menswear

Diary of a Somebody

1970s, Browns, David Hockney, deborah and clare, harpers and queen, John Michael, Lakis, Mensday, menswear, mr fish, norman eales, Sheridan Hamilton-Temple-Blackwood
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.

Get in the backseat baby…

1970s, Cerruti, harpers and queen, janice wainwright, Mensday, menswear, Rolls Royce, Vintage Adverts, Washington Tremlett
Clothes by Washington Tremlett. Tie by Cerruti. Janice Wainwright skirt and tabard. Rolls Royce from Jack Barclay Ltd of Berkeley Square.

Scanned from Harpers and Queen, December 1976.

A Peek at the Boutique: Howie

1970s, Boutiques, british boutique movement, harpers and queen, Howie, Howie Diffusion, Mensday, menswear, Mrs Howie, Steve Campbell

‘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.

Photographed by Steve Campbell.

Scanned from Harpers and Queen, November 1974.

It’s what a man wears underneath that counts

1970s, interior design, interiors, Lyle and Scott, Mensday, menswear, telegraph magazine, The Sunday Telegraph Magazine, underwear, Vintage Adverts

One in my now very, very sporadic ‘Mensday’ series. This one doubles up as an interiors post as well, with Mr Freedom-influenced stars and stripes bedding (it might take you a while to focus properly).

Scanned from The Telegraph Magazine, March 17th 1972.

A Style All Your Own

1970s, jeans, menswear, Over 21, Vintage Adverts, wrangler

Scanned from Over 21 Magazine, July 1973.

Art Can Be a Wearing Business

1970s, Alain Demange, allen jones, Blades, Browns, Carlton Payne, christa peters, David Hockney, Elizabeth Frink, Erica Crome, Erte, Jasper, Man-Shih Yang, Mensday, menswear, Murray Salem, New Man, Patrick Hughes, ritva, Simpson of Piccadilly, Vogue
Left To Right: Patrick Hughes’ numerical applique worn by Man-Shih Yang, 24, classical composer from Hong Kong. David Hockney’s applique, worn by Alain Demange, 21, French fashion designer. Elizabeth Frink’s bird applique, worn by Carlton Payne, 30, Jamaican jewellery and fashion designer. Allen Jones’ black leg applique, worn by Murray Salem, 21, Actor From Cleveland, Ohio. All appliques on Ritva sweaters, £40 each, at Blades. Velvet jeans, first three, New Man, £12, Browns: Right, by Jupiter, £10.50, Pant House.

A brilliant line-up of the now legendary Ritva jumpers, designed by four of the most well-known British artists of the time, and a series of shirts by Jasper with Erté prints. Menswear? Pah! I’ll take them all please!

Fashion by Erica Crome.

Photographed by Christa Peters.

Scanned from Vogue, December 1971.

Prints designed by Erte on pure slubbed silk shirts, Left to Right: Adam and Eve shirt worn by Murray Salem, in white and gold with red and green on midnight blue. Night and Day shirts: the frontview, Day, worn by Carlton Payne, in off white with golden yellow and brown sunflower, midnight blue collar and sleeve. Backview, Night, worn by Alain Demange, in midnight blue with swirls of white and bright blue stars and bats, orange, maroon and yellow owls. Black shirt With big cats in red with yellow eyes on the front and back, worn by Man-Shih Yang. Shirts by Jasper, £27, From Trend at Simpson. Velvet jeans, £12, at Browns.

You can take a White Horse anywhere.

1960s, menswear, observer magazine, Vintage Adverts

Make mine a double and I’ll take the green jacket on the left as well please!

Advert for White Horse whiskey.

Scanned from The Observer Magazine, 20th April 1969.

Landscape in Leather

1960s, Adrian George, elton john, Gervase, Jim O'Connor, Julian Cottrell, Mensday, menswear, mr freedom, ossie clark, patrick procktor, Tommy Roberts, Vogue
Simply sky, cloud, tree and grass sewn on the back of a brief bright jacket, pilot shape, all leather, buttoned both sides, worn with high-waisted trousers, sky blue silk shirt.

The RCA’s School of Fashion is a great forcing ground for young designers. This year’s show proved the point again, with looks both space-age and romantic, the best in fashion for men… the man in the landscape is Gervase, pop singer with new release, “Pepper Grinder”. And the man responsible for the leather landscape, Jim O’Connor, made a gold lurex evening suit that could outshine Elvis Presley; a memorable droopy satin dressing gown and pyjamas silk-screened in rainbow colours with the words “there will never be another you”.

I would walk over hot coals for that jacket. Jim O’Connor would go on to design for Tommy Roberts’s Mr Freedom boutique and created the legendary winged boots (as worn by Elton John) amongst many other iconic designs.

There’s not a huge amount out there about Gervase Griffiths, what there is mainly relates to his time with Patrick Procktor and those creative circles (see here where there is also a connection to Ossie Clark), but here’s a link to the aforementioned Pepper Grinder which is all the baroque psychedelic whimsy you would expect from 1968.

Photographed by Julian Cottrell-Adrian George.

Scanned from Vogue, September 1968.

Mother Wouldn’t Like It

1960s, Boutiques, british boutique movement, Heavy Metal Kids, Honey Magazine, Illustrations, kensington market, lloyd johnson, menswear, Mother Wouldn't Like It, wendy buttrose

Mother Wouldn't Like It

Have just formed a new organisation. It’s called SPOCC or the Society for the Protection of Clothes Customers. Idea came last night when I collected a couple of suits from the cleaners, only to find that the shoulder padding of one jacket was lost somewhere down the sleeve, and the trousers, supposed to be drip dry, were wrinkled like a Dutch dyke. The first suit came from Carnaby Street, the second from the Kings Road. Jose, my flat-mate, tried to pacify me by saying, “I thought you said clothes now are fashionable and short-lived. So what do you expect?” Simply that a suit shouldn’t disappear at the first clean! I accept built-in obsolescence and all those rubbishy excuses for using cheap materials, but I expect a suit to last a year, not a month. How about you? Let me know what you think … it might add up to some interesting revelations. Like the super trousers in the sketch. They’re Newman jeans from France; they cost much more than English or American but, in my view, are twice as good. I got a pair from the Heavy Metal Kids in the Kensington Market for £5. Elsewhere you can pay up to 8 gns. Shirts are another racket. The shirt here looks as if it costs 10 gns., and so it can at some places. In fact, it’s made by a man called Bryan King, who works in a Queensway attic, turning out great shirts handmade, frilled, tapered, for £2—£4, and sells them at his stall, Mother Wouldn’t Like It, also in the Ken Market. The tie-makers have become so ridiculously expensive that ties are out except for the odd occasion, and these shirts are as logical a take-over as the polo sweater. If Bryan can turn them out at this price, why can’t others? Remember—next time you think you’ve been rooked, let Luke SPOCC Jarvis know.

Written by Luke Jarvis.

Illustration by Wendy Buttrose.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Honey, March 1968.

Contemporary Wardrobe by Sheila Rock

1950s, 1960s, 1980s, Contemporary Wardrobe, Inspirational Images, menswear, Sheila Rock, The Face, Vintage Editorials

Ramona Mo-Dette by Sheila Rock

1959: Ramona/Bright Young Thing. Influences: Vogue, Irving Penn, High Society, Barbara Golan, Paris couture. Ivory plant pot hat; ivory silk abstract rose print dress; ivory leather handbag; ivory leather fake lizard stilettos; tortoise-shell cigarette holder; white make-up and vivid red lipstick. To be seen around town, having tea at Fortnum & Mason or the Savoy.

“Contemporary Wardrobe, run by Roger Burton from a warehouse at London Bridge, fit up the stars of small and big screen. They specialise in clothes from 1945 to the present day, supplying outfits and accessories to customers in movies, TV, video, commercials, theatres and advertising agencies,, with some private hiring for parties, posing and…well, that’s their business. The clothes in Quadrophenia came from Contemporary Wardrobe; others have been on hire to Not The Nine O’Clock News, Minder, The Professionals, Dreams of Leaving, The Kenny Everett Video Show, The History Man, Shoestring and Mackenzie. Thy have also kitted out Freeez, Secret Affair, M, Wings and Judas Priest for Top of the Fops and promotional videos, and clothed the sleeves of Motorhead, Girlschool, Marianne Faithfull and Yellow Magic Orchestra. Most other huge collection is authentic, as are all the clothes and the majority of accessories in these photos commissioned, clothed, posted and photographed specially for The Face by Sheila Rock. CW also offer a research department to assist styling and offer technical advice an an express service to reproduce garment or outfits or specific projects. Couldn’t they do something about Doyle’s jackets an Bodie’s flairs [sic]?”

Before there was vintage, there were just old clothes! Superb shoot by Sheila Rock for The Face, June 1981.

John Cooper Clarke by Sheila Rock

1967: John Cooper Clarke/Regency Beau. Influences: elegance, Beau Brummel, Brian Jones, Town Magazine, LSD. Claret velvet suit hand-tailored; pink frilly shirt by John Stephen; patent spat boots by Bally; paisley cravat, crucifix ,cameo, birds foot brooch, jet beads ,silver top cane ,gloves, white make-up, mascara and back combed hair all essential to create the Look for promenading Carnaby Street and Portobello Road to acquire the odd fairground horse or exotic sign from Trad Alices or Lord Kitchener’s Valet. Photo taken at Trad Antiques in Portobello Road

Ranking Roger by Sheila Rock

1950: Ranking Roger/Zoot. Influences: Charlie Parker, the Zou-Zou movement in France, Puerto Rican chic, Wyatt Earp. Grey bird’s eye double breasted Zoot suit; eau-de-nil impressed cotton shirt; brown velour homburg; slim red bow tie; white buckskin brogues by Lillywhites; silver watch chain, silver key chin. Characters wearing this look could be seen around smoky jazz clubs and pool halls all through the ’40s and early ’50s in Harlem. Now adapted by the Chicanos in South America, who rive around in Low Rider cars of the period.