Plexus Magazine 1969

                                                         IMAGE CREDITS

All Images scanned by Sweet Jane from Plexus Magazine, Issue No. 23, April 1969. Cover art title "My Best Friends" by Robert Lewis, illustrations by Wojtek Siudmak.

Illustration - Eye Candy - 1969

                        
                                                           PHOTO CREDITS
All images scanned by Sweet Jane from Plexus Magazine, Issue No. 30, December 1969. Illustrations by Tito Topin for an original story by Don Mitchell.

The London Scene 1969

I picked up this copy of London Scene over a year ago after a long search, and was very pleased to do so, having been intrigued by the cover and thoughts of what may possibly lay beyond it ever since it first came to my attention. The book, published in 1969 consists of 220 pages, 44 of which are made up of text (all in German...one of these days I will get around to translating it!) but thankfully, the other 176 pages are all photographs, mainly b&w with about 7 or 8 in colour, the title page plus the endpapers, both front and back also contain several images. I would describe it as a photographic document of street style and the underground scene in London from the late 60s, it reminds me of the work of Frank Habicht and John Hendy from around this period. A copy can set you back anywhere between £80-£180, but I have also seen it sell for a lot more in Ebay auctions, the price obviously driven up by the fact that it has become so rare over time. However, occasionally a slightly less expensive one arises for sale and finally it was my turn to find one! There are some really beautiful photographs in this book, it captures the hippie fashion scene particularly well, there are also several images of Amanda Lear, Yoko Ono, David Vaughan (of Binder, Edwards & Vaughan), The Nice, Alexander Trocchi, The Arts Lab, The International Times, street fashion, plus shop window displays from Gear, Mary Quant and I was Lord Kitcheners Valet. My personal favourite, is a beautifully illustrated advertisement by Rob Peters for Tommy Roberts' Kleptomania boutique on Carnaby Street, the scan doesn't do it justice, in reality it's actually printed against a silver foil background. The following images are just a brief glimpse of what you can expect to see. (It's also worth noting that the book measures 8"x 8", and that the majority of the images are of a corresponding size). 

                                                           PHOTO CREDITS

All images scanned by Sweet Jane from London Scene by Juergen Seuss, Gerold Dommermuth and Hans Maier, published 1969.

                                                                     LINKS

Black on the Canvas: The trailer for the forthcoming feature length documentary about the life and times of the artist David Vaughan can be found  here.

Information about Tommy Roberts' Kleptomania Boutique  can be found here.

In the Sixties - the photography of  Frank Habicht can be found here.

And last but not not least 'My Dad's Photographs - the photography of John Hendy' - a comprehensive study of London Street style from 1967-1975 which can be found here.

The British Boutique Boom! 1965 (part one)

This is the first half of an eight page RAVE feature originally published in 1965 which documents the rise of the new boutique phenomenon in Britain. It covers a total of  eight London based boutiques in full but also recommends another seven, which gives just some indication of their increasing popularity at this point in time. Within a year, Millicent Bultitude had published a pocket book called Get Dressed, a useful guide to London's Boutiques, in which she features 38 boutiques and name checks another 29, while also leaving some pages blank at the end of the book for the reader to fill in the facts about any new ones that they may discover themselves, due to the rapid pace at which boutiques were popping up in the capital. I'll post the rest of the RAVE article at a later stage, meanwhile the four boutiques covered in this particular post are Victoria and Albert, Hem and Fringe, Biba and last but not least Pennyhapenny Boutique, which I was intrigued to discover was owned by one of my favourite bands The Pretty Things. There isn't a great deal of information given about the group's connection with the shop in this piece, but I was interested enough to go searching for more, however I couldn't find anything until a couple of days ago. I just happened to check out the Ugly Things Magazine  page, when suddenly...they uploaded an interview with Dick Taylor about the Boutique! (The interview is from Jackie magazine 12th March 1966). Apparently, it was equally owned by himself and Phil May, they seem to have decided on the name Pennyhappeny as part of a gimmick at first, which they quickly realised wasn't going to prove profitable if they followed through on their original ideas of having nothing in the shop which cost over a penny-halfpenny or by always including a penny and one half penny as part of the change with every item purchased. You can read the rest of the interview by clicking on the link above or in the further reading/links section at the end of this page. I'd love to know much more about it, how long it remained open and what became of it all etc, because at this stage they do seem to have plans to expand the business in the not too distant future and are also considering opening a male equivalent. So anyone out there with any relevant information, feel free to get in touch!

         VICTORIA and ALBERT BOUTIQUE 28 Victoria Grove, London W.8

Owned by Rosemary Kirsten who is an ex-model. Sells boys and girls gear of varied price range. Amongst her customers are Twinkle and Lulu. Our choice is a raincoat in P.V.C designed for the boutique by Hilary Floyd, 11gns.

                            

                           HEM and FRINGE, 35 Moreton Street, London, S.W.1

Recently opened by Patrick Kerr and his wife Theresa. All exclusive designs very inexpensive and way-out. Sandie Shaw and Lulu are among the pop world customers. Our choice (exclusive to RAVE) is a red, white and black light wool dress, 33 9s. 11d, hat to match £1.

   

                PENNYHAPENNY 112 Kensington Park Road London W.11

Boutique with which The Pretty Things and their manager are associated; clothes designed by Tricia Farrar. Inexpensive, exclusive dresses. Our choice - red and black striped dress with long sleeves and round neck, exclusive to RAVE, 5gns. The boutique itself is pretty and feminine, with pink paisley chiffon drapes at the windows. The atmosphere, unlike some of the others, has an olde-worlde air, a touch of Victoriania! Tricia Farrar says The Pretty Things have very definite ideas ideas about what they like and what they don't - they see all her designs.

                                      BIBA 87 Abingdon Road, London, W.8

Owned by designer Barbara Hulanicki and her husband. All exclusive, inexpensive gear. Amongst the customers are Cathy McGowan and Cilla Black. Our choice (exclusive to RAVE) is this black and white Op Art dress with big zip down the front. Price £3 10., helmet to match 21s.

                                                         PHOTO CREDITS
All images and original text scanned by Sweet Jane from RAVE magazine September 1965. Photographs by P.L James, Fashion Notes by Trilby Lane, Fashion Sketches by Alan Parry. Get Dressed-a useful guide to London's Boutiques by Millicent Bultitude published by The Garnstone Press in 1966.



                                                       FURTHER READING
           Boutique - a 60s Cultural Phenomenon by Marnie Fogg published by Mitchell-Beazely.
           The Look - Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion by Paul Gorman published by Adelita.
           Boutique London - A History: King's Road to Carnaby Street by Richard Lester (ACC Editions)
        

                                                          
                                                                    LINKS
         You can see The Pretty Things in action, in one of my previous posts about Mr Freedom here.
         The Look of London: An illustrated guide to the city's most influential fashion spots 1950-2000
         can be found here. (It's an excellent & far less expensive alternative to Millicent Bultitude's guide)    
         Ugly Things Magazine: Wild Sounds from Past Dimensions can be found here.
         The Pretty Things Official Website can be found here.

Helmut Newton for Queen Magazine 1966

Venice for the grand passion and the grand manner. Venice for the entrance and the  brooding exit. If you've got Byronic humours boiling in your soul, Venice is the place to let them out. For it's one of the few places left where you feel left out if you don't dress up. No sloppy sandals and torn old jeans. A flurry of feathers to float down canals in. Voluminous papal vestments to confess your sins in. Chic trouser-suits to carry out your eccentricities in. The riotous fantasies of Pucci to be wayward in. You can dress to kill and it all adds up to a riotous death in Venice for somebody. 

ABOVE: Two-tiered mauve crepe dress with miniature set-in waistband and long pastel pink stole in Ascher Giselle crepe, trimmed with ostrich feathers. Both from Maxine Leighton.

ABOVE: White crepe trouser suit appliqued with daisies, from Femme 90. More ostentatious ostrich feathers on a scarf in white Giselle crepe from Lida Ascher Boutique.

With panache is the way to take fashion and passion in Venice. ABOVE: White cotton pique suit by Bob Schulz, worn with a black cotton Italian skinny polo-necked sweater from Jaeger.  The Oliver Goldsmith glasses have one white, one black side. Black and white leather belt with gilt buckle from Galeries Lafayette. Long black and white Gisellle crepe scarf from Lida Ascher Boutique. Black and white twisted bracelets and Vendôme ring with flat black oval onyx, both from Fenwick.

ABOVE: grand fantasy. Venetian Cowboy in white crepon shirt and black trousers by Londonus. Side fastening black leather ankle-boots by Moya at MB shoes. White sunglasses slung over belt, by Oliver Goldsmith. Dicey black and white  silk scarf from Fenwick. Black sombrero from Lida Ascher Boutique.

                                                           PHOTO CREDITS

All images and original text scanned by Sweet Jane from The Sixties in Queen published by Ebury Press, the article was first published in Queen Magazine 1966, photographs by Helmut Newton.