The Ringleaders

1960s, Chelita Secunda, Emmerton and Lambert, julie driscoll, lulu, Meriel McCooey, ossie clark, pat booth, sunday times magazine, Suzy Kendall

Suzy Kendall

When popstar Lulu announced her engagement to musician Maurice Gibb a few months ago, most newspapers published pictures of her holding hands with her fiance. Underneath were captions which stated: “Lulu shows off her sapphire and diamond ring.” But in the photos=graohs they were both wearing so many different rings it was impossible to make out which one was the engagement ring – or who, for that matter, was wearing it. Pictures like these show that there is a growing fashion for wearing masses of rings all crammed on at once. It’s a craze that has sprung up as a sort of antidote to the growing uniformity of clothes. Last winter when most people were racing around in pants, long sweaters and clumpy shoes, the only way of looking remotely original was to wear different scarves, unusual belts or jewellery. Actress Suzy Kendall (above), who has been a keen collector for some time, said that she picked up this selection while on location in Yugoslavia and in Rome, and she bought others from a shop in Chelsea called Anschel’s. The rest of the people photographed on these pages acquire their bits and piece in much the same way. This is a craze that doesn’t cost much. Avid collectors say that it wouldn’t work with real stones – they would look too flashy – and they prefer more original bits.

The Sunday Times Magazine, March 23 1969.

By Meriel McCooey. Photos by Malcolm Robertson. Scanned by Miss Peelpants.

Ossie Clark in knuckledusters

Boutique owner/model Pat Booth and Art Nouveau swan ring

Pop star Lulu without husband

Verne Lambert sells them [Lambert was one half of Chelsea Antiques Market’s Emmerton and Lambert]

Chelita Secunda, model agent, collects old enamelled versions

Chelsea girl Judy Szekley

Indian rings for painter Brunner

Julie Driscoll in market bargains

New at Vintage-a-Peel: Loungerie!

1960s, 1970s, Bruce Oldfield, charnos, grace coddington, jane birkin, janet reger, janice wainwright, legs and co, ossie clark, rudi gernreich, website listings

Legs and Co

You may, or may not, have noticed that I frequently post scans of favourite underwear shoots on this here blog. I aspire to the level of lounging glamour demonstrated by ladies of the past; no tracksuits or slankets chez Miss Peelpants – oh no no no… I also feel as limited and uncomfortable in a lot of modern underwear as I do in a lot of modern clothing, so it seems only logical to buy and wear vintage pieces.

Grace Coddington

So I am delighted to announce the launch of Loungerie at Vintage-a-Peel. The name is inspired by a spread from Honey Magazine which I posted a while back, and the stock is inspired by all my very favourite underwear photoshoots and saucier source material I may encounter. If vintage underwear isn’t your thing, that’s totally understandable, but for anyone else – I do hope you find something to tempt you (and your lover…).

Jane Birkin

And with names like Ossie Clark, Janice Wainwright, Rudi Gernreich, Bruce Oldfield and Janet Reger, this is certainly no ordinary lingerie section!

Bruce Oldfield for Charnos

Ossie Clark for Charnos

Janice Wainwright for Golden Charm

Rudi Gernreich for Exquisite Form

Janet Reger

St Michael

Charnos

Charnos

 

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

We are not the first, and we will not be the last…

1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1960s, 1970s, biba, bill gibb, british boutique movement, bus stop, catherine buckley, cosmopolitan, ossie clark, yves saint laurent, zandra rhodes

I think it is safe to say that I love old clothes. I dream them, I live in them and I covet the ones I don’t have. But I am under no illusion that there is anything inherently unique or radical about this. The uniqueness comes from the impression of your personality in whatever you choose to wear. The fabrics, the colours, the shapes, these are the expression of my inner self in one, superficially superficial, way.

It is important to remember this: each generation thinks it invented sex, and I fear the same goes for ‘vintage’ clothing. This article makes for fascinatingly familiar reading. Commercialisation is the death knell each time, but in turn becomes the coveted piece of history for the next generation of disillusioned people (see the mention of Catherine Buckley’s old jacquard fabrics in the text of the article. My Buckley skirt is one of these pieces). The irony does not escape me; I wear clothes by Ossie Clark, Biba, Bus Stop… all of who were creating clothes heavily inspired by their own childhoods.

Just wanting a period look is not the important part, anyone can buy a reproduction and plenty of people will, the expression comes from the colours, fabrics, shapes and accoutrements you pick. There is absolutely nothing wrong with new clothing taking influence from old, although my thoughts on direct duplication are well known, but why would you limit yourself to the prints they have chosen this season? There are limitless possibilities when you look around you and take inspiration from a variety of sources other than from conventional fashion magazines or ‘how to’ guides.

That is partly the aim of this blog, and I hope to continue in such a vein for a long time yet…

The Cosmo Girl’s Guide to the Cast-Offs Cult… Cosmopolitan, August 1974.

Tagged!

1970s, Illustrations, ossie clark, radley

There’s something special, something quite delicious about an original hang tag. It’s always best if it’s still attached to the garment in question but, if (like me) you would struggle to find the heart to remove it, buying a lovingly kept and preserved hang tag – for a long-since discarded frock – is almost as good.

I bought these tags completely separately on eBay, but they show the change from the early Ossie for Radley label (1969-72ish) to the more deco-inspired one (c.1973-74). And, while I’m very aesthetically pleased by the block brown and grey rectangles of the earlier one, I am completely besotted with the Forties-inspired illustration on the later one. This one was featured in Richard Lester’s Boutique London book, and I am happy to bring you a larger version to enjoy. Yum.

Scanned and owned by Miss Peelpants.

Random Ossies in Adverts: California by Max Factor

1970s, Make-up, nova magazine, ossie clark, Random Ossies in Adverts, Vintage Adverts

It’s been a while since I’ve done a ‘Random Ossies in Adverts’ post, so it was high time I found another one. Bottom left, definitely one of my holy grail pieces.

Oh to have been a fly on the wall…

1970s, alice pollock, bill gibb, british boutique movement, Gina Fratini, jean muir, john bates, lord snowdon, mary quant, ossie clark, thea porter, zandra rhodes

Front row left to right: Jean Muir, Alice Pollock, Thea Porter. Second row: John Bates, Tim Gardner, Gina Fratini. Third row: Bill Gibb, Zandra Rhodes. Top: Mary Quant, Ossie Clark.

So many egos, so little space… I’m placing bets that Quant and Bates didn’t speak to each other for the duration. But it’s also nice to see Bates sitting with his friend Bill Gibb, and now I like to think that Alice Pollock and Thea Porter must have been quite pally as well.

Happy St BryanGod Day

amanda lear, brigitte bardot, bryan ferry, celia birtwell, david bailey, david bowie, diana rigg, Foale and Tuffin, kahn and bell, oliver reed, ossie clark, penelope tree, Serge Gainsbourg

Yes, it’s that time of year again. St BryanGod Day. Never heard of it? Pah.

To celebrate, here are some favourite couplings. Some romantic, some creative, some fictitious…

Curious Coincidences: Gucci vs. Ossie Clark

1970s, curious coincidences, gucci, ossie clark

Gucci, A/W 2011                                                                      Ossie Clark, early 1970s

 

Vintage Adverts: Sex Sells….Chess?

1970s, haute naffness, ossie clark, Vintage Adverts

1973

Good use of a plunging black Ossie Clark dress, Home Paraphernalia of the New Kings Road, good use indeed. I’m sure it sent sales soaring…