Model is Therèse.
Photographed by Frank Horvat.
Scanned from Vanity Fair, December 1970.
Because it’s Christmas. Give yourself time. Time for you and those you love. Time to remember a neglected relative with a telephone call, a lonely neighbour with a visit more meaningful than the automatic instant greeting card. Time too, to think of perfect strangers in other countries, struggling against hardships we can barely imagine. Could be this is the time when a donation to one of those organisations which try to help is truly the spirit of Christmas, A spontaneous flowing of compassion and care from the unknown to the unknown.
Photographed by Frank Horvat.
Scanned from Vanity Fair, December 1970.
Because it’s Christmas. You’re going to forget, for once all the dreary practicalities of life. You’ll have no connection with the girl in the bus queue, wet winter mornings, tiresome clients, ceaseless telephone battles, budgets & diets, mortages and shopping. You’re going to experience the womanly spelndour of long, sumptuous gowns, shaped from luxurious stuffs – rich brocades, painstaking tapestries, beautiful braids; the whole piled into pattern on pattern so that the woman we know we could become emerges from grubby little Cinderella with a nonchalant elegance – relaxed, seemingly pampered and so obviously desreving a custom-made Prince Charming.
And because it’s Vanity Fair, it’s quite a long and endearingly meandering editorial on a loose theme which I will divide into a few different parts. Today, the glorious work of Bill Gibb for Baccarat, photographed so exquisitely I want to live in these images.
Photographed by Frank Horvat.
Scanned from Vanity Fair, December 1970.
Take a dekko at the accessories screaming their brilliant way across these pages. Nothing quiet, tasteful or ladylike, about them. Hard shocking pinks grating with parrot green, brilliant turquoise, electric blue, and Elvis Presley metallics. Shooting adrenalin into your get-up, so that you go. Hardly the gear to wear if you want to be a lady spy and overlooked.
Photographed by Marc Leonard.
Scanned from Vanity Fair, January 1972.
Bit of a rescan from about ten years ago, when I only seemed to scan the Terry de Havilland boots and the Derber shoes. Anyway, the whole spread is a delight and deserves to be seen. Also, for the millionth time, no I’m not making up magazines. Vanity Fair was a UK publication of the Sixties and Seventies which got absorbed into Honey magazine in the early Seventies. It has nothing to do with the earlier or later American/International magazine of the same name. Presumably as a defunct magazine name in a different country there were no copyright issues. It was also a work of absolute creative bloody genius in this early Seventies period (see the category tag for other scans, including an editorial by Saul Leiter).
n.b. I have omitted the image alluded to further down in the black and white section but haven’t edited the word so you can see why I have omitted it. My apologies for any offence caused.
Olivia Newton-John, a seductive siren if ever there was one, wearing an Indian cotton blouse £4.25, silk patchwork skirt £20, Afghanistan tapestry boots £27.50. All from Forbidden Fruit, 325 King’s Road, SW3, or mail order from Forbidden Fruit, 293a Portobello Road, W11 (provided you send 50p postage and packing that is). Embroidered Persian waistcoat £7 from Liberty, Regent Street, W1. Olivia’s seductively reclining on embroidered velvet cushions, anything from £4 to £40 at Rumak and Sample, in The Incredible Department Store, 92 Brompton Road, SW1. Sexy silk tiffany lampshade, £10.50 from Biba, 124-126 Kensington High Street, W8. Imported metallic wallpaper, £5.33 a roll including tax, comes from John Oliver, 33 Pembridge Road, W11. Add 33p postage and packing if you want him to send you some. Everything else comes from Liberty, and if you write to them, they’ll let you know about mail order possibilities. Black Chinese coffee table £45, Victorian frame stool £40, antique Italian column £18, hand-made Iraqi rug from £40. Reproduction painted icon £4.70, giant Boda goblet, one of a pair at £5.95, copper Persian tray £30, and copper Persian plant pot, £17.85.
Photographer uncredited.
Scanned from Vanity Fair, January 1972.
Top by Crowthers (although perhaps an uncredited Mr Freedom buy-in?)
Photographed by Frank Horvat.
Scanned from Vanity Fair, December 1970.
For a Sunday by the river . . . just looking your prettiest. Snowy-white dress in broderie Anglais with a wide, square neckline, puff sleeves -a very demure air about it. By Simon Ellis, 72gns. Wide-brimmed hat in fine white straw by Otto Lucas, 88s. White organza parasol, to order from Harrods, 6 2 gns. White tights by Mary Quant, 18s : 11d. Paisley cushions and old-fashioned quilt from Cornucopia. More prettiness how-to : Almay’s range of hypo-allergenic make-up, specially formulated for difficult skins that usually don’t like any make-up at all. Soft Ivory Liquid Make-up, matching powder. Eye Shadow Aqua, Charcoal Brown Mascara; Pink Pecan Colour Moist Lipstick, And, a summertime scent, Mademoiselle Ricci by Nina Ricci.
Photographed by Gershon
Scanned from Vanity Fair, July 1968.
One of my favourite illustrators of all time, Malcolm Bird takes the very essence of what I love about the Twenties/Thirties and the Sixties/Seventies and just melds them together with a Beardsley-esque eye for detail in little works of genius like this. Intended to illustrate a frivolous quiz on finding the right perfume for you (I’m resolutely a D, in case anyone was ever in any doubt) he gives us a brilliant cross-section of ‘types’ from 1970. I have separated the illustration above but you’ll find the quiz below for a bit of fun.
Illustrated by Malcolm Bird.
Scanned from Vanity Fair, April 1970.
Wonderful in white… snowy crepe, sleeves long and ringed with Irish thread work. By John Bates at Jean Varon. Jewellery by Adrien Mann. Man’s shirt to order from Thea Porter.
Photographed by Paul Orssich.
Scanned from Vanity Fair, November 1968.
Glamorously Grecian… pure white crepe, beautifully braided. By Young Ideas at Rhona Roy. Jewellery by Adrien Mann. Man’s black braided suit is from Just Men.
Beautiful in black seductive plunging rayon jersey. By Foale and Tuffin. Jewellery by Adrien Mann. Shoes by Lilley and Skinner. Man’s evening suit and shirt all from Take 6.
Stunning in satin… timeless dress as bewitching as a glimmer of midnight. By Bernard Freres. Man’s velvet jacket from Take 6. Man’s be-ruffled shirt from Kleptomania.
Perfect in pink… sugared almond crepe falling soft to the wrist and waist. Designed by Anne Tyrrell at John Marks. Jewellery by Adrien Mann. Man’s red velvet jacket and silk scarf from Trend at Simpson.
Reassured in red. Skimmy shaped wool crepe party-goer cut away at the shoulders. By Sujon. Jewellery by Adrien Mann. Man’s evening suit and polo shirt both from Club 92.
Black gabardine raincoat by Foale and Tuffin. Black suede double strapped boots from Russell & Bromley. Rainbow striped sweater by Stirling Cooper.
Reasons why Vanity Fair is one of the best fashion magazines ever #29847: A fashion editorial inspired by a fighting couple, photographed by Saul Leiter…
Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vanity Fair, January 1971.
Maroon jersey coat and plaid skirt by Stirling Cooper. Sweater by Sonia Rykiel for Browns. Boots by Elliott’s.
Brown beige and orange flecked wool gauchos worn with thick brown shetland sweater, leather studded belt and appliqued bag all from Feathers. Cap from Way In.
Brown and beige tweed suit with Borg trims by Mansfield. Floppy woolly hat from Browns. Brown suede shoes by Pedro Garcia for Jack Hinton.
Midi skirt and matching muffler by Maxwell Croft. Brown polo necked sweater by Sonia Rykiel from Browns. Dark brown leather boots by Chelsea Cobbler.
Liz Eggleston 