A nice chap who collects vintage catalogues has lent us several choice publications for use as archival material in the Book.

Here’s one of my favourites - a very high quality catalogue filled with beautiful illustrations of shoes that can be ordered by the discerning customer.

Fostars was a Sydney establishment. I’ve found other catalogues from the ’50s, but nothing else about them although it looks as if the National Film and Sound Archive has an old cinema advertisement from 1940: that would be worth seeing!

Can you imagine receiving something as beautiful as this in your letter box in 1949? See below for the treats inside….click on an image to see in full, click again for the full size. Oh, if only it were this easy to find beautiful shoes nowadays.

Last week we turned Circa into a temporary photographic studio to take some shots for the book.

Where else to find the best in fabulous late sixties outfits but the wardrobe of DJ and go-go dancer extraordinaire Miss Emma Peel? She was gracious enough to let us borrow some of her most prized possessions, including a fabulous red silk outfit previously worn by Miss Tasmania circa 1970something (hard to miss in the first row below).

These are some happy snaps, taken while we were working: for the real photos you’ll have to wait for the book or see Miss Peel in action, wearing and accessorising these and others from her amazing wardrobe.

I kind of consider the 1950s (when it comes to fashion, at least) as starting with Dior’s New Look in 1947 and continuing until the early 1960s when styles became more simple, hemlines rose and the Mod era was born.

Here are some of my favourite garments from this time, and some choice pieces from the private collection of Dr Lynn Savery.

“Atomic” print cotton sundress

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Some snapshots from our session on WW2 fashions: 1939 to 1946 (the extra year is because fashions took a while to change after the war). I love this era! These garments are from my own private collection, and that of Dr Lynn Savery - and be warned, there are lots.

Wool princess line coat.

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We’re now in the final stage of photography for the book - a series of garments from the private collections of Circa and Dr Lynn Savery. We’re doing it one era at a time - last night was the 1920s but you’ve already seen lots of those, so here are some snapshots from our 1930-1939 shoot.

The gown in the forefront was featured at the recent NGV Art Deco launch.

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We’ve been in the Blue Mountains this week to photograph some select couture pieces from Charlotte Smith’s Darnell Collection. Here you can see Charlotte sharing a fabulous beaded 1920s silk gown with us.

Charlotte is featured on this evening’s ABC programme The Collectors
Charlotte Smith’s collection has been described as “two centuries of elegance”. Three years ago Charlotte became the custodian of her godmother Doris Darnell’s world-renowned collection of vintage clothing and accessories, the largest of it’s kind in Australia. Dior, Versace, this collection has it all and it’s a treat indeed for the couture loving prof when he joins Charlotte for some high-end fashion ‘time travelling’.

You can see some more snaps I took during the session here. (more…)

What a beautiful day it is, here in Katoomba! We’re here for a few days photographing the Darnell Collection, one of the most impressive private collections of vintage clothing in Australia.

I couldn’t resist taking a few snaps of the Carrington Hotel, where we’re staying. It’s such a beautiful place. I first saw it a decade ago, while it was undergoing renovations. I tried to sneak around and was exploring the old stables when a security guard escorted me off the premises. Thankfully it’s now open to the public, and for the price of a room you can explore to your heart’s content. Here’s the view from the verandah:

I seem to have it all to myself - now, if only someone would bring me a gin and tonic, life would be perfect!

The Carrington is that most of wonderful of establishments: built to great aplomb in the Victorian era and extravagantly redone in the 1920s. It has an interesting construction, as the original building wasn’t so much as changed as expanded - it’s like a ’20s hotel (with Macintosh, nouveau and deco touches) built around an elaborate Victorian one. So you have fabulous stained glass windows that open onto corridors and enclosed verandahs, and a veritable rabbit warren of rooms. It has 66 guest rooms, and all manner of public lounges, a library, a billiards room, a bar, a dining room, and of course, a magnificient verandah from which you can safely view the hoi polloi below going about their lives down on the main street.

Want to see more? Click here - warning: image heavy. (more…)