19 magazine

Short and Sweet

19 magazine, 1970s, alistair cowin, bus stop, gillian richard, gladrags, Illustrations, lee bender, medusa, michael roberts, mr freedom, stirling cooper

I feel sad for the summer which never quite came to these shores. We had some nice days early on, but nothing consistent. I’m no sun worshipper, and I freely admit to preferring autumn, but it would have been nice to have been out and about a little more frequently in a little less clothing. I’m considering a little seaside jaunt in October, so I’ll just have to wear this kind of gear with some thick tights, hat and a coat over the top.

Stunning illustrations from 19 Magazine, May 1971, by Michael Roberts. I did a little reading up on Roberts, and he seems like a fascinating, Renaissance-style man. I pay far more attention to the names of illustrators these days, for obvious reasons, and it’s always nice to discover something about these all-too-often unsung artists.

Inspirational Images: Dungarees and Rabbits

19 magazine, miss mouse, paris, platforms, seventies fashion, universal witness
Sundress by Universal Witness. Shoes by Sacha. Bag by Miss Mouse.
Scanned from 19 Magazine, May 1972. Photographed by Franz Gruber.
I am currently en Paris with Mr Brownwindsor, celebrating my impending doom birthday tomorrow! I wish I had the Miss Mouse bunny bag, but I’m hoping to wear my nursery print Miss Mouse dress while I’m there. I’ll show you all when I return!

Mensday: The Real Appeal of the Heel

19 magazine, 1970s, haute naffness, Illustrations, Mensday, menswear, mild sauce, peter wyngarde, philip castle

Philip Castle. The Real Appeal of the Heel. 19 Magazine, May 1972

I adore the illustration from this article in 19 Magazine, May 1972. The article itself is a bit wordy and I decided it wasn’t worth scanning or OCR-ing, but the illustration can’t be missed and there’s a great little vignette at the bottom of the article.

Do we think illustrator Philip Castle was somewhat *ahem* inspired by the great Peter Wyngarde? He of Jason King fame and When Sex Leers Its Inquisitive Head. An album which has to be heard to be believed. (Please don’t click the links if you are of a sensitive nature. Or haven’t taken any mind-altering substances so far today.)

De Havillands in Casablanca

19 magazine, johnny moke, platforms, rowley and oram, seventies fashion, terry de havilland

Left: Dress by Clobber, shoes by Rowley and Oram. Right: Dress by Crowthers, shoes by Mary Quant.

After my Hollywood Clothes Shop post the other day, what should I find in a January 1971 (I am a geek on so many different levels…) copy of 19 Magazine but this amazing Forties-styled shoot. I actually aspire to this entire look so badly I want to cry just looking at it.

The amazing snakeskin and suede shoes throughout the shoot are credited to ‘Rowley and Oram’ (which, itself, is quite odd since I assumed that ‘label’ became defunct when Hollywood Clothes Shop opened…), which we can now all assume means that these shoes are by the amazing Mr Terry De Havilland. I’m not sure at what point his name became much coveted, but it’s interesting that he should be so badly uncredited here.

Left: Dress by Louis Caring. Right: Dress by Fotheringay and Hepplewaite, shoes by Mary Quant.

Dress by Tony Berkeley, shoes by Elliotts.

Left: Dress by Louis Caring, shoes by Rowley and Oram. Right: Linda Warren for Downtown, shoes by Rowley and Oram.

Left: Dress by Louis Caring, shoes by Elliotts. Right: Outfit by Tony Berkeley, shoes by Freeman Hardy Willis.

Left: Dress by Marlborough, shoes by Freeman Hardy Willis. Right: Dress by Louis Caring, shoes by Rowley and Oram.

Country Style

19 magazine, biba, boots, bus stop, charlotte martin, edward mann, Foale and Tuffin, forbidden fruit, hats, Inspirational Images, lee bender, seventies fashion
Smock with matching rayon skirt from Van Der Fransen.

Smock with matching rayon skirt from Van Der Fransen.

[…and, a word in your ear if you sell vintage magazines]

I buy a lot of vintage magazines, this can come as no surprise to you all. Sometimes they come with pages missing, which has not been noted by the seller. This is Bad Practice, obviously. Not only is this amazing spread (March 1972) missing at least one photo (of a Foale and Tuffin piece, no less) but I also cannot credit the photographer because 19 magazine credits at the beginning of the spread. Bad form, magazine seller, bad form*.

Nevertheless, it is such a gorgeous spread that I couldn’t resist scanning it and posting. It’s utterly perfect inspiration for this balmy weather we’re having if, like me, you refuse to strip off and roast your flesh…

If anyone has this issue and can complete it with the missing photos and photographer ID, then I would be eternally grateful. Ta muchly! xx

*For the record, I contacted the seller and received no response to my complaints. Sigh.

Hat by Edward Mann. Shirt by Bus Stop. Skirt by Angela at London Town.

Hat by Edward Mann. Shirt by Bus Stop. Skirt by Angela at London Town.

Shirt from Bus Stop. Skirt from Forbidden Fruit. Boots by Biba.

Shirt from Bus Stop. Skirt from Forbidden Fruit. Boots by Biba.

Shirt and skirt by Bus Stop. Hat by Van Der Fransen.

Shirt and skirt by Bus Stop. Hat by Van Der Fransen.

Top and skirt by Forbidden Fruit. Hat by Van Der Fransen. Boots by Biba.

Top and skirt by Forbidden Fruit. Hat by Van Der Fransen. Boots by Biba.

James Wedge’s Painted Ladies

19 magazine, Inspirational Images, james wedge, toulouse lautrec

I took a gamble on a copy of James Wedge’s Painted Ladies book. Produced in 1988, it is ostensibly a guide to how Wedge created many of his best images using some extraordinary hand-colouring techniques and bizarre manipulation.

The glorious side-effect is that it is also filled with these lush images. Many of which I haven’t seen before, and some of which were always a bugger to try to scan in from a weirdly sized copy of 19 magazine, or somesuch. I’m sure, over time, I will post more. But I thought I would give you a little taster in this amazing Victorian-themed shoot for 19. Unfortunately, the book isn’t great about giving dates so if anyone knows the issue then please let me know.

I can’t even begin to tell you how bored I am with the whole burlesque/pin-up hoo-ha these days. I’m sure some people do it brilliantly, in fact I know they do, but it’s all become so mainstream and yawnworthy. I can’t really see how jiggling your boobs around in feathers and tassles is particularly superior to jiggling your boobs around a pole, as I’m constantly being told. A stripper is a stripper; a glamour model is a glamour model. But maybe I’m just a cynic? People can do whatever the hell they like and, so long as they’re not hurting anyone, I really couldn’t care less. I just wish it wasn’t everywhere, and that it didn’t seem to automatically correlate with interestingness.

So many times I’ve gone to post amazing pin-up-style photoshoots from the likes of Nova or the Telegraph Magazine, but it’s all so commonplace these days I simply can’t be bothered. However, I don’t need any excuse to post delicious early-Seventies photos by James Wedge, inspired by Toulouse Lautrec. Who happens to be one of my favourite artists and biggest inspirations, and whose grubby, ramshackle, louche ladies are a darn sight more interesting than most of what we’re presented with these days.

James Wedge really does deserve some kind of retrospective exhibition and big glossy book. Would somebody please sort this out some time soon? Please? Thank you….

p.s If you have an issue with nipples, then you might want to avert your eyes and come back tomorrow. I happen to be fascinated by nipples and particularly what James Wedge seems to do with them…




Anonymous Illustrations

19 magazine, Illustrations, Inspirational Images, sixties

Two luscious illustrations from an April 1969 issue of 19 Magazine. Neither are credited. Both are amazing and utterly inspirational. Thank you, anonymous artists, for creating such works of beauty.