Go to a party

1960s, Adrian Mann, Anne Tyrrell, bernard freres, Club 92, Foale and Tuffin, Inspirational Images, jean varon, john bates, kleptomania, Paul Orssich, paulene stone, Rhona Roy, Simpson of Piccadilly, Sujon, take 6, thea porter, Tommy Roberts, Uncategorized, vanity fair, Vintage Editorials

Wonderful in white… snowy crepe, sleeves long and ringed with Irish thread work. By John Bates at Jean Varon. Jewellery by Adrien Mann. Man’s shirt to order from Thea Porter.

Photographed by Paul Orssich.

Scanned from Vanity Fair, November 1968.

Glamorously Grecian… pure white crepe, beautifully braided. By Young Ideas at Rhona Roy. Jewellery by Adrien Mann. Man’s black braided suit is from Just Men.

Beautiful in black seductive plunging rayon jersey. By Foale and Tuffin. Jewellery by Adrien Mann. Shoes by Lilley and Skinner. Man’s evening suit and shirt all from Take 6.

Stunning in satin… timeless dress as bewitching as a glimmer of midnight. By Bernard Freres. Man’s velvet jacket from Take 6. Man’s be-ruffled shirt from Kleptomania.

Perfect in pink… sugared almond crepe falling soft to the wrist and waist. Designed by Anne Tyrrell at John Marks. Jewellery by Adrien Mann. Man’s red velvet jacket and silk scarf from Trend at Simpson.

Reassured in red. Skimmy shaped wool crepe party-goer cut away at the shoulders. By Sujon. Jewellery by Adrien Mann. Man’s evening suit and polo shirt both from Club 92.

Mensday: Stay Snug

1970s, 3 AM, Badges and Equipment, biba, bus stop, C&A, Elgee, gauchos, gordon king, Inspirational Images, John Carter, John Craig, Mensday, menswear, Paradise Garage, petticoat magazine, ravel, Russell & Bromley, Sacha, take 6

Photographed by John Carter. Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Petticoat, November 1971.

From left to right: She wears a curly fake fur short jacket by Elgee. Suede bib gauchos by 3 AM. Boots from Sacha. Canvas hat from Paradise Garage. He wears a leather flying jacket from Badges and Equipment. McCaul’s pullover. Pants from Take 6. Ravel lace-ups.

She wears: Suede jacket with furry trim by Hidegrade. Waistcoat by Take Six. Plus fours by Gordon King. Crochet hat from Biba. Watch from Paradise Garage. Boots from Russell and Bromley. He wears a suede hooded coat from C&A. John Craig polo jumper. Check pants from Bus Stop. Lace-up boots from Ravel.

Bagged!

1970s, aristos, art of bags, biba, british boutique movement, chelsea girl, countdown, crowthers, irvine sellars, jean varon, john bates, just looking, king's road, laura ashley, mr freedom, ravel, stop the shop, take 6

Aristos © John Hendy

I couldn’t resist following ‘Tagged!’ with ‘Bagged!’. The art of the carrier bag seems even less appreciated than the art of the hang tag, despite its importance in the history of advertising and consumerism.

On Simon Hendy’s incredible website “My Dad’s Photos“, Simon has scanned a mountain of original photos that his father took across six years of fashionable (and not so fashionable) people on the King’s Road in the late Sixties and early Seventies. It is truly a delight to sift your way through them. They are a true time capsule of ‘real’ people wearing ‘real’ clothes in a period where photo opportunities were frequently engineered and crafted (as brilliant as Frank Habicht’s ‘In The Sixties’ is, it’s a very well-crafted form of ‘candid’ photography). I will definitely post about them again, not least because I recognise so many bits of clothing from designers I love.

However, today’s post is about the carrier bag. For, as I was sifting through and starting to get a bit dizzy with the amazingness of it all, I started to notice the bags people were carrying. Biba, Aristos, Stop the Shop, Crowthers… These are truly ephemeral items. How many people bother to keep a plastic bag? You might, if you were lucky, have wrapped something up in one and plonked it in your loft for the past forty years. But these examples are few and far between. The iconic design of the original Biba bags has ensured that they are the most regularly found on eBay, but few of any other kind have slipped through the net.

I did, however, find a ‘Jean Varon’ bag on eBay very recently, which has now taken its place in my collection of weird and wonderful ephemera.

Simon has kindly allowed me to link to his photos from my blog. I know it’s hard to keep such things under control in this age of tumblr etc, but I would appreciate if you would also ask him if you would like to repost his images somewhere else. He has spent many hours scanning these photos, photos which (unlike magazine scans) would not be available otherwise – from anyone else. Thank you!

Unidentified (possibly Mr Freedom at the back?) © John Hendy

Selfridges © John Hendy

Mates by Irvine Sellars © John Hendy

Guys and Dolls and C&A © John Hendy

Unknown © John Hendy

Fancy That © John Hendy

Chelsea Girl © John Hendy

Crowthers © John Hendy

Just Looking © John Hendy

Kids in Gear © John Hendy

Take 6 © John Hendy

Countdown © John Hendy

Ravel © John Hendy

Must See Vintage Films: The Adventures of Barry McKenzie

aristos, barry humphries, films, Foale and Tuffin, haute naffness, irvine sellars, katy manning, peter cook, take 6, zandra rhodes

Ok, so perhaps the term ‘must see’ is not necessarily going to apply to most [sane] people, but if you’ve got an appetite for the naff, kitsch or questionable tastes in life (and as a reader of my blog, I fear this may be the case…) then The Adventures of Barry McKenzie (1972) should be right up your street.

The film is based on the comic strip from Private Eye, written by Barry Humphries and illustrated by Nicholas Garland, and follows the eponymous Aussie hero as he fulfills his dead father’s wish to expand his cultural horizons in London. Ending up in Earl’s Court (where else?) a series of mishaps and misunderstandings lead Barry to an unspeakable dénouement in a TV studio. I am not even going to attempt to explain that.

Barry, Barry and Willie Rushton

Starring Barry Humphries in an early outing as plain old Mrs Edna Everage, Barry Crocker as our hero (Crocker is now married to Miss Peelpants-favourite Katy Manning and is best known to us ‘Pommy Bastards’ as the original singer of the Neighbours theme tune), and with cameos by Spike Milligan and Peter Cook, it is certainly quite an amazing period piece. Demonstrated perfectly with an incredible, possibly unique, shot of Barry and a friend walking down Marlborough Court. Yes, you can see Irvine Sellars ‘Mates’ boutique, Take 6, Aristos and Foale and Tuffin!!! Much excitement abounded….

Further still, one young lady is slinking around her apartment in the most perfect Zandra Rhodes outfit….

And then Peter Cook manages to floor me with a fabulous Betty Grable-printed t-shirt. I have no idea who this is by, so if any menswear geeks ever find out – please do let me know!

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.