Cotton jackets and blouses, comfortable baggy trousers, skimpy bareback sun tops and neat knee-length shorts. Team them up with saucy felt berets and rope-soled espadrilles —wear them anywhere (or on the prom).
A glorious recreation of 1930s photographs by the late great Mike Berkofsky, but we all know those pups are the real stars of the show!
Now you can be spot on by wearing corduroy. This material used to be an essential part of every girl’s wardrobe, but for years it’s been a plain Jane fabric and most unfashionable. This spring, however, cord has made a spectacular comeback, particularly in coordinates. Colours are sludgy, shapes are trim, and it’s a nice, casual fabric that wears well and is flattering. Buy a jacket, then choose skirts and trousers to match—and you’ll have a whole new wardrobe that can cope with the vagaries of the English spring.
Be the star of the office party, look chic for cocktails or choose from the ‘Fifties, ‘Sixties and ‘Seventies to stun everyone around. We’ve picked lots of exciting clothes for you to wear at whatever Christmas festivities you are invited to. Go on — take our advice — make a dramatic entrance.
Black, the old enchanter. Bewitching, mysterious, romantic. In velvet, satin and soft silk jersey. Dramatic alone or shouting with colour. That timeless black magic still weaves its ancient spell.
Swagger around this autumn in one of the most dramatic coats ever. Gone are skimpy shapes, instead there’s a swirling full-cut look, strongly reminiscent of the ‘Fifties. Back comes the walking-out coat and the ‘jigger jacket’. Big checks —the bigger the better—are hot news. Striped ankle socks and tarty high heels complete this new look.
Model is Anjelica Huston.
Photographed by Bob Richardson.
Scanned from 19 Magazine, October 1971
*Coat is an Antony Price design for Stirling Cooper. With thanks to Sheilagh Brown for the information.
Something like these easy-to-wear, soft crêpe or finely knitted swing-back duster jackets, teamed with wide lounging trousers or slit pencil skirts. They’re cool, casual and chic—easily the most comfortable outfits around.
If fashion revivals keep accelerating at the current rate, last year’s hot-pants are going to be a cult by the end of the decade. Who would have dreamed that a Fifties teenager’s wardrobe would be back in fashion by his late twenties? In 1958 Teddy Boys were practically extinct now crowds of Teds and Rockers cram the Fishmongers Arms at Wood Green to hear rock groups like Screaming Lord Sutch and the Houseshakers (above). There are now an estimated 20,000 revivalist Teddy Boys in England, and the drainpipe-trouser trade is booming. These pictures show some of the clothes that you’ve only just managed to forget.
A new and influential shop in the King’s Road is run by an original Ted called Malcolm McLaren. Walking into Let It Rock is like walking into a flashback from the Fifties. James Dean and Elvis posters line the walls; period showcases are filled with hair-cream, plastic combs and sweetheart lockets; the juke-box belts out some of the best rock ever recorded, and the clothes on sale would be a credit to Gene Vincent, Presley, Eddie Cochran or anyone else who made the recordings. Boxes of 45s and old fan magazines litter the floor next to genuine valve radios with a three-month guarantee.
Designers like Stirling Cooper and Mr Freedom have been manufacturing Fifties-inspired clothes for some time, but Let It Rock is the only shop selling the real thing. This particular revival is so premature that there is still a large amount of the original stock around; dirndl skirts, stiletto-heeled winkle-pickers, cotton sweaters and plastic jewellery, not to mention 12in. drainpipe trousers and jeans, bootlace ties, luminous socks and blue suede shoes. This is the only place where Teds can buy off-the-peg ‘drapes’ — their mid-thigh Edwardian velvet-trimmed jackets. The phenomenon of Let It Rock is that it is situated in the heart of Chelsea, which Teds regard as ‘enemy territory’; now they’re selling to the newly converted ‘natives’.
The clothes in Let It Rock are inspired by two groups, the Teddy Boys (and girls) and Rockers (and birds). According to McLaren, Teds like the updated rock styles, whereas the Rockers, especially the girls, prefer ‘strong’ ideas like the characteristic shaggy mohair sweater-dresses and winklepicker boots. ‘Chelsea people’ go more for the authentic stuff . . . if you endorse a revival, you might as well get the real thing Fashion can thank the Fifties for some of the most unglamorous and unflattering clothes we ever knew. That is what makes their unmodified rebirth so difficult to understand.
I’m not sure I can say much more about Vivienne Westwood’s body of work which hasn’t already been said. I always think the best quality in a designer is idiosyncrasy, and Westwood had that by the truckload. Her work didn’t stagnate, but it often referenced her own past and continued to translate the wider cultural past into her own language – and yet never tried to be anybody else. Given my magazine collection covers mainly the Sixties and Seventies, I thought it best to celebrate her by doing what I do best, which is trying to go back and show you the starting point for the things we just take for granted decades later. The origins of what she’s best known for are ultimately in the Teddy Boy revival of the early Seventies and her work for ‘Let It Rock’ with Malcolm McLaren, and this captures that early spark – despite the fact that they don’t mention her at all.
I’ve also been meaning to scan this for a while so, now seemed like a good time. I mean, Pat Cleveland and Screaming Lord Sutch photographed by Hans Feurer? What more could you ask for?
Report by Valerie Wade.
Photographed by Hans Feurer.
Scanned from The Sunday Times Magazine, May 14th 1972.
Beautiful and gay knits are 19’s answer for post-summer blues; dazzling bright and eye-catching in an array of primary colours. The styles are the simplest possible—tiny tops with cross-over fronts and, for those who prefer the classic, pullovers in cleverly co-ordinated stripes. This style of knitwear is best worn with toning jersey skirts, preferably in a midi length, and trousers. To complete the kaleidoscope look, add brightly coloured shoes, stockings, a scarf or a choker.