Dazzling sock with toes from Inca, 45 Elizabeth Street, London SW1 for approximately £4 a pair … The fingerless mitts, also from Inca, cost £1.50
The price of boots, like that of most other things today, is disgracefully high: here is another way of keeping your legs and feet warm – with socks.
Modelled by Pat Cleveland. Story by Meriel McCooey. Photographed by Sacha.
Scanned by Miss Peelpants from The Sunday Times Magazine, 12th January 1975
Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Queen, November 1969
“Gina Fratini chooses Diolen Loft to create a Romanesque extravaganza.”
I would dearly love to know the actual concept behind this advert. It has an Alice in Wonderland feel, but who knows…
Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Harpers and Queen, April 1971
I love the image conjured up here. The fringed throw, the cushions, the patterned wallpaper, the potted plant, her clothes and hair, and – most importantly – the cup of tea. Aspirational Seventies style at its best.
Scanned by Miss Peelpants from The Telegraph Magazine, May 1972
Puff sleeve sweater from Harrods. Small turquoise Acrilan bib sweater at Stop the Shop. Both by John Craig. Khaki ribbed bermuda shorts by Donald Davies. Tapestry clog boots by Jan Jensen.
A perfect winter look.
Photographed by Elisabeth Novick. Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, February 1971.
Dusty pink puff sleeved sweater over a beige linen sweater. Both by Harold Ingram. Thick purple wool trousers at Biba. Striped socks, Ruskin at Kensington Market. Knit cap by Margaret Howell at The Sweet Shop. Rose in glass pin, Marie Middleton at Chelsea Antique Market. Jacquard sweater by Toto at branches of Crowthers. Mushroom beige sweater underneath by Harold Ingram. Royal blue cashmere shorts, McGregor of Dublin. Over the knee socks by Donald Davies.
Vest and pullover both by Alice Pollock at Quorum. Pink knitted shorts by Alistair Cowin at Grade One. All clogs from Mayfair Market. Puff sleeved sweater in stripes of tuqouoise, pink and navy, acrylic tibbed dark blue polo neck undeneath, dark blue knitted trousers rolled up. All by John Craig at Stop the Shop.
You can always tell when September’s here by the sight of my friend Susie. She gets a sort of look, and the postman starts to steer clear of her. It’s the month when she finally realises that Alfonso is far from pining away for her in the Catalonian autumn. In fact, he’s probably chatting up some other bird who is blind enough to take him seriously.
Completely and utterly glorious set of illustrations by the wonderful Malcolm Bird, scanned from Honey, December 1970. They accompany a long article, but I have just left small excerpts under each image. His illustration style is one of the most distinctive and perfect: from the eyes, to the hair, to the detail in the Celia Birtwell-esque prints you see here.
It seems to me that people who’ve been to boarding school are especially prone to the long-distance habit.
How can any Englishman compete with a vision in leopard-skin bathing trunks, cavorting on the beach at sun-kissed Lasagne al Forno?
I suspect, though, that the couples who make a success of a love affair at a distance are the real old-fashioned romantics. They’re the pink-ribbon people who write to each other every day and keep their correspondence under the pillow at night.
By the time the vacation ends he’s getting a bit fidgety. When you mention coming to see him he mumbles about catching up on his work. You arrive a month later, to his consternation, and grudgingly get a cup of tea in the awful refectory building. He spends the whole time talking to the girl who’s sitting next to him. British Railways won’t be seeing you on the Western Region again.
And as for Pat? There he sat nightly in a lonely bedsit, pining for his Laura. He sent her letters every day and occasionally made use of Interflora.
Cream tiered dress and matching bolero from Essences. Shoes by Ivory.
As a complete contrast to this season‘s brightly-coloured outfits, here are some really delicate and feminine, pastel-coloured dresses. They can be worn for a variety of occasions when dressing up is a must — even on your wedding day, if you’rc looking for something different. You can buy them new or you could be lucky, as we were, and find one in perfect condition in a second-hand shop. However, these dresses are quite expensive, second-hand clothes do tend to be over-priced in London, so keep an eye out for equally stunning outfits in your local secondhand shop.
Photographed by Tom Leighton. Props by Sue Leighton. Hair by Rocky at The Model Agency. Model is Vivienne Lynn.
Scanned by Miss Peelpants from 19 Magazine, March 1979
Pale blue strapless dress by Salvet. Shoes by Ivory.
Ice blue blouse and matching skirt by David Fielden. Sandals by Midas.
White cotton dress with lace by David Fielden. Hat by Marida. Sandals by Ivory.
Glitterbug (1972) from Marnie Fogg’s Boutique
For some reason, I have shied away from posting about my collection much in recent years. I suppose it’s always been somewhat fluid; things come and go when times are hard or when something better comes along. But recently I acquired something which had always been a bit of a ‘holy grail’ for me, and it reminded me of exactly why I love fashion history, collecting and researching.
One of the most important books on my road to total geekery was Marnie Fogg’s Boutique: A ’60s Cultural Icon. Amazon kindly (and terrifyingly) informs me that I purchased it exactly ten years ago. Although clearly not comprehensive, something I am now realising is probably impossible, it was my main gateway into understanding the boutique phenomenon as a whole. I already knew many of the designers – and was delighted to see how much space was dedicated to John Bates – but several were new names to me. One of these was Georgina Linhart. Another graduate of St Martin’s College of Art and Design, Linhart set up her label in 1964 and, while she was frequently featured in the top magazines of the period, her business only ran for ten years. She later worked for Quorum, Jaeger, Wallis and Chelsea Girl. All four of which are favourite vintage labels chez Vintage-a-Peel.
Georgina Linhart, 1970
The more time went on, the more I realised how rare examples of her work must be these days. My eBay search was empty 99% of the time, and only occasionally turned up magazine features and a couple of jackets. The most distinctive dress pictured in Fogg’s Boutique book was ‘Glitterbug’ (see above). A sequined halterneck mini dress, gossamer light and substantial in its insubstantiality; so quintessentially of its time, the epitome of the permissive age.
So my heart was in my mouth when Glitterbug turned up on eBay a couple of months ago. It was slightly out of my price range at the time, and the recent events in my life had forced me to re-evaluate what was important (and worth getting into debt for). So I sat and watched it. Every day I would log into eBay, with one eye shut, and check if anyone had bought it. Every day it was still there, but my nerves were getting beyond frazzled. So the day I finally felt marginally less broke than normal, was the day I logged in and put in a cheeky best offer. I am impossibly grateful to the seller for accepting it and making my collector dreams come true. It has been a long time coming, and it has come a long way from the USA, but Glitterbug is finally in my collection. Plus, it fits me – which I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t have done ten years ago. What are the odds?
Glitterbug (1972) from my personal collection
Chestnut leather walking shoes, edged with ocelot-printed calf from The Chelsea Cobbler
There aren’t many accessories shoots worthy of scanning – the majority tend to be fairly static and unimaginative. So kudos to Andreas Heumann for this gorgeous set of pictures which manage to do justice to the contents.
Photographed by Andreas Heumann. Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vogue, September 1973
Cream suede handbag with stitched appliques by Nigel Lofthouse at Che Guevara; City Lights Studio. Cream kid gloves by Bill Gibb for Miloré
Cinnamon suede clutch bag by Clive Shilton.
Marbled scarf by Marbles. Marbled leather gloves by Bill Gibb for Miloré
Black suede ankle boots, furred and laced, by Moya Bowler.
Honey suede crocodile print calf lace-ups from Rayne.
It’s safe to say that many people erroneously think that they were amongst the first to ‘do vintage’. Well, newsflash, you’re not. And neither were the stallholders at the Chelsea Antique Market, although perhaps they thought they were too. It’s the circle of [fashion] life.
Personally, I enjoy knowing I am part of a rich tapestry of people who liked wearing second hand clothing throughout history, and no amount of cheap journalism using vintage clothes in a cynical way will ever make me feel otherwise. You either ‘get it’ or you don’t…
Photographed by David Hurn. Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Petticoat, October 1969
Liz Eggleston 