radley

The Grand Affair

19 magazine, 1970s, antony price, art deco, barbara hulanicki, Barbara Hulanicki, biba, clobber, David Tack, Inspirational Images, interiors, jeff banks, ossie clark, radley, Sidgreene, stirling cooper, Vintage Editorials
Screen printed satin suit by Biba. Brooch, cigarette case and lighter all from Jolly and Marsh at Kensington Market.
Crepe halter midi dress by Clobber.

Grand affairs call for grand clothes, and provide a welcome opportunity to get out of our peasant blouses and jeans and dress accordingly. The nicest thing about fashion at the moment is that everyone is so confused as to what they should be wearing, that you can wear exactly what you like. We opt for the romantic Garbo fashion, tarted up in the ’71 style, because girls are beginning to look like girls again and, although we sympathise with Women’s Lib., we don’t believe you have to look like a fella to get equal rights!

Possibly the most perfect encapsulation of the Seventies-does-Thirties aesthetic, this homage to Art Deco features some of the most lust-worthy clothes from my favourite designers and boutiques. Including Biba, Ossie Clark and some rare Antony Price for Stirling Cooper!

Photographed in the home of interior designer Graeme Gibson rather than in a studio, the authenticity is heightened by the location and the props, and then finished with the sweet illustrated photoframes.

Photographed by David Tack.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from 19 Magazine, January 1971.

grand affair 3

Crepe dress by Antony Price for Stirling Cooper. T-strap shoes from Sacha.

Aegean print pinafore dress by Sidgreen.
Crepe dress by Antony Price for Stirling Cooper. Shoes from Sacha.
Moss crepe dress by Ossie Clark for Radley.
Black crepe dress with white print by Radley.

Inspirational Editorials: Maybe I was just born liberated

1970s, alice pollock, british boutique movement, Celestia Sporborg, Foale and Tuffin, Frank Horvat, Inspirational Images, just looking, kurt geiger, ossie clark, radley, ritva, stirling cooper, vanity fair
celestia sporborg by frank horvat vanity fair 1971 6

Stirling Cooper

This photoshoot, featuring the brilliantly named Celestia Sporborg, is another one of my all-time favourites, and one I have put off scanning for a long while because Vanity Fair is actually a rather painful magazine to scan. The gummed spine, with age, does not enjoy being flattened so it requires extra effort to maintain some kind of structural integrity. I couldn’t NOT scan though. I love these images. I love the blurriness, her natural facial expressions, the very domestic backdrop and, of course, the completely mind-blowingly fabulous clothes. I don’t know where to start. That Stirling Cooper above is just so modern. And the Radley playsuit, so very Glam. And the Ossie… Plus Alice Pollock, Foale and Tuffin and a Ritva sweater I sold on Vintage-a-Peel a few years back…

It also identifies the shots from Vanity Fair’s Guide to Modern Etiquette, ‘Nice Girls Do’, which I posted about before. To contextualise this shoot, the entire June issue is dedicated to feminism and liberation. Certainly one of the main reasons I love Vanity Fair almost above all other magazines of the period is the fact that they would theme all the contents of an issue, including the fashion spreads.

Celestia Sporborg is now a casting director herself, with over a hundred film credits on IMDB. She married theatre and film producer Robert Fox (brother of James and Edward) in 1975 and they had three children together.

Photographed by Frank Horvat.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vanity Fair, June 1971

celestia sporborg by frank horvat vanity fair 1971 3

Foale & Tuffin

celestia sporborg by frank horvat vanity fair 1971 4

Radley

celestia sporborg by frank horvat vanity fair 1971 5

Ossie Clark

celestia sporborg by frank horvat vanity fair 1971 1

Ritva

celestia sporborg by frank horvat vanity fair 1971 2

Alice Pollock