granny takes a trip

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

Last Tango in Tijuana

1970s, antony price, che guevara, Dinah Adams, Dolcis, gillian richard, granny takes a trip, Herbert Johnson, Honey Magazine, Ian Batten, Inspirational Images, jean junction, Martha Hill, miss mouse, polly peck, rae spencer cullen, Roy A. Giles, Russell & Bromley, Samm, Spectrum, stirling cooper, Vintage Editorials, wallis

If you can’t tango, simply steal into the spotlight in these flamboyant rumba dresses. The slipped shoulder strap, the bared midriff and the full-blown flouncy skirts all spell out the sexiest numbers for summer.

The main difference between the content of a magazine like Honey, as opposed to Vogue or Queen, is that the designers tend to be the more intriguing and less well-known of the period. If you want names like Miss Mouse, Granny Takes a Trip or Antony Price, these magazines should always be your first port of call. This shoot alone features one of my Holy Grail pieces by Granny Takes a Trip: the ruffled tie front top and skirt ensemble designed by Dinah Adams. Previously a designer for two other cult London boutiques, Mr Freedom and Paradise Garage, painfully little is known about Dinah Adams (misattributed as ‘Diana’ in the original credits). Which is why it’s always lovely to see her work represented anywhere.

Also shown here is a frothy, frilly delight of a frock by Miss Mouse, a.k.a Rae Spencer-Cullen. A personal favourite of mine, the Miss Mouse aesthetic is precisely why this early Seventies period is my favourite for fashion. Her work was heavily Fifties-inspired, quite ahead of the curve in the scheme of things, but always with a novel twist. Spencer-Cullen is yet another designer whose life remains something of a mystery, despite being a part of a hugely influential circle which included artists Duggie Fields and Andrew Logan. It seems that this anonymity was (at least initially) intentional, as an article from the Glasgow Herald in 1976 declared.

“At first, six years ago, when presenting her quirky designs on fashion, she seemed shy and utterly retiring. Miss Mouse could not be contacted easily by the press. She was elusive, hazed in shadows, a real mouse about publicity in fact. The only evidence of her entire existence was her clothes.”

In a world where we are so used to having information at our fingertips, there is something quite enchanting about this; tiny scraps must be stitched together to create a flimsy silhouette of a creative genius.

Photographed by Roy A Giles.

Scanned from Honey, July 1973.

(Please note – this blog originally appeared in 2016 on Shrimpton Couture’s ‘Curated’ blog project which has since been removed. It seemed a shame to let the posts disappear completely so I hope to eventually repost all my work here.)

Rose-strewn wrapover cotton bolero and long frilled skirt from Spectrum. Raffia and cotton tie belt by Herbert Johnson. Right: Tightly ruched off-the-shoulder top and long skirt with deeply riched waistband from Wallis.
Ritzy ruffled satin bolero top with frilled skirt by Dinah Adams for Granny Takes a Trip. Wavy leather sandals by Samm. Right: Slinky spotted Tricel dress by Ian Batten at Stirling Cooper. Crackly taffeta long flounced skirt by Antony Price for Che Guevara. Wooden and patent sandals by Russell & Bromley.
Flouncy black and white gingham off-the-shoulder dress printed with orange and lemon flowers by Gillian Richard. Canary yellow sandals by Samm. Embroidered cummerbund by Herbert Johnson.
Swirling striped cotton skirt by Jean Junction. Off-the-shoulder pleated blouse by Martha Hill. Polished leather boots from Dolcis.
Black cotton ruched and flared rumba dress printed with multi-coloured flowers and birds by Miss Mouse. Apple green shoes by Russell & Bromley.

Left: Crisp cotton gingham blouse and flounced skirt both by Martha Hill. Oval bead choker and bangles by Paul Stephens. Right: Ruffled cotton check blouse and tiered skirt by Polly Peck. Cummerbund by Herbert Johnson. Shoes by Russell & Bromley.

Get away from it all

1960s, british boutique movement, granny takes a trip, Honey Magazine, Inspirational Images
After a hot hectic day, you need a change of pace. So slip into a soft slinky dress like this one, 9 gns., from Granny Takes a Trip, 488 King’s Road, London, SW10.

(I can’t find a photographer credit for this stunner, so my apologies to them.)

Scanned from Honey magazine, July 1968.

Meet Simon and Marijke – Two of The Beautiful People

1960s, Apple Boutique, Barry Finch, Boutiques, british boutique movement, celebrity boutiques, eric clapton, george harrison, granny takes a trip, Josje Leeger, marianne faithfull, Marijke Koger, mick jagger, Pattie Boyd, Rave, Simon Posthuma, The Beatles, The Fool

the-fool-1The world of pop artists Simon and Marijke is indeed strange—their philosophy is to spread the influence of art over every aspect of civilized society, to produce a world throbbing with colour, light and beautiful things—but are we ready for them and their way of life? Will they make it, or will they disappear into the realms of history? Jeremy Pascall visited them to find out!

Officially the street nameplate says “Montague Square”. Unofficially it says “George Harrison is the best Beatle” in felt-tip pen. Just up the road Patti Harrison’s orange and yellow mini is parked. Beneath the sun-hot pavement of the quiet London square is a cool basement area. Set into the wall is a blue-painted door with gold stars scattered across it. A small sign says “Love, special delivery!”

Behind the door is a large, calm flat, at the centre of which is a big, open room, bright with rainbow paintings, fragrant with incense and flowers, loud with music, and alive with happy, talking, laughing people.

Mick and Marianne: Simon’s visitors.
The Cream with their instruments, painted by Simon and Marijke.

Here two young Dutch painters, Simon and Marijke, hold court. Their boon companions are Barry and Josje. Their courtiers include the Beatles, Mick Jagger, Graham Nash, the Cream and the rest of London’s most beautiful people.

But this is not just a court, it is a painter’s power-house, a beauty factory. Simon, Marijke, Josje and Barry are part of a new generation of artists. Pop artists who are using pop music and stars and fashion to bring their work before us. If you’ve ever seen the Cream, opened the “Sgt. Pepper” cover, or bought the latest Hollies’ album you’ll have seen their work. And you’ll be seeing a lot more of it in the future.

Simon (pronounced Simone) Posthuma is twenty-eight. He was born the year that war broke out, and remembers the Germans being kind to him. “I turned them on”, he said and smiled. This is Simon’s mission, to turn everyone on to beauty and colour.

The son of a policeman (he admits to this with an ironic chuckle; his later life has shown that he and the police don’t always see eye to eye), Simon was an early drop-out, leaving school because “we didn’t under-stand each other”. He then went through every conceivable job. For a time he was an art student, “but they threw me out because they said I had no talent!”

Despite this set-back he continued to paint. “I’ve always painted, experimented, progressed, tried to find what I want to say.” At first his work was conventional landscapes and portraits, but he soon evolved his own highly individual (and now much copied) style of brilliant rainbow colours and patterns.

Four years ago the gently rebellious artist met Marijke (pronounced Marracca) Koger, than a commercial, but not very happy, artist working in an advertising agency. They clicked in every way and started creating happenings with the help of their growing circle of friends consisting of musicians, writers and artists.

Between them Simon and Marijke really stirred up Amsterdam. “We did some crazy, beautiful things, man,” Simon said in his soft, Dutch accent. “We organised evening happenings when we took over a house, and had music and dancing and action painting. One day we went out into the street and painted it gold. Crazy!”

Simon and Marijke were joined in their “rainbow circle” by Josje (pronounced Yosha) Leeger. Josje, an old school friend of Marijke, was already established as a designer in Holland, and her clothes reflect the beautifully bizarre, freely fanciful ideas of the group. The clothes are made of different coloured fabrics and materials. Like styled patchwork quilts and up-dated gypsy costumes, jesters’ motley and troubadours’ shreds and patches.

And so they were three—Simon, Marijke and Josje. They had good things going for them in Amsterdam — a boutique and exhibitions — but they wanted to get out and so Simon and Marijke went to Morocco and Greece and then decided that London was for them.

But at first London wasn’t sure if they were right for it! They weren’t readily accepted. “We got very annoyed about it at first, but then we got to know the people at ‘Granny Takes A Trip’, and through them we met hip P.R. man Barry Finch, who was looking for someone to design the programme for the Saville Theatre.”

Simon and Marijke came, he saw, they conquered, and that was the start! They designed the programme cover for the Saville, started meeting the most influential people in pop, fell under the patronage of the Beatles and never looked back.

Barry became manager of the romantic duo. The Beatles asked them to submit designs for their “Sgt. Pepper” cover. They did the full job, including a fearsome cut-out mask, but only the inner sleeve design was used.

Simon, Marijke, Josje and Barry have created their own little world, a prototype for what they want us all to have. It’s a sprawling, open flat, centred around a long hallway and communal room. Most of the business of living is carried on in this room, where visitors are made welcome. Unlike the classic picture of an artist’s home, the apartment is remarkably clean and tidy.

In the main room, be-decked with samples of their work, Simon and Marijke hold court. A record player in the corner drones Ravi Shankar, “a present from George”. Marijke hands round sweet little Indian cakes—”A present from Ravi”. Somehow the tiny community seems utterly cut off from the bustle of London and it is no surprise when Mick, Marianne and Patti wander in to savour the tranquillity.

Surrounded by the things and the people they love, they gently, persuasively expound their philosophy, and outline their plans.

It is a philosophy based on love. “The essence is love. Love will grow, spread until the whole world is turned on to it. Love will not die. Everybody must turn on.

“There are people who don’t understand and walk away, but the next day they find out a new part of what is happening. To them it appears that it’s all happening at once, but in fact it’s the culmination of years. People react to us; in Paris they shouted rude words at us and we smiled back, but it didn’t happen in London. Anyway we’re in a different society, we mix with people who think like us, we stay in our headquarters all the time, work all the time.

“What is the ultimate? Paradise, living for each other. No dirty cities. We will change back to country communities where money won’t be necessary, we’ll work for each other. Who’ll do all the work? Computers. Eventually computers will show we don’t need computers!

“The old leaders are dying. Soon there will be new leaders. No, not leaders — spiritual mentors. This is the divine plan,” said Simon.

The philosophy sounds muddled and naive but it’s spoken in all sincerity. Simon speaks wonderingly of Eastern mystics who can perform miracles, produce castles out of the air. Charmingly childlike, but they have exciting plans afoot.

There will soon be an exhibition of Simon’s work, followed by the opening of a boutique and a film or theatre venture.

Boutique isn’t quite the word. The shop will be more of an environment. Simon and Marijke think that pop, fashion, art and design have been too separate in the past. They want to bring them all together under one roof. It would be nice to see people walking around in their fabulous clothes, hanging their beautiful paintings on the walls (posters will soon be available) and accepting their philosophy. But are we ready for it yet?

All colour, fun, love, beauty. Gold streets! Why not? That’s how it feels to be one of the beautiful people!

Some wonderful photos of The Fool which I hadn’t seen before. Interesting to read about their plans for their boutique (the-here-unnamed Apple Boutique) which would open only a couple of months after this was published and closed six months later.

Photographer uncredited.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Rave Magazine, September 1967.

the-fool-2

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

Guy Day: Getting shirty

1960s, granny takes a trip, Honey Magazine, Illustrations, Mensday, menswear, wendy buttrose

Illustrations by Wendy Buttrose. Honey magazine, September 1966

In lieu of Mensday, here’s my occasional Whoops-I-forgot-Mensday feature, Guy Day. Especially appropriate since one of the shirts comes from a shop called ‘Guy’. Amazing illustrations by none other than Wendy Buttrose*, and what I wouldn’t give to get hold of some of those incredible shirts!

Wendy, if you ever come across this blog please do email me and let me know more about you. Your illustrations are wonderful!

Psssst…..

autumn, barry lategan, granny takes a trip, Inspirational Images, Make-up, mr freedom, Ms Peelpants' rants, platforms, seventies fashion, suede, Vogue
Vogue. September 1970

…is it wrong to secretly be longing for it to be autumn?

Perhaps I bore too easily. More likely, it’s because I can’t bear being too hot. And, also, because I bore easily. I love my summer dresses, and there’s nothing quite like being able to leave the house without a jacket, cardigan and sometimes even sans shawl. But that very human tendency to want what you can’t have means that I start looking longingly at my long-sleeved crepe, velvet and polyester dresses, all taking a well-earned summer holiday. I keep having to bare my legs to the world. I miss tights! I also long to come out the other side of ‘ironing season’. Because I’m extremely pernickety and I insist on ironing all my cotton dresses, so that is rather my own fault. But still…

It also means that, gripped by the blindingly bad mood of a Really Bad Week (last week), I somehow wander into the shops and somehow buy the pair of buckled suede purple platforms I’ve been coveting since they appeared in store in June (when I was, officially, looking for a pretty pair of sandals for my holiday). Somehow I justify this by the fact that I waited three weeks, and that they might disappear by a more appropriate buying time. It’s less ridiculous to buy them in July than in June. I’ve had my summer holiday, ergo I can start thinking about an autumn getaway and the pretty suede shoes I might need for that. Ahem.

On a more practical, businesslike level, it also means I am gripped by confusion on what to list over at Vintage-a-Peel. Summer is pretty much silly season for vintage. No one is around and no one is really buying summer stuff once mid-July hits. At least, that’s always been the received wisdom. But, as a business, I cannot take a school holiday-length break from the world and come back in September with all my velvets and crepes. So I have to keep going.

High Street and designer shops are horribly clever. They know, that you know, that they will ensure that the most covetable pieces are going to sell out before you are ready. And so you pounce, and they can actually make money in hot and stinky August (after they’ve made their money in hot and stinky July when you’re throwing money at their summer sales. Often featuring items which have been in the summer sales for three years running as well).

I still haven’t come to any conclusion about this, in case you were wondering whether I had discovered the answer, I am just musing aloud. But, in case anyone feels the same way, I just wanted to make my confession. I’m really looking forward to the autumn.

Outfit by Bernshaw. Suede hat by Herbert Johnson. Shoes uncredited.


Outfit by Anji. Vest by Mr Freedom. Amazing shoes uncredited.


Outfit by Firstaway. Boots by Granny Takes a Trip. Vest by Mr Freedom.


Outfit by Reldan. Boots by Granny Takes a Trip


Outfit by Polly Peck. Boots by Noddy’s Nipple in The Kensington Market.

[not so crazy about this outfit, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to credit those boots to the delightfully named ‘Noddy’s Nipple’]

Advertisement feature from Vogue for Acrilan fabrics by various manufacturers. Make-up by Max Factor and photos by Barry Lategan.

Bookworm? Well it depends on the book….

granny takes a trip, Pattie Boyd
I know I always read in stockings and suspenders….


I used to be a voracious reader when I was younger. Now I barely seem to have the time, or inclination to get involved in much fiction. But I do have a passion for historical books, biographies, auto-biographies and fashion books (quelle surprise!).

So when Sharon Rose tagged me for a bookworm award, I scanned my room for any books out of my bookcase and found a book which has a bit of each. Pattie Boyd’s autobiography, Wonderful Today. Page 46, sentence 5 and a bit beyond…

Then there was Mr Chow’s restaurant in Knightsbridge; he was going out with Grace Coddington and later married Tina Chow, whom everyone fell in love with. We went to quirky little boutiques, like Granny Takes a Trip, owned by Nigel Waymouth, who was a painter, and John Pearce. They sold paintings, posters and clothes – crushed velvet trousers and fitted jackets with thin arms in wonderful greens and burgundies. Everything was very tight and men wore boots, jackets and shirts with big collars – Regency, almost. There was an amazing number of new shops for men, who were refusing to be like their fathers.

Unusual that it should be a small section without mention of George Harrison, but I figured you’d all appreciate a rare bit of menswear chat on here 🙂

I shan’t tag anyone else because there’ll probably be lots of repeats. But if you’re a reader who’d like to do the ‘bookworm’ blog then please do, and link me up if you’re not already on my links.