Barbershop Quintet: When the teasing had to stop

1970s, bill gibb, Brenda Arnaud, britt ekland, Diane Logan, Fenella Fielding, Geg Germany, Gina Fratini, hair, Hair and make-up, jean muir, joan collins, joanna lumley, john bates, leonard, marianne faithfull, Michaeljohn, Ricci Burns, Shirley Russell, telegraph magazine, vidal sassoon

In the Fifties a trip to the hairdresser’s was a daunting ordeal – for you and for each hair on your head. Vidal Sassoon changed all that in 1964, and substituted the welcome breeziness of the blow-drying second-generation stylists. Who are the other top hairdresses, and who goes to them?

There are no credits for the clothes, but I think Marianne’s glorious ensemble must be a Bill Gibb, and Sian Phillips’s elegant coat looks like a John Bates to me. Such a glorious array of celebs, I think Michaeljohn win on numbers (but Ricci Burns really ought to win, purely because of the way his ladies are dressed!).

Photographed by Geg Germany.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from The Telegraph Magazine, September 19th 1975

At Ricci Burns: Marianne Faithfull, Fenella Fielding, Ricci Burns, Sian Phillips, Brenda Arnaud. Ricci started in hairdressing at the age of 15, worked for Vidal Sassoon for ten years and opened his own salon in the King’s Road five years ago. Now has a second salon in George Street, and did have one in Marrakesh “until the coup, darling”.

At Vidal Sassoon: Lady Russell (back), Mary Quant, Vidal Sassoon and Kate Nelligan (centre). Shirley (Mrs Ken) Russell, Beverly Sassoon.

At Michaeljohn: Back row, from left: Jean Muir, Britt Ekland, Joanna Lumley, Joan Collins and her daughter Sasha, Tom Gilbey, Gina Fratini and Diane Logan. Front: John Isaacs and Michael Rasser (one time colleagues at Leonard), who started Michaeljohn in 1967.

At Figurehead: George Britnell, proprietor, with clients (from left) Catherine Parent, Kari Lai, Lady Charles Spencer Churchill, Tessa Kennedy, Lady Charlotte Anne Curzon. This is the newest salon of them all – it opened in Pont Street this year.

At the Cadogan Club: (from left to right) Ariana Stassinopolos, Rachel Roberts, Moira Lister, Patricia Millbourn and Aldo Bigozzi (partners), Katie Boyle, Joan Benham and Annette Andre.

Inspirations

britt ekland, Catherine Deneuve, emma peel, jane birkin, jenny boyd, maureen starkey, natalie wood, oliver reed, ossie clark, pan's people, prince, sandie shaw, stevie nicks, the avengers

Down with lurgies and stress! Boo, and may I say, hiss. I haven’t felt much like posting here, or anywhere. I’m lining up some listings when I’m able though, and they should be up and running next week I hope. Until then, or until I have the energy to post properly again, here is a lovely, shiny post with lots of lovely inspirational images I’ve picked up here and there.

Hoarding can be rewarding: Britt Ekland

britt ekland, sixties

Cine Revue, January 1969

Many moons ago, I ran a website dedicated to Diana Rigg. Time, finances, enthusiasm; they all waned drastically and it became defunct a couple of years back. Seems I rarely post about her these days (though this is certainly not intentional) and lo! this is to be another post sans Rigg. For I have realised, more recently, that I had accumulated a whole pile of bizarre Sixties and Seventies TV and film magazines (rarely even in English) in my efforts to find the rarest pictures of La Rigg.

I never really looked terribly closely at them, I was working too hard on scanning in the pictures for which I had bought them and would often file them away without really, really reading them. A couple of magazines have garnered these gorgeous shots of Britt Ekland, amongst other interesting things, and I thought I would share them.

Cine Revue, October 1968

Big Hair

backcombing, brigitte bardot, britt ekland, Catherine Deneuve, charlotte rampling, diana rigg, hair, jane asher, natalie wood, Pattie Boyd, picture spam, sixties, talitha getty, twiggy

A celebration of big Sixties hair. Because, if you’re anything like me, Big Hair is the only hair you can possibly manage in summer humidity…

Very Britt Ekland. Very envious.

britt ekland, hair, interior design, loungewear, sanderson, seventies fashion

1973

I appear to have Ekland hair-envy again. Only this time, it’s coupled with Ekland interior decor-envy as well. Damn her.

Britt-ish Fashion

britt ekland, Gina Fratini, jean varon, john bates

Dress by Miss Polly

I’m not a particular fan of Britt Ekland for the most part, but I am rather fond of this autumnal shoot she did for Vogue (by Patrick ‘Yeah Baby’ Lichfield). It’s so rare to have such a lovely feeling of space in fashion photos. You’re looking at the frocks, no doubt about it, but you’re also taking in the atmosphere of the location. The clothes are perfectly dreamy and her hair is completely and utterly covetable, in each and every shot. I worship this crimping.