1970s

Inspirational Images: Lady, look to your shirt…

1970s, David Anderson, harpers and queen, Inspirational Images, James Drew, Turnbull & Asser
James Drew, at 3 Burlington Arcade, W1, was first established in 1838 so has quite a few years experience to draw on. Recently they have re-vamped their collection and now sell lots of incredibly luscious shirts by Turnbull & Asser of Jermyn St. They make them up in simple crepe silk, add fantastic embroideries. Pictured: velvet cape with multi-coloured fringing, embroidered with gold butterflies, £90; matching turban, £17.50; black crepe silk shirt with feather emblem embroidered in purple, shocking pink, fuchsia and magenta, £57.75; all from James Drew.

James Drew, at 3 Burlington Arcade, W1, was first established in 1838 so has quite a few years experience to draw on. Recently they have re-vamped their collection and now sell lots of incredibly luscious shirts by Turnbull & Asser of Jermyn St. They make them up in simple crepe silk, add fantastic embroideries. Pictured: velvet cape with multi-coloured fringing, embroidered with gold butterflies, £90; matching turban, £17.50; black crepe silk shirt with feather emblem embroidered in purple, shocking pink, fuchsia and magenta, £57.75; all from James Drew.

Photographed by David Anderson.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from the ‘Shopping Bazaar’ pages of Harpers and Queen, April 1971.

Inspirational Illustrations: Paris in the ’70s

1970s, christian dior, Illustrations, leslie chapman, Louis Feraud, paris, petticoat magazine, Sue Hone, Torrente, ungaro

Left to Right: Ungaro, Torrente, Ungaro, Feraud, Feraud, Dior, Feraud and Dior

This is Paris, Spring ’70, though to the uninitiated it might look more like the Wild West than the Right Bank. Some designer are familiar, some so beyond the fringe as to pass without comments, and some so beautiful that you’ll stop at nothing to get your hands on them. High on the wanted list are suedes with Aztec-Indian embroidery and tiny, chin-knotted scarves and long-line boots. There are extra-bulbous knickerbockers with tunic tops that halt firmly at the buttocks, midi-length satin or silk-jersey, pintucked or slit way to the waist, spotted suede, squaw fringing, lace-up sleeves — in every length from mini to maxi!

Fashion by Sue Hone. Illustrated by Leslie Chapman.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Petticoat, 4th April 1970

Inspirational Images: Thea Porter and Pineapple

1970s, british boutique movement, chelsea cobbler, Harpers Bazaar, Inspirational Images, Just Jaeckin, laurakitty, thea porter
Embroidery from top to toe - pitch black design worked in panels on a natural calico shirt and knee length skirt, narrowly piped with scarlet; £24, Thea Porter. Natural canvas boots embroidered to match; 15gns to order, Chelsea Cobbler.

Embroidery from top to toe – pitch black design worked in panels on a natural calico shirt and knee length skirt, narrowly piped with scarlet; £24, Thea Porter. Natural canvas boots embroidered to match; 15gns to order, Chelsea Cobbler.

Excitement and anticipation is – quite rightly – building for the opening of the Fashion and Textile Museum’s new Thea Porter exhibition (6th February – 3rd May 2015). Guest curated by the lovely Laura McLaws Helms, who has also written the accompanying book, it is surely set to be the exhibition of the year. My Thea gypsy dress is somewhere in there, but having got a sneaky peek last week I can safely say that it will be blown out of the water by the extraordinarily beautiful pieces which have been gathered from a wide variety of sources (as well as ephemera from the archive and a recreation of her glorious dining room).

So to whet your appetite, here’s my dream Thea outfit (well, one of many…) — complete with matching embroidered Chelsea Cobbler boots.

Photographed by Just Jaeckin.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Harpers Bazaar, April 1970.

Inspirational Editorials: Wear Crazy Pedal-Pushers

1970s, antony price, british boutique movement, bus stop, che guevara, chelsea cobbler, chelsea girl, david montgomery, erica budd, gillian richard, Inspirational Images, manolo blahnik, vanity fair, zapata
Short sleeved pale lilac sweater by Beckol from Chelsea Girl. Silvery-grey cotton pedal pushers by Antony Price from Che Guevera. Red, white and blue tartan shoes from Zapata. Wide red elasticated belt by Otto Glantz.

Short sleeved pale lilac sweater by Beckol from Chelsea Girl. Silvery-grey cotton pedal pushers by Antony Price from Che Guevara. Red, white and blue tartan shoes from Zapata. Wide red elasticated belt by Otto Glantz.

Alright, your curves are generous, and your behind is big, but hooray! This is the look for you. We’re back to the era of pneumatic sweater girls, when clothes fitted like the skin of a peach, waists were pulled in with firm wide belts and everyone teetered on high, high heels. Now it’s all camped up with bright plastic jewellery, headscarves and colourful wooly sox (Twiggy-types will just have to resort to falsies and push up bras ‘cos, baby, it’s our turn now!)

Intriguingly, after all that copy about curves, the model is credited as wearing a padded bra with plastic air-filled falsies by Berlei…

Photographed by David Montgomery.

Photographs by courtesy of the Piccadilly Bowling Centre, 30 Shaftesbury Avenue.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vanity Fair, January 1972

Short sleeved sewater by Beckol from Chelsea Girl. Satin pedal pushers by Gillian Richard. Red suede platform shoes by Chelsea Cobbler. Red leather belt from Bus Stop.

Short sleeved sewater by Beckol from Chelsea Girl. Satin pedal pushers by Gillian Richard. Red suede platform shoes by Chelsea Cobbler. Red leather belt from Bus Stop.

Red dolman sleeved sweater by Erica Budd. Pedal pushers made by rolling up footless tights by Mary Quant. Red leather belt from Bus Stop. Black snake platofmr shoes from the Chelsea Cobbler.

Red dolman sleeved sweater by Erica Budd. Pedal pushers made by rolling up footless tights by Mary Quant. Red leather belt from Bus Stop. Black snake platform shoes from the Chelsea Cobbler.

Inspirational Images: She’s with the band

1970s, Inspirational Images, Jonvelle, mild sauce
Photo de lingerie faite pour Stern avec Plonga.

Photo de lingerie faite pour Stern avec Plonga.

Photographed by Jonvelle.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Photo Magazine, September 1973

Inspirational Interiors: Drawing and Dancing Green Room

1970s, interior design, James Mortimer, Michael Szell, Vogue
Michael Szell's Drawing and Dancing Green Room.

Michael Szell’s Drawing and Dancing Green Room.

The walls and speakers of Michael Szell’s room are covered in his deep green malachite cotton with sheer green for curtains, making an atmospheric cave that leads into the real green. Floor treated with gold leaf, a Michael Szell special; he intends this to glitter and you to roll up the Bokharas and dance. Pontypool candelabra. Famille Noire urns. Arthur Devis paintings. Glass top table on Perspex and steel frame. Cattlyea and Cyprepedium orchids. Conservatory landscaping by Robert Conway of Roots and Shoots.

Photographed by James Mortimer.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, February 1975

Vintage Adverts: Now You Dudes De Luxe

1970s, Bob Gothard, Jean Machine, Peter Golding, Vintage Adverts, Vogue

peter golding jean machine october 73

Photographed by Bob Gothard.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, October 1973

Inspirational Images: L’Hiver

1970s, Charlotte March, Inspirational Images, mild sauce, Photo Magazine

L'Hiver by Charlotte March - Photo June 1970

Photographed by Charlotte March as part of a set of ‘Season’ photographs.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Photo, June 1970.

A Peek at the Boutique: Alice Pollock’s Circus

1970s, alice pollock, british boutique movement, harpers and queen, quorum, Tony McGee
Alice Pollock, enfant terrible of the Sixties, opens Circus, 304A Fulham Road, SW10. The shop is a glorious Gitanes blue painted with sad/happy clowns by Sally Miles (she will work to commission). Behind the laughing faces Alice create her new collection, on sale this summer in stores and boutiques.


I was always curious about what Alice Pollock got up to in her post-Quorum days. Now I know a little more, although of course this is the only reference to Circus I’ve ever seen.


Photographed by Tony McGee.


Scanned from Harpers and Queen, January 1977.

Inspirational Interiors: Music in the black-out

1970s, interior design, Royston Fulljames, Tim Street-Porter, Vogue

Yvonne and Alan Harmon's completely contemporay black flocked music rom, lying extraordinarily at the heart of a traditional antique furnished house. The designer, Royston Fulljames, used new American speakers, Bang & Olufsen turntable. There are push button black blinds and lights to glash on dim, a round Keracolour television, flocked black too, and three big, comfortable, black leather chairs from Harrods. The Perspex sculpture with flashing lights, by S.P. White, from Presents of Sloane St; it's all very much in tune.

Yvonne and Alan Harmon’s completely contemporay black flocked music room, lying extraordinarily at the heart of a traditional antique furnished house. The designer, Royston Fulljames, used new American speakers, Bang & Olufsen turntable. There are push button black blinds and lights to flash on dim, a round Keracolour television, flocked black too, and three big, comfortable, black leather chairs from Harrods. The Perspex sculpture with flashing lights, by S.P. White, from Presents of Sloane St; it’s all very much in tune.

Photographed by Tim Street-Porter.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, November 1972