co, and pretty hot news herself. Betsey’s clothes were fresh out of the packing cases, en route to her own special department in Escalade, packed with sensational shapes like these … moving proof that Betsey Johnson knows all about shape. Welcome to London, Betsey.

All clothes by Betsey Johnson for Alleycat & Co.

Photographed by Lieberson.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, December 1971.

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Mild Sauce: Emmanuelle Khanh at Escalade

1970s, Emmanuelle Khanh, Escalade, Inspirational Images, mild sauce, underwear, Vintage Adverts

If you can find this Emmanuelle Khanh bra anywhere else in London, we’ll buy it for you.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, December 1970

Tighten your belts – Conspicuous waist

1950s, 1970s, biba, british boutique movement, dorothee bis, Escalade, Eva Sereny, Fiona Lewis, Inspirational Images, sunday times magazine

Sweater by Biba and belt by Fenwicks

One of my favourite fashion shoots of, ooh, forever, I have no idea why I have only just got round to scanning it in. This look appeals to me more and more every time I look at it. Part of what I love about the Seventies is the way they were influenced by the styles of earlier eras, and yet the result is always so perfectly Seventies and, inexplicably, preferable to the original. Speaking for myself, anyway…

Photographed by Eva Sereny. Scanned from The Sunday Times Magazine, October 1972

“At the Paris winter collections no-one seemed to have any scruples about cribbing from the Fifties. However, Dorothée Bis, one of the most influential ready-to-wear designers, did it better than anybody else because the clothes managed to look far sexier than they ever did at the time. Big baggy men’s department sweaters; jackets and coats, swagger-backed or lumberjack style, in cloth or fake fur; tight skirts hobbled over seamed lurex tights – in fact, everything that could be worn with a waspie belt like the one shown here, giving more shape tot he shapely and hope to the straight. On the cover and on these pages actress Fiona Lewis shows how she wears waist-clinchers.”

Sweater and belt from Biba

Sweater is model’s own, belt from Biba

Waspie from Escalade

Waspie and felt skirt by Biba

Inspirational Images: How to make it happen on holiday

1970s, alice pollock, brian duffy, bus stop, clobber, cosmopolitan, Crochetta, deborah and clare, Deirdre McSharry, Diane Logan, Escalade, Gordon Deighton, harold ingram, Inspirational Images, lord john, Lucienne Phillips, miss mouse, Suliman, Tom Gilbey, Vintage Editorials

Dress by Elle. Shirt by Deborah and Claire.

Always happy to bring you another ‘lost’ shoot by the late, great Brian Duffy. Since Duffy destroyed his own archive, we are left to piece together a career from what was published in magazines or retained in other people’s archives. I try to scan and share whenever I can… I covet both Alice Pollock pieces in this spread, and love the man’s style. Definitely how all men should dress, always.

Photographed by Duffy. Fashion by Deirdre McSharry. Modelled by Greta Norris and Cyril Hartman.

Scanned from Cosmopolitan, July 1972.

As an aside, apologies for sporadic blogging at the moment. There are a few changes afoot and it is distracting me a little from my usual magazine scouring and scanning. I will tell you when everything, hopefully, falls into place in the next few weeks.