While sharp suits might have been suitable wear in Rome for scooting about on a Vespa, over in England a sensible woollen outergarment is just the ticket for these two Easy Riders.
This knitting pattern for a buttoned top by Lee Target has managed to attract a lot of comment from the moment I bought it from a charity shop in Horsforth, near Leeds. The lady on the till gasped at the model’s tiny waist. I then showed it on a couple of vintage fashion Facebook groups, partly because I had to do quite a lot of digital retouching of the original patters, which was quite badly damaged. An absurd argument broke out in the comments when I mentioned that the poor woman could probably hardly breathe due to the undergarments needed to squeeze her into such an unnatural shape. Dior foundation garments to fit into the New Look Self appointed experts came out of the digital woodwork to tell me that women were just thinner in the 1950s and 60s, thankfully countered by others sharing memories from relatives who were around at the time, and actually wore these type of clothes. One comment was especially insightful: “Looks like the Dior New Look inspiration that came after the Sec...
The mini skirt seemed so cutting-edge and rebellious when they first started to emerge in the early 1960s - it is often credited by British designer Mary Quant, but it seems she was reacting to a trend that was in the ether at the time. By the end of the decade, as often happens in these matters, the trend began to swing in the opposite direction. The use of decimal coinage on this example indicates that it is from 1971 or later. The same hippyish fashion imperative that introduced Oxford Bags into the male wardrobe (as seen above worn by David Bowie on the rear cover to his 1971 album Hunky Dory ) also brought the Maxi Skirt into existence. Skinny ties and the Italian-inspired lean silhouette which informed the Mod look for both men and women was supplanted by a more flowing, bohemian style. Yves Saint Laurent brought the look to the Paris catwalks in 1969 as part of a peasant look and pretty soon the knitting pattern manufacturers were on the case.
Trust Woman's Mirror to be on top of the burning issues of the day - that day being some point in the mid-1960s. From this fascinating artifact we can discover the knitwear preferences of a host of household names. Some of these are now forgotten, but a select few have become showbusiness legends. Definitely in the latter category is Peter Finch, the Australian actor who would become the first performer ever to win a posthumous Oscar for his barnstorming turn in the 1976 film Network . Of more importance than this from the point of view of Kntters of Yore is that Finch can't resist a pink jumper. Although he never attracted the attention of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, dancer and general purpose celebrity Lionel Blair remained a firm favourite of the British public over a long career until his death in 2001 at the age of 92. One riddle remained throughout Lionel's life - what would a girl have to do to attract Blair's roving eye? If only they had loo...
Comments
Post a Comment