Fulham Road Boutiques

1970s, Boston-151, british boutique movement, Carlos Arias, Early Bird, Gundrun Boston, hollywood clothes shop, Illustrations, Jacqui Smale, jean muir, Kaffe Fassett, laura ashley, Lillian Delevoryas, michael chow, missoni, Valerie Goad, Vintage Adverts, Vogue
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).

Text by Antonia Williams.

Scanned from Vogue, February 1971.

Toeing the Line

1970s, Dolcis, Elliott, Illustrations, leslie chapman, lilley and skinner, mr freedom, petticoat magazine, Russell & Bromley, Sacha, shoes
Painted peep-toe court shoes, Mr Freedom, W8., £10.75, Quant spotty tights, £1; Russell & Bromley suede bar shoes with peep toe, £12.95. Quant dotty tights, £1. Lilley and Skinner leather and suede lace-ups, £4.99, Quant foot-patterned tights, 95p.; Sacha suede shoes to strap calf-high, £4.99. Mr Freedom tights, 52½p.; Russell & Bromley suede wedge shoes with buckle, £5.25. Mr Freedom tights, 52½p.; Suede sandal all the way up to the knee. Russell & Bromley, £10.45.

Sinuous straps, wedgy heels and an all-time comeback for soft summer suede in any number of wide-eye summer shades. Shoes that daren’t be just practical — not now there’s so much happening in the clothes line above! With the sort of prices shown here, any girl can take out enough insurance to make sure her footwear not only keeps pace with the rest of her wardrobe, but even makes it that much more special as well!

Illustrations by Leslie Chapman.

Scanned from Petticoat, 20th March 1971.

Saxone suede four-bar shoes with clumpie heels, £5.50. Mr Freedom tights, 52½p.; Dolcis suede lace-up-leg shoes, £2.99. Mr Freedom tights, 52½p.; Suede wedge-heeled bar shoes, Lilley and Skinner, £5.50 plus Quant sheer stockings with butterfly emblem, 99p.; Russell & Bromley suede wedge-heeled shoes, lacing above the knee, £11.95. Mr Freedom tights, 52½p.; Suede and leather laced shoes Dolcis, £4.99 with Quant ankle-patterned tights, 95p.; Elliotts suede wedge-heeled ankle-laced shoes, £12.95. Mr Freedom tights, 52p.

Christmas Box

19 magazine, 1970s, 20th Century Box, Adrian Mann, Brighten Belts, cornucopia, Derber, Hazel Gomes, Illustrations, Make-up, mary quant, Russell & Bromley, Swanky Modes, terry de havilland

Yardley Multi Lash Mascara, 69p. / Double rich whipped creme nail colour in Enamel Red by Max Factor, 58p. / Kohl eye pencil, by Mary Quant, 75p. / Black beaded hat with black net and red spots from Cornucopia, from £15. / Stick shadow, by Outdoor Girl, 19p. / Rimmel roll on creamy blusher, 36p. / A colour range from Mary Quant Soft Machine Crayons, 60p each, and Pearl Crayons, sold in sets of five, £1.40. / See through pink elephant brooch by 20th Century Box, £1.50. Pink mother of pearl painted necklace from Swanky Modes, from £2. / Red and pink strappy shoes by Russell and Bromley, £19.99. / Purple sequin earrings by Swanky Modes, from 75p. / Lyle’s Golden Syrup belt, by Brighten Belts, £1.75. / Red suede shoes with pompoms, by Terry de Havilland at Derber, £19.99. / Pink plastic bangle, by Adrien Mann, from £1. / Sparkly red heart earrings from £1. Silver fingerless gloves, £3. Both by Brumus.

I would love those Terry de Havilland shoes in my stocking, please!

Illustration by Hazel Gomes.

Scanned from 19 Magazine, December 1975.

Why your clothes cost so much

1970s, airbrushing, biba, cosmopolitan, Illustrations, philip castle
“We all know prices are spiralling. You don’t need to study statistics to realise that your winter coat has cost you more, that sweaters, skirts, shoes and bags are now major investments. But why? And why so suddenly? “I remember when you could buy…” is no longer the prerogative of the middle aged reminiscing on lost youth. I remember when you could still buy a dress in Biba for just over £2, and, what’s more, I still wear it.”

A typically brilliant Philip Castle illustration to accompany an article by Shirley Flack on inflation and the effect on clothes prices at the time. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Although I would kill for the quality you were getting for your inflated prices in 1974. And, naturally, I always recommend shopping second hand anyway!

Illustration by Philip Castle.

Scanned from Cosmopolitan, January 1974.

Cornucopia

1970s, Adrian Mann, Badges and Equipment, corocraft, crowthers, flair magazine, Illustrations, philip castle, universal witness
I. Red and white enamel and gilt bumble-bee with pearly eyes/78p. 2. Blue, green and red enamel and gilt dragon-fly/78p. 3. Green and red enamel and gilt dragon-fly/90p, all by Adrien Mann. 4. Red plastic may-bug, Universal Witness/75p. 5. Small green and blue enamel and gilt dragon-fly, Adrien Mann, 57p. 6. Antique nickel plated bumble-bee, Gay Designs/69p. 7. Red plastic bunch of cherries, Adrien Mann/95p. 8. Chrome acorn and oak-leaves badge, Badges and Equipment/45p. 9. Creamy plastic peacock, Universal Witness/75p. 10. Shiny red enamel continental tomato, Corocraft/69p. 11. Small house badge, Crowthers/ 33p. 12. Double daisy with green enamel petals and red enamel centres, Adrien Mann £1.08. 13. Spotty apple badge, Crowthers/ 37p. 44. Green enamel apple/69p. 15. Yellow enamel pear/69p, both by Corocraft.

Pin on a badge like one of these and you’re back to nature in a small way. Picture badges, winged thing pins, discs in the shape of fruit, flowers and plants-all are part of the new, slightly naive look in accessories. And whereabouts on your person, you might ask, do you actually pin a bumble-bee or a pear? Answer is anywhere. On your left sleeve. Let a dragon-fly come to rest at your hemline. Let an oakleaf sprout on a kneesock. Just let the badge be where it falls naturally.

Illustration by Philip Castle.

Scanned from Flair, August 1971.

The prettiest summertime since the Impressionists

1970s, fortnum and mason, Illustrations, Tiktiner, Vogue, Zelda G
The prettiest summertime since the Impressionists… la belle epoch recalled with visions of long skirts sweeping the grass and delicate lace in dappled orchards. Tiktiner’s summertime separates are purely pretty in crisp, cool grey cotton inset with guipure lace. Circular wrap long skirt and blouse £69. From the choice collection of summer fashions at Fortnum & Mason, 181 Piccadilly, London.

Illustrated by Zelda G

Scanned from Vogue, May 1974.

Now it can be revealed

1970s, Antiquarius, Chelsea Antiques Market, Emmerton and Lambert, forbidden fruit, Inspirational Images, michael roberts, ritva, sunday times magazine, The Purple Shop, Uschi Obermaier, Vintage Editorials, Willie Christie
White kebaya with violet lace trim, £15, from a selection between £12-50 and £30 at Forbidden Fruit, 325 Kings Road. Broderie anglaise skirt, £8, from Vern Lambert, Chelsea Market.

A kebaya is the traditional organdie blouse which Malay and Indonesian women wear over their sarong. It is lavishly embroidered and trimmed with lace. No two are alike. Now available here, selling from £12.50 for plainer ones to £30 for the most elaborate, they provide summer’s latest exotic look. Worn with old jeans or peasanty skirts, pinned together with antique clasps, the kebaya is the sexiest thing in town.

Model is Uschi Obermaier.

Report by Michael Roberts.

Photographed by Willie Christie.

Scanned from The Sunday Times Magazine, July 7th 1974.

Blue/pink embroidered kebaya, £18, from a selection priced between £18 and £30 at Ritva, 8 Hollywood Road, London S. W.10. Art Nouveau jewellery from The Purple Shop, Antiquarius, Kings Road, London S. W.3.
Floral-embroidered kebayas, £20, from a selection between £18 and £30 at Ritva. Deco clasps, £1 ; broderie anglaise skirt, £8, all from Vern Lambert. Pendants and butterfly brooch from The Purple Shop.
Floral-embroidered kebaya, £20, from a selection between £18 and £30 at Ritva. Deco clasps, £1 ; broderie anglaise skirt, £8, all from Vern Lambert. Pendants and butterfly brooch from The Purple Shop.

Quand on porte la mode, mieux vaut savoir avec quoi elle est faite

1970s, Illustrations, Mademoiselle Age Tendre, Vintage Adverts

“When you wear fashion, it’s better to know what it’s made with.”

Illustrator unknown (but I love the very visible pen marks, it’s just glorious).

Scanned from Mademoiselle Âge Tendre, June 1972.

Cover Up

1970s, Antiquarius, Buckle Under, caroline smith, Christopher Morris, Du-Du, Equinox, Escalade, Foale and Tuffin, forbidden fruit, harpers and queen, Illustrations, Le Bistingo Boutique

A holiday necessity—to entice your gigolo, or simply preserve decency on the terrace for lunchtime drinks — is a cover-up. We’ve looked around, found the nicest ones in town and had them sketched here by Caroline Smith. Some you tie Polynesian style (remember Blue Lagoon?) round you; others you lie on, or in; others are like the simplest dress slipped over your head to demurely cover you up (don’t shock the curé) for church-seeing.

1 Du-Du at 95 Parkway, NW1 are in for a sell-out this summer with their ‘Kangas’. Kangas, for the uninformed, are long pieces of cotton in a huge variety of colours and patterns. They come from Africa and act like a sarong ; they cost about £3 and pack to the site of a handkerchief. 2 Foale & Tuffin‘s new swimsuit will take you right back to Nanny and the sand-pit. White and orange spotted seersucker with a shirred bodice and bloomers ; £7.50, from Countdown, 137 Kings Rd, SW3; Lucienne Phillips, 09 Knightsbridge, SW1. Proving that the cottage industry is thriving, Christopher Morris and his wife Lera, with a friend, Hazel McKenzie, recently opened Habari at 39 Sussex Place, W2. Christopher designs all the clothes, while Lera and Hazel dye the fabric and screen-print it into luscious patterns. They also sell things like the small basket shown below. It’s in brown and cream string and really pretty; £4.25. The dress has a hessian bodice and a low back (or front —depending on how you wear it) with a short voile skirt: £18-50. Peeping out from under the dress on the extreme right of this page you can see their leather sandal, shaped like a trapezium ; £4. 4 Le Bistingo Boutique at 93 Kings Rd, SW3, have gone to town on the Piz Buin collection of swimwear. Its made of polyester fabric —see-through and also tan-through. The designs are rather Tahitian with bright colours and bold flower prints. There are sarong skirts to match the bikinis and make you more respectable. If these still aren’t enough, the bikinis do also come in a less revealing material. The bikini is £7.80, the skirt £10.90. Le Bistingo have also latched on to another idea … if you find that by some strange quirk of fate you need a different sized bikini top and bottom, ‘Huit’ ) now make them separately up to 38″ bust ; £5.50 the set at Le Bistino. 5 Equinox in Antiquarius (135 Kings Rd, SW3) is owned by David Scott and James Goldsack who have got together a fantastic conglomeration of stock from all over the world. It’s a haven for all Indian enthusiasts, as there’s a jolly collection of Navajo Indian carpets and jewellery. You can also buy Spanish crockery which is very, very ‘earthy’ looking, or if you prefer to sit on a prayer mat and sip your tea out of a little Chinese bowl, then Equinox can cater for both these needs as well. So as not to stray too far away from the point of this month’s Shopping B, they also do a very nice line in beach cover-ups ; this one is Mexican and hand-embroidered on cotton, £20. 6 Guaranteed to keep off sunstroke : pretty red straw hat with tanan ribbon ; by Buckle Under about f6.50; from Harrods, Knightsbridge and Darlings, Bath. 7 Essential beach bag to hoard biros and postcards — in canvas, comes in various colours (this one is green). £4.95, Escalade, 187 Brompton Rd, SW3. 8 If you like long skirts and dresses beautifully embroidered, and soft cheesecloth skirts with appliqués, then the place to go is Forbidden Fruit at 352 Kings Rd, SW3. We chose a long cheesecloth skirt with dark brown embroidery around the hem and a matching shirt with shirring round the waist and neckline. Very soft and feminine; sold together, £15.

Illustrated by Caroline Smith.

Scanned from Harpers and Queen, July 1972.

You know how good it feels (Part 1)

19 magazine, 1970s, art deco, Deco Inspired, Illustrations, Lyn Gray

Magic moments, happy moments, moments alone and moments together—you know how good all that feels. And nothing feels better than that touch of luxury when it comes your way unexpectedly. Just in case you don’t know, we want to prove it, by putting that touch of luxury within your reach. For us, the ‘Thirties, perhaps more than any other era, set the mood for elegance and glamour, and we’ve chosen all our prizes in styles and shades to capture that mood.

A series of eight blissfully brilliant illustrations accompanying a competition feature. There is also a stunning photograph which I will post tomorrow as I thought these deserved their own post.

Illustrations by Lyn Gray.

Scanned from 19 Magazine, July 1974.