LEFT: Striped cotton jersey zip-tit T-shirt £3, lacy skin-tight Jeans £10, and fluorescent socks 35p, all from Let it Rock, 430 King’s Road, SW10 (mail order 50p). Leather belt, Lily £6.99; sparkling shoes, Terry de Havilland £15 approx; charm bracelet, Peter Robinson, t1.75; earrings 75p, and matching bracelet 65p, both from City Lights. RIGHT: Splash-dyed voile lace-trimmed zip-tit sleeveless top £6, and black cotton drainpipes with leopard-printed pockets £9, both from Let it Rock, 430 King’s Road, SW10 (mail order 50p). Stardust shoes, Terry de Havilland £15 approx; pink pearls, Peter Robinson Sep; wide Indian bangles sleek 10p each.
DRAINPIPE TROUSERS, PATENT STILETTOS, LUMINOUS SOCKS COME ROCKING BACK
Wonderful to see the combination of Let It Rock, Wonder Workshop and Terry de Havilland in one shoot by Roxy Music cover photographer Karl Stoecker. I’m not the biggest fan of the original Fifties look, if I’m honest, but there’s just something magical about the way this revival scene bridges the Seventies from Glam Rock to Punk and New Wave.
If anyone can identify the male models (or indeed the female ones) let me know. I think Mickey Finn might be one of them (third image, hanging out of the right hand car door), and possibly Antony Price. Which would make sense with Stoecker as photographer.
Photographed by Karl Stoecker.
Scanned from Honey, January 1974.
OPPOSITE LEFT: Pleated nylon zip-front top 0.50, fringed mini £3.50, both from Let it Rock, 430 King’s Road, SW10 (mail order 50p). Shiny snake belt £1.75, and earrings 75p, both from City Lights; tights, Mary Quant 40p; pony-tail holders, Peter Robinson 6p. RIGHT: Leather studded and fringed top with padded Elvis front, Wonder Workshop £15 approx, from Wonder Workshop, 192-198 Villiers Road, Dollis Hill, NW2; Granny Takes a Trip, 488 King’s Road, SW10. Stretch jersey drainpipes £16 approx, and plastic triangular earrings 75p, both from City Lights, 54 Shorts Gardens, WC2 (mail order 30p). Snakeskin-printed belt, Mr Freedom 42.95; chiffon scarf, Fenwicks 1240. Man’s long-sleeved studded and screen-printed T-shirt, Wonder Workshop £6 approx.
LEFT: Leopard-print cotton jersey top, Wonder Workshop £6, from Wonder Workshop, 193-198 Villiers Road, Doll’s Hill, NW2; Granny Takes a Trip, 488 King’s Road, SW10. Fan-pleated skirt £9.50, and plastic earrings 75p, both from City Lights, 54 Shorts Gardens, WC2 (mail order 30p). Gold belt, Lily £6.99; silver and black shoes, Terry de Havilland £15 approx; scarf, Fenwicks £2.40. CENTRE: Pure wool ‘Elvis’ Sloppy Joe, Wonder Workshop £20 approx (for stockists see above). Chequered jersey pencil skirt £4.50, from Van der Fransen, 98 Waterford Road, SW6. Plastic ) bag, City Lights £4.50, bangle, Adrien Mann 30p. RIGHT: Stripey shirt from a selection at Chelsea Antique Market. Stretchy drainpipes £16.50, and earrings 75p approx, from City Lights (for stockists see above). Elastic belt £1.40, and socks 35p, from Let it Rock. Man’s shiny gold zip-up jacket, City Lights £14.50 (for stockists see above). Striped cotton shirt £4, from Let it Rock, 430 King’s Road, SW10 (mail order 50p). Hair by Trevor at Ricci Burns
ABOVE: Black stretchy ribbed jersey tube dress with emerald green maribou trim and shoe-string straps £10, from Let it Rock, 430 King’s Road, SW10 (mail order 50p). Perspex necklace £6.50, and spotted earrings 75p approx, from City Lights; thin Indian bangles, Peter Robinson 5p each. Man’s blue fleck suit with drainpipe trousers and velvet-collared jacket £38, and short-sleeved striped cotton shirt £4, both by Let it Rock.
ABOVE LEFT: Plunging orange and black striped knitted top f4, from Van der Fransen, 98 Waterford Road, SW6. Block gabardine skirt with fan-pleated hem E8.50, from Spectrum, 70 Gloucester Road, SW7. Black tights, Mary Quant 40p; black stardust peep-toe shoes, Terry de Havilland £15 approx; long black beads, £1 from a selection by Adrien Mann; pink plastic and gilt earrings, City Lights 75p approx; bangles, Baggage & Gene Sp each. RIGHT: Zebra-striped corduroy skirt with deep patch pockets £10, and black patent stilettos £8.50, both from Let it Rock, 430 King’s Road, SW10 (mail order SOp). Fine-ribbed cream polo neck, Janine at Harold Ingram {1.50, from Jane Norman, Oxford Street, WI; Penningtons, Marlow. Gold belt £2, scarlet and gilt necklace £1, earrings 75p, and bracelet 65p, all from City Lights.
Call it nostalgia, admission of defeat, lack of inventiveness or what you will: the ugly fact is that there is a strong trend among designers to dig up the Fifties for a fashion revival. Those were the days of the A-line, the tulip dress, Lurex and pleated skirts. If you are disturbed at a Fifties revival, so are we. We think it a period in fashion terms best forgotten, with one or two exceptions. If you don’t favour the fashion but fancy the authentic ambiance you’ll get the right idea at Mr Freedom’s restaurant, Feed’em, where we photographed. Here, written about in the Fiftie’s style, are some of the up-dated Fifties fashions on sale now.
At the same time as the Thirties and Forties were being raided by British Boutique designers, so were the Fifties (or Fiftie’s as so spectacularly put here) and it’s pretty hilarious to see the cynicism by the writer here (possibly fashion editor Sarah Drummond) – who had presumably been a young woman then. The cyclical nature of fashion is nothing new and nor is the disbelief when it’s happening in your own timeline!
On another note, it’s always lovely to see some new-to-me shots inside the legendary Mr Feed’em restaurant!
Photographed by John Kelly.
Scanned from Flair, November 1971.
Crepe pencil skirt and pure wool knitted top that you can dress up or down as you please with a clever change of accessories. Button through fastening gives the skirt special new back interest. Skirt £6. Sweater, £4.50 both by Stirling Cooper. Seamed stockings 30p by Aristoc. Black suede and red patent peep toe shoes, Ravel, £5.50.
A flamboyant crepe de chine evening number, in an adventurous chintzy print with snazzy flounced skirt, £10.50 by Sheridan Barnett at Simon Massey. Black suede sandals with ankle straps, Bilbo, £7. Red beaded necklace, Corocraft, 49p. Purple and pink Perspex bangles, Adrien Mann, 30p each.
Smart-as-paint coat that captures all the intriguing fashion points of the season; with a generous fullness at the back. Created in a delightful brown and beige wool blanket fabric. Bus Stop £19.95. Brown leather boots. Sacha £8.99.
Neat ladylike costume in carefree Tricel jersey. The swirling skirt is a-flutter with knife pleats and the short fitted jacket has an optional tie. In an opulent new shade of plum and white, by Angela at London Town £20. Burgundy brimmed felt hat, Bermona, £1.70. Mulberry tights, Mary Quant, 75p. Multi strapped shoes, Mondaine, £11.99.
I am returned from Paris! It was all perfectly wonderful, plenty of wandering (some aimless, some not…), drinking, eating and all other lovely things. I will blog a little more about events on my birthday, but I thought I would start off with the visual feast that was the Madame Grès exhibition at the
Musée Bourdelle. Everything about it was a treat. The museum itself is a fantastic space; a mixture of old studios and purpose built exhibition spaces. The Grès pieces have been inserted within the permanent exhibition, and also in larger dedicated sections. You weave your way through the numbered rooms, which seem to go on forever (which is wonderful, unless you’re slightly concerned about catching your Eurostar back home…but we still managed to soak it all up!).
I have to emphasise how much of a honour it was to be able to see the dresses up close. I mean, really up close. Everyone was respectful of the ‘do not touch’ signs, so often a problem in the UK I fear, and it shows off the dresses to perfection. Grès was a designer who was all about the detail, the finest pleats and the most delicate of stitching. I couldn’t stop snapping; quite frankly, I think I forgot that I wasn’t photographing listings for my website (I should be so lucky!).
My favourite designers are always those who rarely move with the winds of fashion. Idiosyncrasy is my favourite word. The exhibit cleverly juxtaposes her early pieces with the later ones, as well as with Bourdelle’s sculptures – since sculpture was her inspiration and, I think, her vocation. I should have made more notes about dates, but I can tell you that the one immediately below this text is from 1980 (just before she went bankrupt, her House was sold and her archives destroyed). At the top of the page, the two tomato-red jersey dresses are twenty years apart in production. It’s extraordinary, and to be admired. Her skill was unmistakeable, it didn’t need to follow trends or chase notoriety and scandal.
Liz Eggleston 