A Legacy of Lace

1970s, art deco, Deco Inspired, Inspirational Images, janet reger, Linda Dagenais, meriel mccooey, Meriel McCooey, Sarah Moon, sunday times magazine, Vintage Editorials

Long beige slip in lace and crepe, £19.50; soft-lined crepe bra, £5.40.

It is not often that they auction old knickers at Christies, but earlier this year the celebrated wardrobe of Heather Firbank went under the hammer, and an integral part of the collection was her exquisite underwear. Heather Firbank, sister of the novelist Ronald Firbank, was famous for her unique, occasionally eccentric clothes, and though most of them now belong to the Victoria and Albert Museum, the highest bid for the underclothes came from the lingerie manufacturer Janet Reger and her husband Peter. They made copies of the pieces they bought, and tomorrow they will be on sale from Bottom Drawer, 33 Southwick Street, London W.2, and by mail order. They are expensive, certainly, but unfortunately the luxury of Twenties underwear no longer comes at Twenties prices. All accessories are from Maria Cavallo‘s shop Dignetts, at Antiquarius, King’s Road, London S.W.3.

Model is Linda Dagenais.

Words and styling by Meriel McCooey.

Photographed by Sarah Moon.

Scanned from Sunday Times Magazine, November 17th 1974.

Black lace slip, £19-50; black lace camisole top, £28.50

Original cami-knickers from Heather Firbank collection (also shown on cover). The seam-for-seam copy costs £19-50.

You know how good it feels (Part 2)

19 magazine, 1970s, Austin Garritt, biba, David Anthony, Deco Inspired, Inspirational Images, interior design, interiors, Jane Goddard, janet reger, Simpson of Piccadilly

As promised, the follow up to yesterday’s post featuring a stunning image of all the prizes which were available in this competition. A satin Biba lounging outfit, Janet Reger underwear and a dozen bottles of Laurent Perrier champagne is probably still my idea of covetable luxury!

Modelled by Jane Goddard.

Photographed by David Anthony.

Scanned from 19 Magazine, July 1974.

Bare Essentials

19 magazine, 1970s, Abecita, che guevara, Derber, Fenwick, Harri Peccinotti, Inspirational Images, janet reger, lingerie, mary quant, platforms, Sacha, shoes, universal witness, Vintage Editorials

Orange and white spotted bra and pants by Mary Quant. Blue leather shoes with sequin encrusted heels and platforms from Derber. / Blue and white spotted bra and pants set by Mary Quant. Black and white spotted peeptoe shoes from Biba. Black patent leather shoes covered with fake diamonds and silver leather shoes with silver sequins on heels and platforms, both by Derber. Blue felt hat with embroidered flower from Universal Witness.

Your poor old great grandma used to wear corsets with lots of complicated lacing and back-piercing whale bones! Fortunately for you, such constricting garments are history, and the accent is now on complete and utter freedom. In fact, you could say underwear has become a second skin – and we prove our point with the following…

It’s nice to know that Harri Peccinotti still has the capacity to blow me away with a new-old photoshoot. Of course, insanely high and sparkly platform shoes and silky underwear plays a large part in that, but the mood he captures is second to none. I wonder if I will ever not believe that this aesthetic is the ultimate?

Photographed by Peccinotti.

Scanned from 19 Magazine, April 1973.

Green silk shorts with leaf print by Janet Reger (matching bra not shown). Blue metallic platform peep toe shoes with silver spot trim by Sacha. / Cream crepe de chine bra and pants, with pink and green cloud print pattern, by Janet Reger. Suede ‘Forties’ platform shoes with beaded sides by Terry de Havilland.

Green, yellow and pale orange striped bra and pants set by Abecita of Sweden. / Gold halter neck bra and shorts set by Abecita of Sweden. Blue felt hat from Universal Witness. Knee socks from Che Guevara.

Indoor Fireworks

1970s, biba, charles jourdan, cherry twiss, Chic of Hampstead, Inspirational Images, janet reger, Lucienne Phillips, ossie clark, quorum, Sam Haskins, Sheilagh Browne, telegraph magazine, The Sunday Telegraph Magazine, thea porter, Vintage Editorials, Yuki, yves saint laurent, zandra rhodes

Sparkling black chiffon dress with plunging neckline and diamante embroidery, £250 from Thea Porter, 8 Greek Street, London W1

Japanese men are peculiarly affected by a glimpse of the naked nape of a Japanese neck. In Western cultures such excitement is generated by a panorama of bosom (as in this black chiffon dress by Thea Porter), or a smooth swathe of thigh. Here we show some revelations from the London autumn collections… hot numbers for the coolest of winter evenings.

All perfect for lockdowns, I’m sure you’ll agree! It’s also nice to be surprised by Ossie Clark every once in a while – with a corset being so vastly different in tone from what we would usually expect.

Photographed by Sam Haskins.

Fashion Editor: Cherry Twiss.

Hair by Paulene at Michaeljohn.

Scanned from The Telegraph Magazine, 8th November 1974.

Cream and brown two piece with lace split skirt and boned top by Ossie Clark. Shoes by Charles Jourdan, 47/49 Brompton Road, SW3

Slate blue dress by Yuki. Approximately £,165 from Fortnum and Mason, Chic of Hampstead, Heath Street, London NW3 or Lucienne’s, 89 Knightsbridge, London SW1. Gold and jade bangles from Jones, 52 Beauchamp Place, London SW3.

White silk chiffon and net full skirt and sheer top by Zandra Rhodes, to order from Fortnum and Mason.

Black jersey skirt with split front by Yuki obtainable from Fortnum and Mason or Chic of Hampstead. Sheer silk chiffon halter top by Sheilagh Browne, £14 from Quorum. Black suspender belt from Janet Reger, Bottom Drawer, 33 Southwick Street, London W2. Black stockings from Biba, Kensington High Street, W8. Shoes from Yves St Laurent, 113 New Bond Street, W1 .

Corset and skirt by Ossie Clark (as before)

The World’s Most Beautiful Lingerie

1970s, Bob Carlos Clarke, janet reger, lingerie, underwear, Vintage Adverts, Vogue

Photographed by Bob Carlos Clarke.

Scanned from Vogue, December 1978.

Clothes that help you hang on to your money

1970s, Alex Chatelain, Ambalu, Browns, Burtons, bus stop, Butler & Wilson, chelsea cobbler, cornucopia, cosmopolitan, Elle, Flight Studios, janet reger, jap, John Craig, Joseph, kangol, Kickers, Knitcraft, lee bender, mr freedom, mushroom, Pattie Barron, Shelana, Spectrum, stirling cooper, Vintage Editorials

Chinese satin top and pants by Ambalu. / Thirties lingerie set by John Craig. Satin panties by Janet Reger. Necklace from Butler and Wilson.

First-job salaries can present problems when you’re not used to juggling the rent around a new skirt or sweater. But there are ways—as you’ll see on these pages—of looking not just good, but positively great on a tight budget. Learn the rules of the “looking-good-on-a-little” game . . . remember that one pair of pants at £10+ will outlive two pairs that split whenever you sit down; that washable fabrics mean you’ll have no cleaning bills. Learn how to bleach and dye, starch and press properly—so you’ll be able to match vest tops and T-shirts to your new longer flowery skirts and keep them looking fresh. Invest in beautiful leather shoes: they last and look good if polished every day. Spend more on accessories —sometimes—than a new dress. Build your wardrobe around two or three colours—as crazy as you like—and find jolly extras to pull it all together. . . . This may be the summer you always wear a hat. Here is my choice of nine outfits . . . chic, very wearable and all cheap at the price. That’s fashion knowhow.

Fashion by Pattie Barron.

Photographed by Alex Chatelain.

Scanned from Cosmopolitan, July 1974.

Crepe de Chine suit at Bus Stop. Vest from Browns. Hat at Jap and Joseph. Flowers and shoes from Elle. Bag from Flight Studios.

Skirt and top by Stirling Cooper. Aran cardigan from John Craig. Raffia wedgies from The Chelsea Cobbler. Kangol beret.

Knitcraft top. Shorts by Stirling Cooper. Shoes by Kickers. His outfit from Burton’s.

Vest by John Craig. Shelana skirt. Shoes by The Chelsea Cobbler. Hat from Spectrum.

Crepe dress by Mr Freedom. Ostrich feather boa from Cornucopia. Man’s suit from Jap and Joseph.

Candy stripe cotton halter dress by Mushroom.

Stripey top and plain trousers from Bus Stop. Beret from Kangol. White leather bag from Flight Studios.

Janet Reger: Beautiful Lingerie

1970s, brian duffy, janet reger, Vintage Adverts, Vogue

The Belle Epoque styling in this advert is superb, from the hair and accessories through to the gloriously curvaceous model. Janet Reger adverts were always in a league of their own, and I think this may possibly be one of the Brian Duffy ones.

Scanned from Vogue, December 1977.

They’re a knock-out

1970s, Abecita, bill klein, City Lights, Inspirational Images, janet reger, lingerie, petticoat magazine, platforms, Tommy Roberts, underwear, Vintage Editorials

How does a really cool lady knock spots off the opposition? Sneakily. She discards her vibrant purples and blacks, climbs sweetly into pure white undies and, as innocently as a schoolgirl, demolishes all resistance.

While this editorial can’t quite work out how regressive or feminist it wants to be, I cannot fault the pom-pom platform shoes which are all by City Lights Studio (aka post-Mr Freedom Tommy Roberts and far too short-lived). I would definitely karate chop for those babies.

Photographed by Bill Klein.

Photographed at Pickett’s Lock Recreation Centre.

Scanned from Petticoat, December 1973