I think I’ve recovered from my little passion for Fred Astaire – did you enjoy the clips of him dancing? Poor me, I had to watch through so many to find the right ones to share with you. He was a wonderful man, one of the true old school. It’s a pity that dance isn’t as respected an artform as many others.
It’s back to the near past now – or so it seems as the mid to late 1970s have been influencing fashion quite a bit of late. Here is Jerry Hall, looking glamourous at the height of her modelling fame, dating Bryan Ferry (pre-Mick Jagger) and jetting to exotic locations. These photos are all from a Vogue pattern book, circa 1975 – they reveal how much home sewing has fallen from grace, and how large the market was for dressmaking patterns to be able to afford the sort of budget a shoot like this would need.
One of the great things about this spread is that it clearly shows the different trends of the day – the flowing goddess gowns, the exotically Eastern caftans and the Edwardian influenced romantic white dresses with upswept hair. Jerry’s tall frame suits the styles well and she looks at home amongst the wonderful locations (as well as in the arms of a well dressed man).
As always, click on an image to see in full.
A truly glamorous pre-photoshop woman. She looks brilliant in anything, I swear you could drape tripe over the woman and she’d be fabulous. She cuts a stunning figure towering over the Bond men whilst effortlessly holding up buildings with one arm.
She’s beautiful isn’t she? And Jerry has improved with age – those cheek bones just keep on getting better.
Not sure I’d like to see her draped in tripe, but I agree that if anyone could carry it off, she could.
Nothing fails like success.
I agree completely with the comment that home sewing has fallen from grace. The vintage designer patterns from the beginning of the 60’s up to the late 70’s, and even some from the 80’s, are always the most inspiring for me. It’s not just the interesting designs with the best designer names attached but also the glamorous photography with top fashion models and precisely fashionable hair, make-up and accessories, and at one point shot in either grand interiors, exotic locations or the street-scapes of Paris, Rome, London or New York City.
I don’t bother with the latest patterns from Vogue… ever so dull. Sometimes I’m tempted to check out the current offerings in the faint hope that something might catch my eye, but in most cases I’m left unimpresssed.
Imagine the excitement that would be created if Vogue Patterns released a trial run of patterns with a young and hip Designer name attached? Would designers today even bother? Still, look at the hysteria created by the Top Shop or Target ranges by luxury designers, surely it would be considered fabulous to make your own McQueen or Dior party dress or Givenchy or Balmain ‘it’ jacket? Even that ‘Galaxy’ dress by Roland Mouret (the one that’s supposed to flatter any woman) that came out several years ago would have done so well as a sewing pattern. But then there’s the problem of the limited availability of good quality fabrics from retailers and the diminishing number of able sewers in the general population.
Oh well, I’ll just keep collecting my vintage Vogue Paris Originals, Vogue Couturier and Vogue American Designer patterns.