Happily Ever After

1970s, alistair cowin, Buckle Under, charles jourdan, Elliott, erica budd, Foale and Tuffin, gladrags, Guy Humphries, Harri Peccinotti, Inspirational Images, kurt geiger, mary quant, Michael Foreman, mr freedom, pablo and delia, Sacha, shape, stirling cooper, terry de havilland, thea porter, vanity fair, Vintage Editorials, zandra rhodes
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White lawn dress printed with butterflies and flowers by Thea Porter. Straw hat by Buckle Under. Red wedge shoes by Kurt Geiger. Belt by Shape.

There’s a good reason why Vanity Fair is possibly my favourite magazine of this period. They were relatively conventional in the 1960s, and would ‘merge’ with Honey magazine around 1972, but in their death knells they were just about the most innovative magazine in the UK. Issues were often themed around ‘issues’, for example this one is entirely themed around break-ups and divorces (including a story on what a divorced man should wear when taking his kid out for the day).

Nor did they shy away from more expensive designer names, such as Thea Porter and Zandra Rhodes here, mixing them happily with the more affordable but still iconic boutique names like Stirling Cooper and Mr Freedom. Adding Foale and Tuffin, Pablo and Delia and Terry de Havilland into the mix for good measure, and all those stunning illustrations by Michael Foreman… this is one of my favourite editorials of all time.

Vanity Fair is also, frankly, a nightmare to scan because it falls apart at the binding with the lightest touch, which is why I don’t scan them as often. So enjoy the heaven of Harri Peccinotti’s work while I gently shuffle all the pages back into the magazine…

Photographed by Harri Peccinotti.

Illustrations by Michael Foreman.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vanity Fair, April 1971.

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Long grey crepe dress patterned with purple, green and red birds by Shape. Pablo and Delia suede thong necklace. Blue suede shoes at Sacha.

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Beige suede skirt with applique shapes and matching shawl by Mary Quant. Necklace from Buckle Under. Beige suede boots by Guy Humphries.

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Blue and white feather printed chiffon dress by Zandra Rhodes.

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Left to right: Chiffon blouse and multi-coloured skirt by Foale and Tuffin. Painted rainbow shoes from Mr Freedom. Painted belt by Shape. // Cream and red jersey catsuit (top only showing) and banded red and cream skirt both from Stirling Cooper. Red shoes by Kurt Geiger. // Cream, yellow and red jersey dress by Stirling Cooper. Pull on hat by Janice Peskett. // Red cotton t-shirt by Erica Budd. Cream dungarees from Stirling Cooper. Red python sandals at Elliotts.

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Above: Mauve satin cotton pinafore dress and blouse by Gladrags. Right: Bottom half of Alistair Cowin calico trousers with green printing. Green and yellow shoes by Terry de Havilland. Far right: Black velvet dungarees with white satin applique heart from Mr Freedom. Chiffon blouse from Foale and Tuffin. Mauve canvas boots at Charles Jourdan.

Inspirational Images: Shaggy, colourful, zippered and buckled…

1970s, Daniel Hechter, Inspirational Images, John Bishop, Uncategorized, vanity fair

Going Away From Coats - Vanity Fair - August 71 - John Bishop

Coats by Daniel Hechter.

Photographed by John Bishop.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vanity Fair, August 1971.

Inspirational Editorials: Take Cover

1960s, anello and davide, biba, David Stanford, Foale and Tuffin, Inspirational Images, Uncategorized, vanity fair, Vintage Editorials
take cover - vanity fair - november 1968 - david stafford - foale tuffin

Warm and cuddly coat to brave a winter’s night. Belted and snug double-breasted fur fabric maxi-style to wear over anything except gala gear. Great with trousers. Foale and Tuffin, 18gns long or 16gns short. Long white kid boots by Anello and Davide, 12gns.

Nothing is more depressing than dolling yourself up to the nines – and putting an everyday coat over your party hear. Mink stoles are too ageing for words and short coats over long dresses look awful.

Photographed by David Stanford.

Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Vanity Fair, November 1968.

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If you go out a lot and wear long or short evening dresses or lots of trouser suits, a full-length velvet coat looks marvellously dramatic. This one in scarlet or black has a great romantic collar and elegant arum lily sleeves. At Biba, 8gns. Knitted dress by Jean Allen.

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
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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

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Foale & Tuffin

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Radley

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Ossie Clark

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Ritva

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Alice Pollock