Inspirational Editorials: Valentine – Show Stoppers!
Posted: February 14, 2013 Filed under: 1970s, chelsea girl, clobber, Inspirational Images, miss mouse, peter robinson, rae spencer cullen, Snob, topshop, Valentine, Vintage Editorials 1 Comment »
The boy’s stripey sweater and white Oxford bags are from Tramps. Price is £7.50 from Gary Elliott; Edwardia of Manchester; Paul Smith, Nottingham. the sweater cost £4 and also comes from Paul Smith, as well as the George Best shops, and Quincy of the Kings Road. The girl’s outfit is from a selection by Miss Mouse at Peter Robinson.
Not really Valentine themed (unless you’re planning to spend your day at the circus, which would actually be a pretty good way to spend it…) but scanned from teeny girl magazine Valentine which is largely filled with comic strip stories aimed at hormonal young ladies. I bought it mainly because I recognised the garment on the front cover as a Miss Mouse/Rae Spencer Cullen with distinctive bow print. I’m also a sucker for the circus theme, which seems to be a recurring favourite for late Sixties/early Seventies fashion stylists…
Photographer uncredited. Scanned by Miss Peelpants from Valentine, October 1972
Star studded satin blazer and trousers comes in a choice of navy or brown from main branches of Girl and Chelsea Girl.
Yellow satin blazer in various colours from the Separates Dept., Peter Robinson. Blue denim jeans with embroidered flowers sewn on them from the Top Shop at Peter Robinson.
Sterling Cooper yellow angora sweater at Peter Robinson. Silver satin mini skirt by Clobber. From branches of Snob boutique.
Snazzy red polka dot skirt is from a selection at branches of Girl. ‘Boob tube’ in red is also from Girl.
Hot and Cold, Wet and Dry
Posted: July 10, 2012 Filed under: 1960s, 1970s, british boutique movement, bus stop, chelsea cobbler, chelsea girl, jean varon, john bates, laura ashley, lee bender, ossie clark, polly peck, website listings 4 Comments »
The Chelsea Cobbler 1970s embroidered wedges
Ahhhh. British Summertime. For those of you NOT currently experiencing one of the most spectacularly soggy summers this land has seen in recent years, have pity on us. It is quite unsettling to be reaching for your autumn coat in almost-mid-July. It’s also unsettling to have received an adorable gingham umbrella from your mum as a birthday present and to have been using it almost constantly since then. I’m a July baby, it’s not meant to be this way!!!!!
It’s also hard to get oneself into the listing groove when your head is saying ‘summer dresses’ ‘light cottons’ etc, but you take one look out of the window at the river your street has become and think ‘err, actually, maybe not….’.
So here is my ever-so-British mixed bag of new listings. I do hope you enjoy!
Ossie Clark 1970s moss crepe and satin dress
John Bates for Jean Varon ‘Venice’ dress c. 1966-67
Early Laura Ashley art nouveau print maxi dress
Lee Bender for Bus Stop dress w/ keyhole feature
Polly Peck by Sybil Zelker 1970s medieval influenced dress
Fifties-influenced Chelsea Girl cotton stripe blouse
Apples and Pears (and other new listings)
Posted: June 19, 2012 Filed under: 1960s, 1970s, antony price, barbara hulanicki, barry lategan, biba, british boutique movement, chelsea girl, Fiorucci, jean muir, Susan Locke, Vogue, website listings 1 Comment »
Rare 1972 Jean Muir dress at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk
I am delighted to finally reveal one of the most amazing pieces I’ve had the pleasure of handling and listing over at Vintage-a-Peel. This superb Jean Muir dress hails from 1972, as photographed by Barry Lategan for Vogue of April that year, and is made from one of Muir’s most distinctive prints, the Apples and Pears chiffon (which I already mentioned back in April).
I have also just listed a stunning cocktail mini dress by the supremely talented Antony Price and a definitive disco-era ensemble by iconic brand Fiorucci. Amongst other beauties, of course. Not least a mini dress by seemingly forgotten designer and owner of eponymous King’s Road boutique, Susan Locke. Susan was the girlfriend of actor Jeremy Brett in the late Sixties/early Seventies, and was also one of the first stockists of Terry de Havilland’s wonderful shoes. A fine pedigree, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Antony Price strapless mini cocktail dress at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk
Floral chiffon Seventies-does-Thirties dress at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk
Rare Fiorucci pink metallic bustier/trouser ensemble at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk
Paisley gypsy ‘Jake’ Seventies dress at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk
Galactic glam rock Seventies Chelsea Girl skirt at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk
Rare Biba ‘Lolita’-labelled Seventies maxi skirt at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk
Romantic mid Seventies ‘Lady Charlotte’ maxi dress at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk
Rare late Sixties micro mini dress by Susan Locke at Vintage-a-Peel.co.uk
Bagged!
Posted: March 23, 2012 Filed under: 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 12 Comments »
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
Unknown (Mantra?) © John Hendy
Strides © John Hendy
Stop the Shop © John Hendy
Laura Ashley © John Hendy
The New Avenger in Lee Bender
Posted: March 5, 2012 Filed under: annacat, bus stop, chelsea girl, harold ingram, jean varon, joanna lumley, lee bender, murray arbeid, norman hartnell, polly peck, terry de havilland, the avengers, website listings 5 Comments »
I have just listed some stunning new pieces over at Vintage-a-Peel, but the real star of the show has got to be this incredible Lee Bender for Bus Stop skirt and halter top set. For it is identical to the one worn by Joanna Lumley in a photocall for The New Avengers in 1976. Deliciously bright and saucy, and the one thing which might distract the world from your pudding-bowl haircut!
Late Sixties cord jacket (click to view listing)
Murray Arbeid 1980s turquoise cocktail dress (click to view listing)
Terry de Havilland 1970s gold glitter shoes (click to view listing)
Norman Hartnell early 1960s chiffon and soutache evening gown (click to view listing)
Annacat 1960s blue velvet jacket (click to view listing)
Harold Ingram 1970s knitted top (click to view listing)
Polly Peck 1960s white cotton blouse (click to view listing)
Chelsea Girl 1970s stripe jumper (click to view listing)
Tom Bowker for Jean Varon 1970s silver lamé top (click to view listing)
Vintage Adverts: Chelsea Girl’s word is her bonded Orlon
Posted: December 22, 2011 Filed under: chelsea girl, seventies fashion, Vintage Adverts 3 Comments »
From December 1970. I love me some Chelsea Girl, and this advert is just perfection with the colours, the styling, the design… it even makes me half-fancy a white wig! I think I’ll leave it at the half-fancying stage though…
Lazy August Days….
Posted: August 5, 2010 Filed under: british boutique movement, chelsea girl, Eighties Fashion, goth, hotpants, jeff banks, louis caring, paraphernalia, sarah whitworth, seventies fashion, sixties, website listings 2 Comments »
But I can’t stop working. Apologies for the mixed bag of listings, we’re still straddling two seasons at the moment (fashion-wise) so I’m trying to keep it light but trans-seasonal. This is harder than you might think. I’m also working on Autumn-orientated listings which will be coming towards the end of the month in preparation for a luscious September (fingers crossed). I might sneak the odd incredible designer piece on the block before then though, so keep your eyes peeled for that.
But what am I talking about? I’ve got a few amazing pieces just listed now, including Jeff Banks, Louis Caring, Paraphernalia and Sarah Whitworth.
