A blouse is a beautiful summer

1970s, Blouses, deborah and clare, elisabeth novick, Inspirational Images, Jasper, margit brandt, Suliman, Travers Tempos, Vintage Editorials, Vogue

Blouse by Deborah and Clare. Skirt by Suliman.

Photographed by Elisabeth Novick. Vogue, June 1971.

Blouse by Margit Brandt for Scorpio. Skirt by Travers Tempos.

Blouse by Jasper.

Inspirational Images: Gabrielle Crawford in Miss Fish

1960s, Inspirational Images, Michael Crawford, mr fish, patrick lichfield, Vogue

Gabrielle Crawford in an Elizabethan pageboy blue and green striped silk shirt from the new Miss Fish collection, 15 gns to order. She’s just back from Rome where her husband Michael has been starring in The Games. Miss Fish is the latest addition to the Mr Fish family, 17 Clifford St, W.1.

Scanned from Vogue, June 1969. Photo by Patrick Lichfield.

Apples and Pears (and other new listings)

1960s, 1970s, antony price, barbara hulanicki, barry lategan, biba, british boutique movement, chelsea girl, Fiorucci, jean muir, Susan Locke, Vogue, website listings

Rare 1972 Jean Muir dress at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk

I am delighted to finally reveal one of the most amazing pieces I’ve had the pleasure of handling and listing over at Vintage-a-Peel. This superb Jean Muir dress hails from 1972, as photographed by Barry Lategan for Vogue of April that year, and is made from one of Muir’s most distinctive prints, the Apples and Pears chiffon (which I already mentioned back in April).

I have also just listed a stunning cocktail mini dress by the supremely talented Antony Price and a definitive disco-era ensemble by iconic brand Fiorucci. Amongst other beauties, of course. Not least a mini dress by seemingly forgotten designer and owner of eponymous King’s Road boutique, Susan Locke. Susan was the girlfriend of actor Jeremy Brett in the late Sixties/early Seventies, and was also one of the first stockists of Terry de Havilland’s wonderful shoes. A fine pedigree, I’m sure you’ll agree.

Antony Price strapless mini cocktail dress at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk

Floral chiffon Seventies-does-Thirties dress at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk

Rare Fiorucci pink metallic bustier/trouser ensemble at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk

Paisley gypsy ‘Jake’ Seventies dress at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk

Galactic glam rock Seventies Chelsea Girl skirt at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk

Rare Biba ‘Lolita’-labelled Seventies maxi skirt at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk

Romantic mid Seventies ‘Lady Charlotte’ maxi dress at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk

Rare late Sixties micro mini dress by Susan Locke at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk

Inspirational Images: Fulham Road Clothes Shop, 1969

1960s, annacat, Arnaud de Rosnay, british boutique movement, corocraft, fulham road clothes shop, Inspirational Images, sylvia ayton, Vogue, zandra rhodes

Drifting gypsy dress in early morning sea colours. Scarf, top and trousers, 11gns, at the Fulham Road Clothes Shop. Silver chaining over the head by Carlton Payne, about £10, at Annacat. Silver rings by Corocraft.

Superb piece by all-too-scarce design duo Sylvia Ayton and Zandra Rhodes for the Fulham Road Clothes Shop.

Featured in Vogue, May 1969. Photographed by Arnaud de Rosnay.

Inspirational Images: Jean Muir, 1970

1970s, david bailey, Inspirational Images, Jan de Villeneuve, Vogue

Jan de Villeneuve in Jean Muir

Photographed by David Bailey. Vogue,  January 1970. Scanned by Miss Peelpants.

Inspirational Images: Dress to decorate summer evenings

1970s, bus stop, caroline arber, celia birtwell, Gill Hutchings, Inspirational Images, lee bender, ossie clark, Pierre Elegante, quorum, radley, Simon Ellis, Sujon, Vintage Editorials, Vogue

Crepe dress by Simon Ellis, £8 15s

Photographs by Caroline Arber. Vogue, June 1970.

I wish summer would come. I wish my entire wardrobe consisted of these clothes. I wish every day could be a Caroline Arber kind of day…

Blouse by John Craig, £3 16s. Skirt by Pierre Elegante, £7.

Poppy red moss crepe dress with print by Celia Birtwell, by Ossie Clark for Radley, 11 gns at Quorum.

Dress by Gill Hutchings for Fair Lady, £4.

Blue-grey voile midi dress by Sujon, 7gns.

Rose and green jersey midi dress from Bus Stop, £6 15s

Mensday: About a lucky man who made the grade…

1960s, anita pallenberg, brian jones, carnaby street, Mensday, menswear, Michael Cooper, suki potier, Tara Browne, The Beatles, the rolling stones, Vogue

The Hon. Tara Browne in a maroon silk suit chosen by his wife, Nicky, left. By Major Hayward. Gold shirt, Turnbull & Asser

Both Tara Browne and Brian Jones were at the height of their fame, fortune and follicular glory here. Neither would see the Seventies. Indeed, Browne wouldn’t even see out the year this feature hails from. Quite extraordinary to see them together in the same spread from Men In Vogue, November 1966. They even managed to date the same woman (Suki Potier was the passenger in Browne’s Lotus Elan when he died, and would later be comforted by Jones – dating him, on-and-off, until his death in 1969.)

Photographs by Michael Cooper.

Brian Jones, a Rolling Stone in a double-breasted black suit, striped red and white, chosen by Anita Pallenberg, above. Bright pink shirt, scarlet handkerchief and tie. All bought in New York. Black and white shoes found in Carnaby Street.

As an aside, I was amazed to read, for the first time, that there are actually people in the world who believe that Tara Browne underwent extensive plastic surgery to ‘become’ a replacement Paul McCartney. Because McCartney actually died in a motorbike accident in Liverpool [just before Browne faked his own death], dontchaknow? I mean no offence to a beloved Beatle, but why on earth would anyone bother? Nobody bothered doing that with any other dead rock star at the time.

I’m quite the arch timewaster myself, but even my mind boggles at the years people devote to such patently ludicrous things.

Inspirational Images: Bright girl’s guide to open air dressing

1970s, Alan Rodin, annacat, biba, british boutique movement, Buckle Under, edward mann, elisabeth novick, Ian Batten, Inspirational Images, karl lagerfeld, Leslie Poole, Pierre Elegante, stirling cooper, Vintage Editorials, Vogue

Bird’s egg blue and white spotted shirt and striped trousers at Pierre Elegante. Hat by Edward Mann.

Photographed by Elisabeth Novick, from Vogue, April 1973.

If I could spend most of my springtime dressed like this, I would be happy. Sadly, I am currently living in thick black tights and long sleeves while the entire country shivers its way into May.

Curses!

Dungarees by Leslie Poole at Annacat. Hat from Liberty.

Left: Top by Alan Rodin, trousers by Ian Batten for Stirling Cooper. Umbrella from Biba — Right: Top by Karl Lagerfeld for Timwear, trousers same as left. Turban from Buckle Under.

Inspirational Images: Moody Shoes

1970s, biba, charles jourdan, Inspirational Images, Patrick Hunt, Rayne, shoes, terry de havilland, Vogue, Walter Steiger

Photos by Patrick Hunt. Vogue, April 1972.

Just shoehorning some shoe porn in…

Featuring the great Terry de Havilland, Charles Jourdan, Walter Steiger, Rayne and Biba.

Inspirational Images: Hair

1960s, barry lategan, hair, Inspirational Images, Vogue

Photographed by Barry Lategan. Vogue, April 1969.