Dark girl wears suede Bermuda shorts (with matching jacket); approx. £27, Ambalu. Printed cotton halter top by Erica Budd; £2. Snake wedge sandals; £14.99, Russell & Bromley. Striped tights, Mary Quant. Blonde wears shorts, £7, and vest top, £7, in cotton/rayon mixture, by Crochetta. Socks by Mary Quant. Patent wedge shoes; £8.99, Russell & Bromley. Cotton cap; £2.50, by Edward Mann. All jewellery by Corocraft.
. . . does not always suit a mother’s requirements. Not only is today’s teenager wildly enthusiastic about fashion, pop, hair and makeup, but she also has very firm ideas about what she wants. She is sophisticated, worldly and confident, seeing herself as a femme fatale —while mother sees her more in terms of gymslips. So here we present the perfect compromise, contrived to impress mother and daughter alike. Visual backing comes from members of the group Queen, whose current hit single for EMI is The Seven Seas of Rhye.
Fashion Editor Cherry Twiss.
Hair by Christine at Ricci Burns.
Make-up by Mariella for Yardley.
Stage clothes for Queen by Zandra Rhodes.
Photographed by Geg Germany.
Scanned from The Telegraph Magazine, July 1972.
Marianne (left) looks stunning in a red spotted cotton halterneck sundress and striped cardigan. Right: Louise counters with breezy, baggy blue denim pants and red top. With Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen.
Dark girl wears red spotted cotton halterneck sundress and matching knickers; £6.35, from Biba. Long cardigan; £15.95, from Ronnie Stirling. Spotted cap; £2.50, by Edward Mann from Simpson, Piccadilly. Blonde girl wears baggy blue denim pants with elasticated waistband; £10.95 by Lee Bender at Bus Stop. Short cotton top; £1.99, all branches Dorothy Perkins. Hat by Edward Mann.
Marianne (left) looks devastating in a red and yellow suit with red and yellow shoes to match. Right: Louise sports a blouson jacket with trousers, completing the look with embroidered cap.
Dark girl wears a yellow and red jersey suit; £12.95 from Mr Freedom, Kings Road, London; SW3. Long red socks by Mary Quant. Red and yellow “Kicker” shoes; £9.50 from Bugatti, Kensington Church Street, London, W8. Blonde girl wears a blue print satin blouson jacket; £15, by Jeff Banks, from Top Shop at Peter Robinson. Blue Trevira gaberdine trousers with two narrow belts; £8.99, by Shelana. Embroidered cap; £2.20, by Edward Mann, from Simpson, Piccadilly, WI.
Marianne (left) in a very feminine line-up of frilled striped cotton skirt and striped socks. Right: Louise teams a green and navy cotton top wit a frilled skirt. Looking on are two members of Queen.
Dark girl wears a midi-length frilled striped cotton button-through skirt; £9.95, by Judit Ullman for Ronnie Stirling. Green and white striped top; £3.25, from all branches of Dorothy Perkins. Red satin wedge shoes; £7.95, T. Elliott. Socks; Mary Quant. Straw hat; £5, Biba, Kensington High Street, W8. Blonde girl wears a green and navy print cotton top, £4, and frilled skirt, £4.75; from Laura Ashley, 157 Fulham Road, SW3.
Cream is in favour with Marianne (left) looking great in culottes and baggy blouse. Right: Louise wears a cream skirt and blouson jacket. Seems to impress Queen roadies John and Paul, too.
Dark girl wears cream cotton gaberdine culottes; £12.50, by Katherine Hamnett for Tuttanbankem. Blouse with short sleeves and elasticated waist; £9.95, by Lee Bender at Bus Stop. Cream hat by Kangol. Cream woven sling-back wedge shoes; £6.99, from Sacha. Orange silk scarf by Ascher. Blonde girl wears a cream cotton skirt; £7.95, by Lee Bender at Bus Stop. Brown check cotton blouson jacket; £4.95, by Riva. Cream hat by Kangol. Multi-striped canvas shoes; £5.99, Russell & Bromley, Cream leather bag; £4.99, Dolcis.
Have you looked at your living-space lately? Is it tired, jaded, faded and thoroughly November-ish? Now imagine it with new curtains, blinds, cushions and covers. A complete re-fabrication is the quickest, easiest and cheapest way of turning old into new and giving any room a winter face-lift. Shown on this page, covering large and small cushions, books, and even made into the prettiest pictures, are the brightest and best of the current furnishing fabrics. Take your pick, and then turn the page for details.
Photographer sadly uncredited. All fabric and furniture credits (Liberty’s, Heals, Ken Scott, Laura Ashley, Valentino, Pallu and Lake, Boussac, Sue Collier, Artemide, Sekers etc) using the key are in the image below.
Natural cheesecloth nightie with cap sleeves, plunge neck and white and green appliqué daisy, £10; matching leg o’ mutton sleeve dressing gown, £15, both by Alice Pollock for Quorum.
Doing very nicely, thank you. . . because we’ve discovered the new night time naturals. Less fussy than ruched baby dolls or flighty nylon numbers, these natural nighties are in calico, cheesecloth, cotton and cotton lawn in true Kate Greenaway style, but grown-up, sexier.
Photographed by David Anthony.
Scanned from Flair, August 1972.
Halter neck pink and white cotton gingham nightie, Chaslyn £4.95.
Long cotton lawn nightie in white and purple print with tucked bodice, £4.25; matching mob cap, £1, both by Laura Ashley.
Petticoat nightie in white cotton with pink ribbon and broderie anglaise trim, Chaslyn £7.35.
Self stripe white cotton lawn very full night shirt, Laura Ashley £4.25.
Natural cream calico nightie trimmed with cotton lace, Chaslyn £4.
Early Bird, 20 Park Walk, has long velvet dresses, ruched sleeves, frilly cuffs, or hooded. All washable, 15gns (£15.75).
The only Earlybird pieces I have encountered don’t really warrant such a sexy illustration, but it’s always nice to flesh out a lesser known boutique label when you can! The advert accompanies a feature on boutiques in the Fulham Road, with a lovely lengthy description of both Laura Ashley and Boston-151 amongst others.
You can begin on the outskirts of Brompton Village, just past Habitat, with the best of fashion, then move on for miles—literally—past spaghetti, spaghetti, hamburgers, junk and tortoises, the Chelsea Supporters’ Club and Fulham Broadway, until you arrive at Pollyanna’s excellent children’s clothes, 660; The East & West Superette, at 694, continental groceries; Fulham Surplus Stores, 686, bargains like army surplus arctic fleecy coat linings at £5.
Clothes you really want to own: Laura Ashley, 157, a big barn of remarkably low-priced things—Jacqui Smale’s demure print dresses, fine white tucked camisole petticoats, or nightdresses, shirts, print and plain velveteen and corduroy in colours of cloudy blue, dull purple, faded rose made into baggy knickerbockers, capes, shirts.
Boston-151, 151, is Gundrun Boston’s new beautiful clothes place, “filled with all the things I’d like to buy and never can find”. The functional chic workshop design is by Michael Chow. big lacquered tin central changing room, black mirror, clothes easy to look at and get at, a sewing lady sewing away instead of window dressing. Watch for: incredible hand-sewn clothes by Carlos Arias, his peasant print silk and cotton shirts, panne velvet ones too with tasselled ribbons, Mohammedan bloomers and boleros, soft dishcloth crochet dresses inset with Ibiza embroidery. These have clinging tops and flowing skirts and you tie yourself in (he practically never uses zips). There are Turkish mixed prints of marvellous cut, caftans made from rare Edwardian and Twenties fabrics. Kaffe Fassett’s macrame work, wool and string chokers and belts, old stones, ivory elephants threaded in, hours of work. Boston & Kaffe’s subtle patterned knits, kimonos, sweaters, skirts; Chloe and Jean Muir. Lillian Delevoryas’ picture patchworked clothes. Linen shepherd smocks and jackets with velvet binding. Crochet cloche hats and ties where almost every stitch changes colour. Sexy seamless sweaters. Missoni knitted things from Milan, T-shirts, skirts and trousers so light you can wear several at once, and Kaffe Fassett evolves their colour schemes so you can imagine how lovely they are. Classic tailored trousers. Brown string butchers’ bags. Linen duffle bags stencilled with Boston-151 and made up in the workshops at Wormwood Scrubs. Valerie Goad, 185-7, has grown. She has 30 designs and more of best dresses, midi and long, shirts that match skirts and knickerbockers. There are Liberty wools, plain and print velvets and voile. Everything can be made to measure for a few guineas more, dresses, for instance, are from 19 gns (£19.95). Rene Aubrey, 122, 370 4745, hairdresser, has just opened a men’s salon next door. Early Bird, 20 Park Walk, has long velvet dresses, ruched sleeves, frilly cuffs, or hooded. All washable, 15 gns (£15.75).
Dean Rogers, 60, is a new man’s shop, with excellent-fitting trousers, velvets, tweed, cashmere, home-spun knitting, good belts and shirts. They open until 10.30 pm. Piero de Monzi, 70, is a double-fronted elegant shop with classic French and Italian clothes for men and women. Shirts from 5 gns (15.25) in delicate prints, exuberant Ken Scott prints, plain voiles, fine jerseys. Daniel Hechter suede and fleece greatcoats. Belts from 4 gns (£4.20), weighty affairs of hide and snake and brass. Suits, jackets, trousers, in bird’s eye tweed, velvet, gabardine, denim. Italian shoes, 16 gns (116.80). Next month an early spring fall of languid V de V clothes, moons, stars, wavy bands and boats knitted in. One partner, Alain Mertens, has opened the DM Gallery next door, 72, with Paolozzi, Hockney, multiple multiples, chic Italian design as in the perfect transistor. Imogens, 274, is ethnic: Palestinian embroidered wedding dresses, Kurtas, burnooses, shawls, belts, Israeli glass, Middle Eastern rugs and trinkets.
Afew months ago Kjeld Jacobsen opened Danish Silver Designs at 84. He’s a goldsmith turned business man, the jewellery shown comes from about 10 workshops in Den-mark and has a nordic coolness—strange pale stones, precise curves and spirals, 80 per cent in silver, a little gold. Special orders are dealt with by Jens Torp who can be seen at work through a window in the back of the showroom; this keeps the customers happy while they wait. Prices from £24100. Opposite the Queen’s Elm pub is that smart new block. There’s Alistair Colvin, 116, decorator and antique dealer, a drawing-room-sized shop, bizarre and interesting pieces. Zarach, 110. They’re the Sander Mirror Company, with elegant modern design grafted on. Downstairs there’s a new mirror showroom, looking glass in fifteen shades, antiqued, smoky, marbled, tortoiseshell, almost any effect -you could wish for, from £3 per square foot. Upstairs, with David Hicks black and white carpet, royal tartan blue walls, are beautifully designed things from Italy like Perspex ice buckets, boxes, clocks, spot lamps; status bibelots, work by Ciancimino, Billy McCarty, Tony Stubbin, Jon Bannen-berg, all Hicks carpets of course. Look out for the Italian gong chair. Rubber stretched on a round chrome frame and comfortable.
Travelling on to the heart of the Fulham Road, Charles Quinlan, 309, does upholstery work, recaning, polishing, loose covers and curtains. Tulleys, 289, have everything and endless windows of second-hand furniture, pale ranks of calico-covered sofas and chairs. Humpherson, 186, are the builders’ merchants who have a three-floor showhouse of bathrooms and kitchens. Solarbo, 230, make pelmets, curtain rails, cupboards, sliding doors, louvred doors (made to measure for no extra cost, and in do-it-yourself kits), a flexible shelf and drawer storage system with clear plastic or white wire baskets. Jonathan Minns, 1a Hollywood Road, a few feet off the Fulham Road, is a fascinating machinery shop, industrial and scientific antiquities, model ships, traction engines, locomotives like Birmingham Piddlers, extraordinary machines for extraordinary work like stitching army tents in Poona. All serious stuff and remarkably pleasing to look at. If Mr Minns isn’t driving traction engines at 6 mph through the countryside, or setting up museums with his new company Industrial Originals, he’ll be in the shop to explain it all. Hollywood[a.k.a The Hollywood Clothes Shop], 10 Hollywood Road, has ravishing thirties and forties clothes. From here down to Stamford Bridge are small nests of antique shops. Among the most interesting: Goldsworthy, 346, for a pair of gilded Siamese umbrellas. Stephen Long, 348, with painted bamboo, doll’s house furniture, tapestry bell pulls, bits of this and that, biscuit tins, patchwork quilts, books on bezique and cribbage, all the charming funny household paraphernalia of the past 150 years. Arthur Brown, 392-400, has everything. Perce Rye, 495, has Invincible Motor Policies.
And go back to Finchs, 190, for a drink, to find the village nucleus of excellent food shops and eating places. Hazel’s, 172, sell the finest fruits and vegetables. There are specialists in kebabs, ice-creams, pizzas, traditional English fare (as in Hungry Horse, 196). If you don’t wish to queue for hours outside The Great American Disaster, 325, for the greatest hamburgers and milkshakes this side of the Atlantic, then try the new Parsons Café Royal & Old Spaghetti Factory, 311: spaghetti, choice of six sauces, garlic, bread and salad for 9s (45p).
Long and frilly flower print cotton frocks, all at Wallis main branches. Peachy, below left, a puff-sleeved shirt with deep skirt frill. £12.95. Pink, green, red, white chintzy parasol with sapling handle, £15.50, Crocker-Wilson. Straw with bright ribbon and flowers, Edward Mann, £3.40, at Barkers. Flower and bird glass necklace, £3.50, Bombacha. Flowered cream papier-mache bangles, £7 each, at Emeline. Peachy, below right, with wide sleeves and sash. £13.95. Green/white leafy parasol, £34.50, at Crocker-Wilson; Elle. Wide lacy straw with flowers, by Buckle Under, £11, at Lucienne Phillips ; Smiths, Bath. Cotton and lace drawstring bag, £4.50, at Rosie Nice. Bunches of sweet peas, by Novelty Import Co. Inky blue and brown frock, opposite left, extra beige and scarlet flowers, ecru lace and sweetheart neckline, £15.95. Red/white/green striped parasol, £19.50, Crocker-Wilson. Light blue glass beads, 80p, at Rosie Nice. Rough straw with chocolate velvet, creamy flowers, by Sarah Frearson, £13.75, Lucienne Phillips. Provençal cotton drawstring bag, £3.75, from Brother Sun. Sky blue, brown, natural frock, below centre, in two—camisole lacy top and skirt £15.95. Sandy lacy shawl, £8, at Scott Adie. Opaque amber glass fruit beads, about £28, from Emeline. Plum, blue, orange cotton, right, with lots of lace. £18.95. Sky blue lace shawl, as above. Flowered black chintz and tasselled parasol, £25.50, Crocker-Wilson. Enamel pansy brooch, on silver chain, £6.50, at The Purple Shop. Liberty print Country Cotton drawstring bag, by Brigid Martineau, £7.25, at Harrods. Canvas espadrilles, both pages, £3.50, from The Chelsea Cobbler.
Photographed by Barry Lategan.
Scanned from Vogue, May 1974.
Green, cream and red Liberty printed Tana Lawn halter dress, left, a salad of flowers shirred to the hips. with tiny frills. About £32, at Annacat: Harvey Nichols. Pink, white and blue glass beads, bangle, ring, from Rosie Nice. Cream and green cotton dress, right, trellised and bordered with flowers, flounced and bordered with lace. By Earlybird, about £14.95, from Earlybird; Fenwick. Glass flower necklace, £12, The Purple Shop. Blue bird’s nest earrings, £1.50, Bombacha. White nylon openwork gloves, by Kir, about 95p, John Lewis. Flowers by Novelty Import Co. Deep green and red night-flowering smock, right, each tier with creamy lace. Liberty Country Cotton, by Sujon, £23, Liberty; Parkers of Hampstead; SuperStar; Leeds. Matching green flowered hand-bag with wrist strap, by Brigid Martineau, £7.75, at Harrods. Green/red bird sparkling necklace, Bombacha, £3.50. Espadrilles, £3.50, The Chelsea Cobbler. Hair by Christopher at Vidal Sassoon. Sanderson Wallpaper. Smilax leaves from Pulbrook & Gould. Bird-cage from Casa Pupo. Budgerigars from A1 Studio, 164 Princes Gdns, W.3.
Pale blue, ivory, light terracotta Liberty print Tana Lawn and lace flouncing skirt, above left. Cap-sleeved top. By Sujon, £24, Liberty; SuperStar, Leeds. Long frilled white petticoat, £4.75, at all Laura Ashley branches. Lacy straw, with harebells, by Buckle Under, £10, at Lucienne Phillips;’ Smiths, Bath. Glass beads and flower necklace round wrist, £3.50. Bombacha. Embroidered white espadrilles, £7.99, Russell & Bromley main branches. Black and bright red flowered white jacket; frilled skirt,: above right, piped in black and white. By Jeff Banks, £14.50, £13.50, at Selfridges; Adele Davis. Petticoat, as above. Straw hat, £14, at Diane Logan. Blue bead bracelet, 80p, Rosie Nice. Espadrilles, as above. Blue, scarlet, cream Liberty print Tana Lawn flowered shirred top and skirt, opposite left. About £13, £19.95, at Annacat; Harvey Nichols ; Unicorn, Birmingham. Ribboned straw, Edward Mann, £2.50, at John Lewis. Flowered cream papier mache bangles, £7 each, Emeline. Lacy shawl, £8, from Scott Adie, Flower necklace, £2.50, at Bombacha. Cream chocolate laced boots, £13.95, Anello & Davide. Powder blue, green, pink cotton pleated skirt and cap-sleeved crossover top, cenre. By Jap, £25.95, £16.95, at Jap & Joseph. Espadrilles, £3.50, The Chelsea Cobbler. Lacy shawl, as above. Straw hat, Buckle Under, £11, at Lucienne Phillips. Powder blue, cream, beige tiered pleated skirt, right: Liberty print Tana Lawn with creamy lace and matching button-down bodice. About £23, £14, by Juliet Dunn, at ZigZag; Adele Davis; Smiths, Bath. Green straw with flowers, £14, at Diane Logan and Hampstead Bazaar. Cream laced espadrilles, £6.50, front Rayne at Harvey Nichols. Mother-of-pearl leaf necklace, about £15, Emeline. Hair by Christopher at Vidal Sassoon. Fishing gear, front Harrods. Picnic hampers and raffia bags, all from Habitat. Liberty print Dick Whittington bags and care shopping basket, all from Liberty. Stripy parasol, £19.50, from Crocker-Wilson.
Rose crepe de chine dress, far left, flowered brightly red and white. With V neck, slightly gathered sleeve. Jeff Banks, about £21, at Jeff Banks Shop ; Puella, Croydon, Purley and Reigate. Pale straw bowler with flower-painted brim, Diane Logan, £8. White beads with red and white flowers, Rosie Nice, from a selection, from 60p. Gold locket engraved with flying bird, Goldmine at Woolworths. Rose and cream flowered Liberty cotton and leather purse, Chris Trill, £13, at Flight Studio ; Jap & Joseph. White nylon gloves, by Cornelia James. Sunglasses, Elle. Eau de nil crepe de chine dress, centre, stippled with beige and white flowers. Jeff Banks, about 823.95, Jeff Banks Shop ; Puella, Croydon, Purley and Reigate. Blonde straw with a bunch of harebells, Buckle Under, £10 at Lucienne Phillips ; Smiths, Bath. Mother-of-pearl leaf necklace, about £15, at Emeline. Flowered glass brooch, £1.50, at Bombacha. Eau de nil leather purse with quilted flower sides. £30, to order from Clive Shilton. Eau de nil and grey silky cotton gloves with violet/blue embroidered cuffs, £5 Browns. Clear flower-patterned Perspex sunglasses, £25.95, Elle, Bond St and Sloane Square. Snake bangle, £2.50, Mulberry Co at Selfridges. Gold bangle, £16.75, Andre Bogaert. Gold rings, from £5.50, at Ken Lane. Sepia flowered crepe de chine dress to mid-calf, left. Sujon, £15, at Liberty ; Image, Bath ; Super-star, Leeds. Flat straw with cream petersham, £7.50, Charles Batten. Mother-of-pearl hat pin, £1, Diane Logan. Pale cream, yellow fake orchids, Crocker-Wilson, £1.65 a pair. Seed pearls, Corocraft, from range at Peter Robinson. Raffia purse, Chris Trill, .E7.70, at Flight Studios ; Jap & Joseph. Speckled cream net gloves, by Katherine Hamnett for Tuttabankem, £3, Browns. Ivory, gold and diamond, pale amber rings, £4, £25, £4, Andre Bogaert.
Embroidered calico voluminous blouse and slim-fitting shirt by Buckle Under; cotton lacy antique petticoats from a selection at Charley’s Stall.
One of the finest editorials of all time, from the dream team of Caroline Baker and Harri Peccinotti at Nova. You can’t help thinking about the clear influence of the Impressionists, such as Renoir, on the aesthetic, but also about how this shoot must itself have been influencing other people for years afterwards. For example, Picnic at Hanging Rock was released a mere three years later and the petticoats, parasols and lace-up boots can’t help but remind you of that.
As a side note, but a pretty impressive one at that, the ‘nursery print’ Miss Mouse dress featured here has also just gone into my Etsy shop. So you can pretend it’s 1972 and you’re ‘shopping the look’.
Photographed by Harri Peccinotti.
Fashion by Caroline Baker.
Scanned from Nova, July 1972.
Flowered Liberty-print square neck frilled blouse and long skirt, both by Foale and Tuffin.
Embroidered muslin smock and gathered skirt by Buckle Under. White cotton lacy antique petticoats from a selection at Charley’s Stall.
Cheesecloth smock blouse and wrap-around skirt by Richard Green.
Nursery print cotton camisole dress and petticoat skirts by Miss Mouse. Lace up boots at Anello and Davide.
Cotton jersey jumpsuit and frilled cotton voile petticoats, all at Biba. All antique parasols from a selection at Emmerton and Lambert, Chelsea Antique Market. White cotton stockings at Anello and Davide.
Long-sleeved calico blouse with gathered neck; skirt and cotton satin petticoat, all at Laura Ashley. Lace up boots at Anello and Davide.
Nursery print cotton pinafore dress by Gillian Richard. Cotton satin petticoat at Laura Ashley. Lace up boots at Anello and Davide.
Antique cotton and lace liberty bodice and antique cotton petticoat dyed sugar pink with Dylon, all from a selection at Charley’s Stall. Cotton petticoat at Laura Ashley.
Tissavel-lined Galaxy coat by Beged’Or approx. £50; cotton blouse by Mexicana, £13; fur fabric jeans by Newmans, 12 gns; hairy slipper boots at Russell & Bromley, £6 19s; velour hat by Bermona, £3 11s; hatband made from an Estonian tie at the Russian Shop, 7s 6d; fur bag at The Souk, £3 5s; wool gloves at Dickins & Jones, 10s:
Leather and fur get more expensive every year. It’s not only the taxes and rising costs of production. It’s just that there aren’t enough good animal skins for leather around to meet the consumer demand. Furs are there in quantity for the fabulously rich. Luckily a good substitute has been found – the nylon-spun, man-made sort. Some, especially in the leather field, are so like the real thing the only way you can tell the difference is by the smell. Take the white coat on pages 46 and 47. It’s fake and costs about £50. It has a double in real fur and leather for £270. Made by the same people who have duplicated most of their collection this way and it takes an eagle eye and nose to tell the difference. Others are just furry, woolly fabrics, obviously not imitating some four-legged friend, which is one of the nicest things about them. This fur fabric is now getting the treatment it deserves. Nairn Williamson (more famous for their Vinyl floor and wall coverings) were the first to see its potential and got six designers to use their Velmar fur fabric in their winter collections. Jane Whiteside for Stirling Cooper (new label getting famous fast for their beautiful jersey co-ordinates) was the cleverest of them all. She used the best sludgy colours, mixed it with needlecord to make a group of jackets and coats to go with trousers, skirts and blouses. Borg (American originated and the pioneers in England of this deep pile fabric) has been around for a long time, mostly on the inside of duffle and raincoats but it’s on the outside as a normal fabric that it looks its best. Next winter there will be a lot more of it around, now that designers are getting less snobby about plastics. Not only is it as warm as fur, it is, of course, much cheaper and you don’t smell like a wet dog when you come in from the rain, either. So you can wear it herding sheep on lost weekends, or in town queuing for the cinema without any guilt feelings about ruining your assets.
Insert obligatory ‘I don’t agree with the thrust of the argument for fake furs as just a financial consideration here’ caveat from me, your content provider. Don’t shout at me, basically. But it’s an interesting insight into the mindset of 1970, and the proliferation of fake furs and skins at that time. It’s also a breathtakingly styled and photographed work of art from Caroline Baker and Jonvelle.
Fashion by Caroline Baker.
Photographed by Jonvelle.
Scanned from Nova, January 1970.
Mediaeval velvet applique dress by Laura Jamieson at The Sweetshop, 20 gns; Tissavel and Galaxy waistcoat by Beged’Or, £22.
Velmar jacket and needlecord trousers by Stirling Cooper, £8 10s., £5 1Gs; leggings by Chelsea Cobbler, to order, 10 gns; cotton shirt from selection at Dada, Kensington Antique Market from 2 gns.
Acrilan jacket by Lizzie Carr approx. 24 gns; suede trousers by Morel, 17 gns, tied with leather strips from John Lewis Haberdashery Dept, 1s 10d per yard; wellingtons at Russell and Bromley, £3 19s; woven sash wrapped around neck at Herbert Johnson, 25s; velour hat by Bermona, £3 11s; wool gloves at Selfridges, &s 11d
Velmar and Courtelle trousers by Martha Hill, approx. 8 gns; poncho at Peter Robinson, £7; wool shirt by Stirling Cooper, £4 5s; studded wristlet by Knees at Kensington Antique Market, 1 gn; suede moccasin boots by Anello & Davide, £8 15s; velour hat by Bermona, £3 11s; sheepskin rug from The Souk from £3 19s 6d to £6; flask from Kensington Antique Market.
Velmar fur fabric floor length coat trimmed with canvas by Mog, £20, over long cotton nightgown by Laura Ashley, £5; knitted wool socks at Feathers, £1 1s 6d
Velmar coat with needlecord and zipper trims (top left) by Stirling Cooper, 18 gns; pale suede and leather lace-up boots by Kurt Geiger, 35 gns; wool gloves at Selfridges, 8s 11d; leather belt by The Wild Mustang Manufacturing Co., approx. £3 12s 6d; fur shepherdess hat, bag and drinking flask from a selection at Kensington Antique Market
Velmar jacket and needlecord trousers (top right) by Stirling Cooper, £12 19s 6d, £5 10s; big polo-neck ribbed Shetland wool sweater at Aquascutum, £6 15s; corrugated leather lace-up boots at Russell and Bromley, £29 19s; knitted Aran mitts at Selfridges, 16s 11d; velour hat by Bermona, £3 11s, furry bag from a selection at Kensington Antique Market.
Dress from Laura Ashley, 157 Fulham Road, SW3. Headband by Corocraft at Selfridges.
Accompanying an article on keeping cool in a heatwave. As I’m scheduling this post a few days in advance, I apologise if it drops in the middle of a cold snap…
Peasant-style dress in a multi-coloured patchwork print has a gathered elasticised waistline and short full sleeves, by Marlborough, £9.
It looks as if England has lost Jane Birkin forever … she is firmly entrenched in Paris with baby Kate, nanny and the lovely Serge Gainsbourg, living in sombre luxury in their newly acquired house. The interior is stark and dramatic, every room is decorated in black and white, with white doors and black marble floors or carpet. The furniture is also black and white—there’s a big black shiny piano in the lounge, and a black mink cover adorns the bed which is raised off the floor on a black perspex dais. Weekends are usually spent at a quiet retreat in the country, making a sharp contrast to the busy social life that they lead during the week. Since Jane landed in France she has never stopped working. Film after film has been completed and the success of the record she made with Serge, which was also written and composed by him, Je T’Aime … Moi Non Plus, has led to an LP also written by Serge. Her life is chaotic and busy, it seems as if the telephone never stops ringing. People phone her every day with offers of interviews and films, the next of which is still a closely guarded secret. It was whilst she was making her first film in France, Slogan, that she met and fell in lovewith Serge, an event which seems to have altered her life but through it all she remains the same—a waif of a girl, tall and lanky, in pullover and jeans, serving tea out of her treasured English teapot. Her wardrobe is noticeably small, consisting mainly of casual clothes like pullovers, T-shirts and jeans; with the occasional gipsy-type dress reserved for the evening and worn with gold chains, loop earrings and gipsy belts. She acquires most of her clothes by chance buying, rarely by intentionally setting out on a spending spree. Usually she just spots something she likes in a shop window and ends up by going in and buying it. In London she shops mainly at Countdown, Foale and Tuffin, and Quorum. She buys her jewellery from the Chelsea Antique Market. In Paris she favours the more trendy designers like Mia and Vicky or Jean Bourquin. Jane is perfectly happy spending hours hunting about in antique shops for interesting little knick-knacks, like the 18th-century doll’s house which she gave to her Serge for Christmas.
Photographed by Michael Berkofsky.
Scanned from 19 Magazine, May 1970.
Yellow ochre and beige printed full skirt has matching shawl and a crêpe bolero top, by Marlborough, £9 10s.
Ankle-length dress in brown and white printed cotton has a shirred bodice and sleeves gathered into a cuff, by Laura Ashley, approx. £5.
Long brown and white printed cotton voile skirt is prettily trimmed with white satin ribbon and has a matching bolero top, by Sujon, 11 gns.
Sheer rayon chiffon midi-length dress in a lovely muted purple has a bloused top and a flesh-coloured half slip, by Jinty, £8 15s.
Quite apart from Elliott Gould being a very worthy successor to Humphrey Bogart as Philip Marlowe, and the faded-but-magnificent Art Deco buildings which feature throughout, Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973) is also well worth watching for Nina van Pallandt’s wardrobe.
First appearing in what looks like Laura Ashley:
Then a less identifiable dress of a similar ‘peasant’ style but rather less traditionally English in the use of pattern and colour (possibly by Mexicana, Georgia Charuhas or a similar brand):
You can see more clearly in this publicity shot that the bands of lace are transparent:
Then Laura Ashley again:
Slightly clearer albeit black and white in this publicity shot:
By this point, I started wondering if this wardrobe was perhaps that of the actress rather than of the character. Nina van Pallandt was a successful Danish singer (with husband Frederik van Pallandt, they were known as ‘Nina and Frederik’) and would have spent a great deal of time in London. It otherwise seemed a bit odd that she was wearing clearly British-made clothes, albeit in a style which wouldn’t seem too dramatically out of place in early 1970s California. It certainly sets her apart from the few other women in the film, including Marlowe’s doped up neighbours (who are rarely clothed at all), and gives her a dreamy, other-worldly quality.
Then, as if by magic, she then appears in the most spectacular Zandra Rhodes gown. A gown which will, I’m afraid to say, eventually end up soaked through with sea water and very likely ruined.
Again, a proper publicity shot provides a clearer view of the classic Zandra squiggle print:
Afterwards, still pondering this, I hunted around for film stills and eventually came across this photo of Nina wearing the exact same dress in an earlier television performance. Bingo! I don’t know if it was just a small budget or a fussy leading lady, but I can only presume the entire wardrobe of her character was her own. One of those little things which seems to satisfy a curiosity in me, and I feel the need to share with the world.
Photograph by David Redfern.
I think this might be a piece from Zandra’s earliest collection as the hood and sleeve style is very reminiscent of this piece worn by Natalie Wood in 1970. I hope it was able to be rescued from its salty fate and is still out there somewhere.
Liz Eggleston 