Photos of the Day: Good Country Things, 1973

Photographed by Barry Lategan for Vogue UK, October 1973.

Photo of the Day: Sweater Dressing

Ballantyne cobalt and white sweater, James dress blouse and Yves Saint Laurent flannel trousers and blue patent leather belt. Photographed by David Bailey for Vogue UK, October 1973.

Photo of the Day: Ingrid Boulting

Ingrid Boulting in a Pablo & Delia bolero and mop cap. Photographed by Norman Parkinson for Vogue UK, December 1972.

Photo of the Day: Michael Chow's Think Tank

Michael Chow's studio. Photographed by Barry Lategan for Vogue UK, October 1973.

Mickey Mouse is an obsession of Michael Chow, figuring five times, above, in cast iron, in Chinese rug work, in china, in tin, and even in abstract- Oldenberg's sculpture in front of the desk. Michael, who runs five restaurants and one club in London, and is opening a restaurant in Los Angeles, is a compulsive collector. His office in a studio flat in Knightsbridge contains a splendid Art Deco desk on a platform, an Art Nouveau rug, two Richard Smiths, and a Robyn-Denny, all bathed in Mozart and Bach, with windows opening on to a flower-filled verandah. "It's a thinking office more than a working office. I sit at the desk and toss a coin for where I'll go to lunch."

Photo of the Day: Veruschka for Tonik

Veruschka in an ad for Tonik by Dormeuil. Vogue UK, January 1972.

The male model here is pretty amazing, right? Love the perfectly ruffled hair and immaculate suit.

Photo of the Day: Bellville-Sassoon

Bellville-Sassoon dress. Photographed by Norman Parkinson for Vogue UK, December 1972.

Daria: Glitter Girl

Daria Werbowy for Vogue Paris Beaute, May 2010. Photographed by Ben Hassett.
This makes me desperate to play around in my make-up case- nothing like piling on some glitter to put me in a good mood...

Photo of the Day: Biba

Biba dress. Photographed by Arthur Elgort for Vogue UK, November 1972.

Photo of the Day: Turbans, Swords and Jewels

White, in the Bedouin manner: a turban of white cheese-cloth with a Byzantine-print tussur coar. Wear it for informal dinners. Bergdorf Goodman. Photographed by Horst for Vogue, July 1 1937.

Futureclaw: Daisy Lowe

Daisy Lowe for Futureclaw Magazine, Spring 2010. All photos by Ben Rayner.

Miss Lowe makes rather a beautiful flower child, doesn't she? There's no denying she has the best body out there at the moment, so I'll gladly see her stripping off in editorials over any other model. So much more could have been done with the styling in this story- the clothes are so boring that they take away from the images. I know so many talented stylists that I am always surprised when I see published editorials that lack any spark of innovation, or even enthusiasm.

Photo of the Day: Art Deco's Second Flowering

Grace Coddington for Vogue UK, August 1969. Photograph by Barry Lategan and styled by Bernard Nevill.

Ice-cream flapper dress in Neapolitan colours on silk, V-necked, and a short skirt in three tiers, by Leslie Poole. Fabric designs, all from Bernard Nevill's Jazz Colection, and satin for cushions from Liberty. Art Deco wall frame from facade of Ideal Standard House, now in collection of Bernard Nevill.

Photo of the Day: Jean Muir

Perfect jersey and metallic snakeskin Jean Muir dress. Photo by Clive Arrowsmith for Vogue UK, August 1972.

Photo of the Day: Karlie Kloss

Photograph by Alasdair McLellan. Karlie Kloss for Vogue UK, May 2010.

This is what I wish I was doing today- sipping on a dairy-free milkshake at an original 1950s soda fountain with a cute boy and no responsibilities.

Photos of the Day: Twiggy on the Mermaid Trail

Lurex bra and skirt by Janice Wainwright for Simon Massey, silver boots by Richard Smith, bead necklace made by hand by Bibette at Quorum.The other blonde and silvertailed mermaid by Jan Haworth.

Silver-scaled dresses by the tangled banks and sinister waters of the Silent Pool at Albury, Surrey. Your breathing is all you can hear; a stone thrown in sinks without a sound. Here seven centuries ago, it is said, King John came riding by and frightened a maiden who was bathing. He invited her to join him; she retreated. He rode his horse into the water; retreating further, she caught fast in the weeds and drowned before his eyes.

Gathered skirt from a ruched hipband and low tied ruched bodice by Janice Wainwright for Simon Massey, pewter mirrow and pin in hair from Tony Gardner's Purple shop.

Both photos of Twiggy by Justin de Villeneuve, Vogue UK July 1969.

Photo of the Day: Givenchy's Cobras

Givenchy cobra turban and bra top, part of a black velvet quilted suit, photographed by David Bailey for the November 1973 issue of Vogue UK.

As this is pretty much the most sensational outfit I can think of as it is in this photo, my mind is having trouble wrapping around the idea that it was part of a suit- a quilted velvet suit, at that. Was there a jacket and skirt? Were they both quilted? How were they cut? That tiny little phrase in the original copy has sent my mind into reveries all day as I've imagined dozens of different outfits that would follow those basic instructions. Equal to my desire to find this bronze cobra bra top and matching turban for myself, is my wish to find a photo of the original outfit to see how close Hubert de Givenchy's vision lines up with mine. The two pieces in this photo feel so unrepresentative of his style that I am interested to see how the whole outfit was designed. Has anyone out there seen the whole outfit? I'm off to do a full search through Vogue Paris for it and if I have any luck will definitely post my results here.

RIP Pete Steele

News of Pete Steele's death this morning has hit me rather hard. Type O Negative, the band that Pete was the singer, have long been tied for my favourite band and are probably the band that I listen to most often. By far the most beautiful man who ever lived, in my opinion, the young Pete Steele looked like he steeped straight off the cover of a romance novel about a Viking prince or a rakish Duke. Anyone who listens to his lyrics would understand how tortured he was and the past few years have been especially hard on him. When I saw them in concert a few months ago he was a shadow of his former beautiful self- a lumbering bloated shadow. At the time everyone said he was doing better, but supposedly he died late last night from heart failure at the age of 48. Far too young to go, this is a very sad day for the metal community.

RIP Peter Steele 1962-2010







Some of his wonderful albums: Bloody Kisses, October Rust, Life Is Killing Me, and World Coming Down.

Photo of the Day: Kim Basinger by Scavullo

Francesco Scavullo, Kim Basinger, 1977.
Scavullo: Photographs 50 Years

Come On, Dreamers

Ever since I saw Miss Peelpant's post the other day of a dreamy David Hamilton editorial from a 1972 Vogue UK, I've been in rather a dreamy and nostalgic mood myself. The weather has been beautiful here but I've been holed up in my bedroom doing schoolwork all weekend so I never had the opportunity to dress up in gobs of lace, ruffles and pastels so instead I went through my old magazines and found another editorial that captures this romantically evocative mood.


Turbulent striped dress by Annacat with Villager tights, Quorum hat, side-buttoned Anello & Davide shoes.

Gone with the wind are the days of great plantations in the Deep South, when men were gallant and women were ladies. And yet this romantic era seems to linger on... in books and films and dreams. Haven't you ever dreamt you lived in another age? Of course, you would have been the heroine- gracefully attired in a silked gown and a shady hat trimmed in camellias. Rejoicing in lace ruffles, ringlets, laced-up bodices, sweetheart lockets, rustling petticoats, velvet bows, and swirlshooshing skirts. Perchance you would have set a Confederate soldier's heart on fire and even inspired a duel or two... until the telephone rang.

Come on dreamers, this nostalgic garb is for real. Wake up and wear it to a summer's ball with your beloved or to a party with a pal... the wind is blowing back.  

Lenbury orange blossom dress with U.S. Madcaps hat adorned with long scarf by Ascher, Mary Quant orange tights and blue suede shoes by Anello & Davide.


Winsome white dress with lace sleeves by Gerald McCann with Petticoat special offer pearls.


Southern Magnolia pink dress by Lenbury with pink scarf by Ascher as a cummbund, white tights by Mary Quant, and Anello & Davide bar shoes with Quorum hat.


Ruffled dress by Annacat with matching shoes and Quorum hat decorated with camellias from US Woolworths.


Blithe green dress with double sleeves by Lenbury with Villager cream tights, Ronald Keith scallop-edge shoes. Serene white dress by Gerald McCann with velvet olive green waistband, U.S. Madcaps hat, laced-up boots by Anello & Davide.



All of these photos are from the June 22nd, 1968 Petticoat and were taken by Michael Berkofsky. The stately elegance of the antebellum mansion suits these clothes to a tee, and I was actually quite surprised when I researched the location- I've spent quite a lot of time in the South, as my mother is from Georgia, and these photos look like many homes down there. Remarkably these photos were actually taken in Manhattan at the Morris-Jumel House. Though I live in New York I had never heard of this mansion, which is the oldest house on Manhattan. It is open for visitors so I think I will have to make the trek up to Washington Heights to visit it and see this gorgeous bedroom:



If I go I promise to dress up just like this editorial, a total Southern belle. I might even wear my favourite Annacat dress, below, which is made out of almost the same pattern as the fifth photo down except in a cinnamon and cream colourway,  and is trimmed with the same white ruffles. Don't you think it would look smashing on that porch?

Photo of the Day: Chanel Sequins

Chanel sequined trouser suit, 1937/38. Photographed by Cecil Beaton for the exhibition catalogue for Fashion: An Anthology, at the Victoria & Albert Museum in 1972.

This isn't from Chanel: Collections and Creations but this book covers her designs, unlike most of the Chanel books on the market, which are strictly concerned with her fascinating life. Undeniably chic, this sequined trouser suit is a perfect example of Chanel's glamorous yet comfortable style.

Photo of the Day: Mujer Ángel

Graciela Iturbide, Mujer Ángel, Sonora Desert, Mexico , 1979.

Photo of the Day: Imogen and Twinka

Judy Dater, Imogen and Twinka, 1974.

Photo of the Day: Fashion- An Anthology

Invitation to a private viewing of Fashion : An Anthology By Cecil Beaton, 12 October, 1972 at the V & A Museum in London. Designed by HMSO/ Adrian Young.

Photo of the Day: Backstage at the Folies Bergères, Paris 1960

Jean-Philippe Carbonnier, Backstage at the Folies Bergères, Paris, 1960.

Photo of the Day: Chanel, 1937

"Chanel's very simple, yet charmingly fanciful dinner dress. Black crepe with detachable sleeves and crepe lacings. A pouf of ribbons on the head." Harper's Bazaar September 1937.