Mensday: Dudes (various)

1960s, 1970s, Mensday, menswear, Vintage Adverts

1970

It’s Mensday. And Mensday means dudes. If you have a dude, keep a very tight hold of him. They’re very hard to come by…

1970

1970

1969

1972

Mensday: The London Look

british boutique movement, hung on you, Mensday, menswear, michael rainey, pierre cardin, sixties


A bevy of very dandy dudes grace this double page spread in London Life (March 19th, 1966). Look out for Michael Rainey, founder of Hung On You. I particularly love the juxtaposition between the young bucks and the old farts in the same spread.

Mensday: A pipe does something for a man…

1970s, Mensday, menswear, Vintage Adverts

Yeah. Because nothing says ‘sexy’ like stained teeth, hands, stinky breath and a distorted lip. Mmmmm.

I particularly love: “Handsome beast, she murmurs. And nuzzles the horse. She doesn’t fool me.”

The one saving grace is his rather natty tweed jacket. Other than that, I’d stick to the horse. It probably has better breath…

Telegraph Magazine, July 7th 1967

Mensday: Which day is your man?

1960s, Andrei Punsuh, Foale and Tuffin, I was Lord Kitchener's Valet, jean varon, Mensday, menswear, petticoat magazine

Shame on me, I clean forgot about Mensday. But I’m going to make amends (ahaha) for this today. Yes, yes, I know it’s Friday. But it’s also my boyfriend’s birthday and so Mensday is rescheduled in his honour.

I’m also geeking out because look up there ^ – it’s the Annacat blouse I’ve just listed for sale over at Vintage-a-Peel. I only just noticed!

Petticoat, September 1968. Photos by Andrei Punsuh.

I have so many questions about this image…

1970s, haute naffness, menswear, platforms, Vintage Adverts

…but I don’t think I actually want any answers. I find it a bit thrilling, if I’m honest.

Mensday: What to wear to get your man / What to get your man to wear

alice pollock, jean varon, john bates, Mensday, menswear, ossie clark, petticoat magazine, sexy couples, sixties, take 6

Beautifully photographed and styled shoot with the slightly needy/domineering title as above. Curious.

Doing what I do, I’m in a good position to find and gift some [what I think are] beautiful clothes to my boyfriend. But I’m always hyper-aware that I don’t want to be the kind of girlfriend who tries to mould or change, in style or in any sense. And while I certainly enjoy dressing well for his delectation, I’m not the kind of girl who is ever really going to dress just to please a man. I consider it a happy accident that we have very similar sensibilities, so it’s not something I really have to worry about these days.

It’s a hard balance to strike, because our notions of sex-appeal and prettiness are invariably influenced by what we know men find appealing. Even the ‘anti fashion’ brigade dress in a way which they know will appeal to a similarly ‘anti fashion’ kind of man they might fancy. They may deny it, but it’s hard to separate style and sex-appeal on any level. An unwearably bonkers couture dress still reeks of money and power, which are alluring to many a man.

I’ve always had a slightly Good Cop/Bad Cop approach to dressing for my previous boyfriends. Rarely have they ever truly appreciated everything I’ve owned. On a good day, for them, I would shove ‘that top I don’t like’ to the back of my closet. On a bad day, for them, I would wear the exact opposite of what I knew they liked. I enjoyed knowing that it reflected badly on their taste, and well on mine of course.

From Petticoat, July 1969. Photos by Brian Songhurst.










If I walked into a club and saw three men dressed like this lot, I think I’d have to do a star jump onto them. Yum!

Mensday: Joan who?

arrows, glam rock, joan jett, Mensday, menswear


Sisters aren’t always necessarily doing it for themselves. Joan Jett is forever associated with I Love Rock and Roll, but it was originally a minor hit for British Glam Rock group Arrows. Mmmm, pretty boys with pretty hair in pretty clothes – it must be Mensday!!






Mensday: The Beatles

george harrison, Mensday, menswear, ringo starr, The Beatles

In which George tries to kill me with the deadly combination of striped trousers and trompe l’oeil top. I then try to avert my eyes and I’m faced with Naughty Beatle in a ruffled shirt. I give in…

Mensday: Brian Jones

brian jones, Françoise Hardy, george harrison, Mensday, menswear, suki poitier, The Beatles, the rolling stones, the who

Just because. Because it’s unfair that The Stones have only lost one member after all these years, and it was the beautiful Brian Jones. (And The Who and The Beatles have both been depleted by 50%. ‘S’not fair.) Because he died exactly ten years before I was born (to the very day…). Because he loved stripes, ruffles and brocades. Because he wanted to look like Françoise Hardy. Because he named both of his sons Julian. Because he wore Celia prints. Because men don’t look like that any more.
















And because of photos like this…

Mensday? Mednesday? Whatever. It’s Menswear Wednesday!

david bailey, Mensday, menswear, mr fish, rupert lycett green, sixties, Vogue

I’m thinking of turning Wednesdays into Menswear days; something tasty to cure the midweek blues. But I can’t decide if ‘Mensday’ is just too cheesy, even for me? Regardless, here is Mr [Michael] Fish wearing one of his own pieces, alongside one of Rupert Lycett Green’s flamboyant creations for Blades. Dribble….

Vogue, January 1968. Photos by Bailey.