Corselette in black velvet, tightly laced at front, about £88. Three-tiered skirt in pleated taffeta in shades of flame, about £438. Gold high-heeled pumps with lacing up leg, about £50.
Saint Laurent’s latest evening clothes kick their way straight out of the Moulin Rouge. These are the sexiest clothes ever: tightly-laced bodices on tiny straps, in plain colours, huge billowing, bouffant skirts in brilliant shades of crunchy taffeta or brightly-dyed cotton. Notice the new skirt lengths, short and saucy to only just below the knee, or flamenco-length, a scant two inches above the ankle. Eminently copiable, this look —Janet Reger is already doing the La Goulue corselettes, and your dressmaker could run up a quick twelve yards of taffeta.
One of the models is Sayoko Yamaguchi.
Photographed by Francois Lamy.
Scanned from Harpers and Queen, February 1977.
Corselette in white cotton about £60 ; short full skirt in black cotton, about £107 ; shawl with brilliant flower print on black, about £100. Black patent pumps with satin lacing, about £45. All by Yves Saint Laurent from Saint Laurent Rive Gauche shops at Brompton Rd, SW3 ; New Bond St,W1 and Intercontinental Hotel, Hyde Park,W1. All jewellery by Saint Laurent.
Black velvet corselette with short puffed sleeves, about £150 short full skirt in gold taffeta, trimmed with feathers, about £782 gold pumps with lacing, about £50. All by Saint Laurent.
Corselette in red cotton, about £60 red cotton bermudas, about £57 black lace shawl, about £190. Shoes in black and rose satin with lacing, about £45. All by Saint Laurent.
Corselette in khaki cotton, with puffed sleeves, £107 ; black cotton skirt, £88; black straw hat, about £102. All by Saint Laurent. Black patent pumps with satin ribbons from a selection at Rive Gauche.
A hint of Kimono – with long flowing sleeves sweeping to a point and a matching waist band. Around the shoulders a beautiful flowing gossamer echarpe with a stunning hand printed Japanese figurine recalling the eastern promise. Dress exclusively designed by Hawker & Walker, hand stitched -with pearl beading neck line – using exclusively hand printed silk designed by Chapple Hamlin-Wright.
Hawker & Walker, Chapple Hamlin-Wright and Papillon are all new names on me and only Hamlin-Wright has showed up any trace on my initial searches. So do get in touch if you know any more!
Liberty’s have two birthdays because it’s their centenary year as well, and they have been working round the clock bringing out special gifts, fabrics, clothes and even their very own scent for the occasion. They will be opening a ‘one-off’ boutique in the basement where you can buy some of the one-off designs they have been creating, and throughout the whole store you will be able to find the special birthday items. So that you can have a sneak preview of one of the designs, we photographed a two-layer straw hat with a green appliquéd peacock feather showing through, and its own choker; £55, by Alan Couldridge. Scarf from a selection.
“Sugar Daddy” by Ib Jorgensen. The ultimate evening ensemble trimmed with fox, from Fortnum’s fashions.
Photographed in the foyer of the Hotel Inter-Continental London.
Obviously please ignore the fur element, I mainly wanted to share this because I love Ib Jorgensen and his work doesn’t turn up in magazines much. Born in Denmark, he became one of Ireland’s leading fashion designers from the 1950s until the 1990s. One of my favourite dresses hanging in my closet comes from a range he did for Mattli of London, but it’s interesting to know he was also stocked in Fortnum and Mason.
Lord Dufferin wears a linen cream suit by Walter Albini; £120, Browns, 25 South Molton St, W1. Orange crepe de chine shirt; £20, also from Browns. Brown silk ribbed tie; £5.95, John Michael, 62 Brompton Rd, SW3.
Sheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood, thirty-five-year-old Marquis of Dufferin and Ava, is a film producer, art collector, sportsman (`I’m practically always on the tennis court or something’), and financial consultant to an American investment fund. Supremely relaxed and the possessor of a wonderful throwaway wit, Lord Dufferin readily admits to being interested in clothes . . . ‘I can’t pretend I spend hours thinking about what I’m going to wear, but I do give it some thought. All men dress for effect. It’s very much like keeping a diary : you pretend the diary’s for yourself, but deep down you hope someone is going to read it some day.
`I find shirts and ties constricting and I seldom wear them unless I’m going to a business meeting. My favourite clothes for day and evening, if I’m going to a party where one can wear what one likes, are open-neck shirts, pullovers — I have about twenty-five — and sports jackets on top.’
He prefers his clothes close-fitting — ‘loose fit does nothing for one’s shape’. The fabrics he’s keenest on are corduroys, denim, velvet and lightweight wool — all the year round. Colour plays the most important part in his ward-robe. ‘I don’t usually wear checks or that sort of thing; I like solid colours in simple contrast —combinations like red, white and black — or different shades of the same colour. I like white very much for summer, I dislike yellow and am not really wild about green.’ Lord Dufferin sees himself as an impulse buyer with a touch of extravagance, but his formula sounds like a good one for guarding against mistakes.
`I feel that if something is right and you really like it and know you’re going to wear it a lot, then you should buy it. But if there’s any doubt at all, forget about it.’ He remains loyal to certain shops. Browns, which ‘saves one the trouble of having to shop abroad’, is his great source for trousers, sports jackets and pullovers, though he occasionally finds some he likes at the Village Gate shops. At John Michael he buys ready-to-wear suits and shoes.
What he refers to as his ‘ordered city suits’ come from Wealeson & Legate. His ties (`the few I buy’) and other accessories come from Harvie & Hudson. All of his shirts he buys ready made up. His conservative ones come from Harvie & Hudson; his others from Deborah & Clare — buy tons of shirts from them. I like their Swiss cottons and their silk shirts which I wear a lot in the evenings and for the summer.
`I honestly think that most people’s taste, including my own, is strongly suspect, so I stick to very straightforward clothes. They should make their effect effortlessly : you should be aware that someone’s wearing something nice without actually thinking about it.
Interview by Lendal Scott-Ellis.
It has been a while since I did a ‘Mensday’ post, but I thought the wonderfully elegant Marquess was very worthy of one. He very sadly died in 1988 of an AIDS related illness but his brief life left a legacy of supporting and promoting both modern art and film.
Photographed by Norman Eales.
Scanned from Harpers and Queen, April 1974.
Black satin tunic top embroidered with brocade butterflies; £28.50, to order from Deborah & Clare, 29 Beauchamp Place, SW3.
Black cotton shirt printed with leaves; £9, Lakis, 48 South Audley St, W1. White cable knit cashmere sweater; £68.20, Mr Fish, 100 Mount St, W1.
Wide-sleeved jersey coat in pale rose pink; panelled skirt in same jersey, worn slightly longer than the coat ; same colour round-necked sweater; all by Sonia Rykiel; £111, £43 and £34, Browns. Narrow maroon leather belt ; about £6.50. Browns. Wide varnished wicker bangles ; £6 each, Emeline.
Showing your colours: Sonia Rykiel for France goes for all the pinks.
Photographed by Francois Lamy.
Scanned from Harpers and Queen, February 1975.
Aubergine cardigan with lilac band on collar and cuffs ; long lilac sweater with aubergine band at the waist ; wide culottes in aubergine jersey; about £76, £35 and £43; all by Sonia Rykiel; Browns, 27 South Molton St, W1. Ivory and jet octangular bracelets ; £25 each; Emeline, 45 Beauchamp Place, SW3.
‘Casual clothes for men.’ The phrase used to mean T-shirts and jeans. But since Paul Howie opened his shop at 352 Fulham Road, SW10, the phrase has taken on a new meaning: ‘soft, comfy, easy-to-wear looks; clothes that you can just put on and look good in without trying’. That says it all. Nearly all the clothes are exclusive to Howie, but Paul (in the picture) wears a light brown tie-belted raincoat by Deardon & Fay; £68.
Liz Eggleston 