The Sixties Had IT!

There seems to be something about the girls of the sixties who were dubbed the “it” girls. Not necessarily classically beautiful, they all had something that stood out. The women I have included below have an unusual almost ethereal quality about them and as they got older in my opinion only got better.

Jean Shrimpton

Charlotte Rampling

Jane Birkin

Julie Christie

Penelope Tree

Veruschka

The French Are Coming!

What did Christian Dior and Soviet Russia have in common in 1959? Not much you may say however the answer just might surprise you!

Even though the Cold War was starting and had started to grip the western world, Nikita Khrushchev and his more liberal policies (anything was liberal compared to Stalin), changes were being made in many aspects of Soviet Life. Fashion was one of them.

High up on the Politburo level decisions were being made that Soviet fashion designers should start learning their trade off their French counterparts, which basically meant that the government was taking this seriously.

Back in the 1930’s Stalin had experimented with this idea, and Schiaparelli had made a tour to the USSR, however nothing became of the experiment.

In 1959 Dior was approached to organise a fashion show in Moscow for the Soviet elite and the highest members of the Communist Party. Dior was chosen for several reasons, the main one being that the Soviets regarded the fashions coming out of the house as classic, regardless of the season or collection - and this suited the Soviet manufacturers immensely. A "classic" cut of a suit would be considered "ideologically neutral" by the Soviets, as well as stable and practical. It would also mean lower production costs, as after having produced a set of patterns, the clothes makers could go on releasing the same clothes for years.

The show took place in House of Culture "Wings of the Soviets", decorated in the French tri-colours.

As a part of a prelude and teaser to the show, a walkabout, through some of the centre of Moscow was arranged so that the regular proletariat could see the fashions. Red Square, local streets and markets and the GUM department store were visited.

The photos taken by Howard Sochurek are a wonderful archive of the dissimilarities between West and East during this period.

They generally show the Moscow populace not only in awe but also bewildered by this small tantalizing glimpse into western culture. People just do not know what to make of these tall elegant western women, dressed in a style of dress that they have not seen before. It would seem too many to be akin to an alien from outer space landing in their midst!

The photos document perfectly the clash between western ideals and culture and the soviet ideology prevailing at the time. Sometimes I am not too sure, however some of our Soviet citizens faces and expressions seem tinged with resentment or jealousey.

After the show Pravda wrote that some of the styles were too open and short, and that "they would not look nice on women who are stout and of short stature." It was evidently taken for granted that the majority of Soviet women were stout and not tall. One of the Soviet magazines of those days described narrow skirts and spike-heeled shoes thus: "Bourgeois fashion makers come up with such styles that the woman has difficulty walking and must wrap herself around her man."

Whether after the show the Politburo had a change of mind or whether just the thought of turning Soviet mothers into walking fashion plates was too daunting the whole project was literally dropped. Clothes were adopted and manufactured however the implementation of new styles and techniques was inhibited by the overall conservatism of the state. The decorative elements of dresses were often omitted (Russian women were considered to be above cheap frills), and the cuts were simplified not to let the seduction slip in.

How different things might have been, if this was adopted with the zeal and fervour of a five year plan!

Cheongsam Faire!

How many of us are not familiar with the cheongsam? This wonderfully simple and elegant dress which when we think of when Chinese fashion springs to mind along with the most unglamorous Mao Tunic.

Like the sari of India, I think this is a very elegant form of dress, which can cross social boundaries.

A derivative from the rather shapeless garments that prevailed for both men and women during the Qing Dynasty when the Manchu ruled China, the modern day version had its roots in Shanghai during the 1920’s. Shanghai being China’s main commercial port was a melting point for Chinese and westerners alike, so it was only natural that traditional Chinese dress was modified for western tastes.

Chinese women eagerly sought a more modernized style of dress and transformed old traditional styles of clothing to suit their tastes. Slender and form fitting with a high cut, it had great differences from the traditional mode of dress, however it was high-class courtesans and celebrities in the city that would make these redesigned tight fitting dresses popular at the time.

As Western fashions changed, the basic cheongsam design changed too, introducing high-necked sleeveless dresses, and bell-like sleeves.

Come 1949 and we all know what the Communist Revolution did for fashion in China. Gone were the exquisite silks and brocades only to be replaced by the Mao Tunic (a fashion statement all on its own). As a result, the mass exodus of the local Shanghai populace to Hong Kong ensured that the cheongsam would become even more popular in Western culture.

Women in the Hong Kong workforce in the 1950’s adopted the cheongsam in more functional fabrics as everyday wear.

Films such as The World of Suzie Wong with Nancy Kwan cemented the hold the cheongsam would have over Western fashion, with pattern companies such as Simplicity offering versions where American housewives could whip up their own piece of Oriental glamour.

Open to interpretation by modern designers the cheongsam has become a staple in many a wardrobe and can be seen in many areas where a Chinese style look is desired. It was also nice to see the Swedish Olympic Team of 2008 adopt a form of the cheongsam as a nod to their hosts.

Unfortunately sometimes the cheongsam can appear kitsch, however I know that done right it is a knockout!

Send Me a Wire. STOP.

Have you ever received a telegram? Do some of you even know what a telegram is?

I do remember telegrams, and have received a few myself over the years, however what ever happened to them?

Read out at weddings, sent to congratulate births, and unfortunately sometimes sent in emergencies or death, somehow they were a rather exciting way to receive news.

Sent by the Queen on occasions of Golden and Silver Wedding Anniversaries and when one turned 100, I wonder how the message gets conveyed now?

I see that even the advertising of telegrams carried as much savoir faire as sending or receiving one did. You always felt important when a telegram arrived and they were invariably ripped open with incredible haste or opened with trepidation afraid of the contents!

Savoir Faire in Venice

One may be forgiven thinking that Truman Capote’s infamous Black and White Ball in November 1966 as the party of the century. Capote dangled coveted invitations for months under the noses of the celebrity of the day as he determined who was ‘in’ and who was ‘out’.

However, I would have to believe that our young upstart who clamored for social acceptance got his inspiration from one Don Carlos de Beistegui de Yturbe. Beisegui’s Le Bal Oriental held in Venice at the Palazzo Labia in 1951 makes Capote’s ball look like a provincial sweet sixteen year olds birthday party.

*Orson Wells

Spectacular in its incarnation, guest list, costumes, extravagance and subsequent publicity the guest list was a who’s who of post war Europe. Cecil Beaton's photographs of the ball display an almost surreal society, reminiscent of the Venetian life immediately before the fall of the republic at the end of the 18th century.

Invitations composed six months in advance included the Aga Khan III, Barbara Hutton, Gene Tierney, Countess Jacqueline de Ribes, Jacques Fath, Duff and Lady Diana Cooper, Orson Welles, Daisy Fellowes, Salvador and Gali Dalí, Christian Dior, Arturo Lopez-Willshaw, Patricia Lopez-Willshaw, Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, Princess Natalia Pavlovna Paley, Hélène Rochas, Princess Caetani, Princess Colonna, Prince Mathieu de Brancovan and countless others .Winston Churchill and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor were invited but did not attend. (I bet they were kicking themselves!)


*Gene Tierny

On the day of the ball, the host retired to a suite at the Grand Hotel in order to avoid frenetic scenes as those whom no invitation had been forthcoming claimed their invitations had not for some reason arrived.

*Bestegui

Numerous Couturiers were involved in the design and making of costumes for the rich and famous who were attending, with Christian Dior, Pierre Cardin and Nina Ricci designing the majority of the costumes. It was said that several days prior to the event that there was an extraordinary procession of chauffeur-driven basketwork Rolls Royce’s through the Simplon Pass in the direction of Venice, with large Dior boxes strapped onto their roofs.

Venice was captivated with the ball and the general public waited for hours along the Grand Canal to catch glimpses of the rich, famous and titled arriving.


One party imitating the splendors of China arrived in a Chinese Junk. Baron Alexis de Redé who was part of the group remembers "I was an attendant in their suite, with a fantastic Chinese crown, staff and sword, looking, I confess, rather like the last 'boy' emperor. Our costumes were exact copies of those in the famous tapestries, 'the Voyage of the Emperor of China'.

The couturier Jacques Fath and his wife, with Fath dressed as the Sun King, had to remain standing in his gondola because “his posture [was] dictated by a costume so perfectly fitted and heavy with embroidery that he could not sit,”

*Fath

Chinese Junks aside another spectacular entrance was made by Lady Diana Cooper dressed as Cleopatra in a costume designed by Cecil Beaton. Her entrance which "people thought was the loveliest sight with the light from the windows of the palazzo falling on her face and pearls and blonde wig" was inspired in the Palace's Tiepolo superb fresco The Banquet of Cleopatra that was the central theme of the ball.

Daisy Fellowes came as the Queen of Africa dressed by Dior. She was not feeling well the night of the ball, so she rested beforehand on a sofa before making her entrance. When time to enter, she rose from the sofa and made an entrance that would leave all green with envy. "She was by far the most elegant person at that ball. I have never seen anyone walk as beautifully as she did. She had in-born style." Baron de Redé said.



Just the sight of all this Savoir Faire must have been overwhelming and tiring within itself, without the prospect of being social for another 5 or 6 hours! Nobody does it like this anymore!