Food Glorious Food – ITV

Food Glorious Food (ITV) Judges (L-R) Anne Harrison, Loyd Grossman, Carol Vorderman, Tom Parker Bowles and Stacie Stewart. Wednesdays, 8-9pm, ITV 1. © Optomen / Syco

I am delighted to tell you about a major new British television series just started on ITV 1, Food Glorious Food. If you love heritage food then this is the programme for you. Do not be swayed by the critics who have been unnecessarily harsh on what is actually a great show put together by a world-class production team (Optomen International and Syco tv). Contrary to what you may have read, the series is NOT trying to copy BBC’s Great British Bake Off neither is the aim of the show to find the next Masterchef. 

On Food Glorious Food, over the coming weeks, you will see a fascinating and engaging series that brings together food and family like never before. A judging team of four passionate food experts travel the country in search of the very best home cooked recipes. Behind every treasured recipe there is an interesting back story which is often bursting with family history and nostalgia.

I can reveal to you now that one of my aforementioned ‘secret media projects’ has been my involvement with Food Glorious Food. My passion for making blancmanges, in particular using my great, great grandmother’s Wedgwood mould as well as researching the history of this long-forgotten dessert, led me to being selected to take part in the show. My judge was the delightful Tom Parker Bowles and we shared a number of interesting conversations about Mrs Beeton and other luminaries from the annals of food history.

I am also in the cookbook that accompanies the series (see below for details) and if you turn to page 86 you will find my recipe for vintage lavender and lemon blancmange which I hope you have as much fun recreating as I did experimenting with it. How far did I progress in the show? Well, I am not able to tell you that at the moment but if you tune-in to ITV 1 on Wednesday 20th March (South-East regional heat) you can watch me begin my Food Glorious Food journey. What I can tell you is that it was a jolly good adventure and has left me with many memories that I will treasure forever.

I recently launched my new website, Viva Blancmange, which celebrates retro food as well as being a platform from which I will continue my campaign to revive the blancmange. My aim is to put this long forgotten dessert back onto the British menu within the next year. (CLICK HERE). My loyal band of readers need not panic, Come Step Back in Time will continue to go from strength-to-strength (so many fabulous history articles coming-up, sadly not enough hours in the day to finishing all the writing). In the future, Come Step Back in Time will feature a lot less retro food and lifestyle articles as these will now appear on Viva Blancmange.

Food Glorious Food’s presenter is Carol Vorderman and joining her on the show’s culinary quest is food historian and writer Tom Parker Bowles, globe-trotting gastronome Loyd Grossman, Women’s Institute vice-chair Anne Harrison and baker Stacie Stewart. Each judge has their own area of interest. Stacie, owner of online company the Beehive Bakery, is on the hunt for an amazing cake or pudding that the nation will fall in love with, food writer royalty, Tom is scouring the land for a great British recipe with culinary heritage, Loyd is hunting for a new favourite to match that much-loved dish, the curry, and Anne is championing traditional home cooking. At each of the six regional heats the team of experts come armed with rosettes which they hand out to dishes that meet with their high standards.

The Food Glorious Food team has been inspired by the show to reminisce about their own childhood food experiences. Carol’s cooking career began when she was a schoolgirl, she cooked for her family, “I used to make tea every night when I was at school. My mum was working as a school secretary so I’d be home from school before her. I loved laying the table and getting everything ready.” For Carol and her family it wasn’t typical 1970s cooking the family dined out on – thanks to her Italian stepfather, “In the ‘70s it was very unusual to cook with proper Italian produce. Back then, you’d buy olive oil from the chemist to get the wax out of your ears! Parmesan cheese was dried in cardboard tubes and smelt like sick. Whereas we had the proper stuff because we used to go to Italy every year. We had canned olive oil from my stepdad’s brother’s farm, we’d bring back Parma ham that my aunties had cured then use a bacon slicer at home to cut it.”

Food historian and writer Tom is keen to find a regional recipe or traditional British dish with real history. “I’m obsessed with the history of food and I want to find a great British recipe with a fascinating culinary heritage. I was quite late to cooking. I’ve always eaten, being a greedy pig. My mum’s a good cook and my dad was a farmer but I didn’t really get into cooking myself until after university. I certainly wasn’t at my mother’s apron strings when I was growing up – I was far too lazy.”

Loyd’s a self-confessed foodie and says childhood experiences first sparked his interest, “I just loved food. I was very lucky: I travelled a lot as a kid; my parents were interested in food and restaurants so I was exposed to a lot of good food. I grew up in New England where there were both farms and fishing so I saw all the fabulous produce first-hand. I always remember how exciting it would be to go down to the harbor in the morning and see the fishermen unloading their catch.”

Anne’s foodie beginnings came from her farming background. “My parents were farmers and my father was killed in the Second World War. My mother didn’t go out to work, she and my grandmother always cooked. In those days, you didn’t go out to buy anything. I was always keen to have a go at cooking myself, I suppose I absorbed their knowledge and I’ve always been used to home cooked food. Later, I went to boarding school and excelled at what they called domestic science. That led me to teaching.”

For Stacie, a recipe with a strong family connection will also win points with her. “I like to see people cooking recipes that have been handed down through generations because that’s how I learnt to cook. Stacie’s grandmother is responsible for her passion for baking, and cooking stems from her childhood. “My mum can’t boil an egg so my nana taught me how to cook. Every Saturday without fail our mams went to bingo, our dads went to the pub, our grandad sat in the front room and watched the horse racing and my nine cousins and I were in the kitchen with our nana. It’s a great memory and, now, all my cousins cook as well as I do. I also like to see innovation, taking something you’ve been taught how to do and making it better. Just because something was done one way many years ago, it doesn’t mean that it has to be done that way now. If that were the case, we’d still be walking around like cavemen. There has to be progression. My nana used to make scones with lard and water, because that’s all she could afford. It doesn’t mean they were the best scones in the world.”

Each of the first six episodes feature a different region of the UK (South-West, South-East, North-East, London and The Midlands). The judges eat their way through plenty of pies and puds, to find six amazing recipes and contestants to take through to the semi-final stages, where two will be picked to battle it out to win a place on the shelves of Marks & Spencer and a prize fund of £20,000. The winning dish will be decided by shoppers and sold exclusively by Marks & Spencer stores across the country with 40p from each dish sold going to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The first episode aired on Wednesday 27th February, 8pm, ITV1 and will continue for a further eight episodes, culminating in The Grand Final which, at the time of writing this article, is due to be aired on Wednesday 24th April. If you missed the first episode, then it is now available to view on itvPlayer. The series continues on Wednesday 6th March, 8pm, ITV1.

Out now, to accompany the series, is a superb anthology, published by Mitchell Beazley, containing some of the best recipes featured in the programme. Divided into regions, it is full of delicious dishes for you to try as well as information about the dish’s creator. All the finalists’ dishes and the winning recipe are included.  Old favourites like Bread and Butter Pudding, Cornish Pasties and Bakewell Tart feature alongside new and inventive fusions of flavours that simply have to be tasted. Some dishes will incorporate quirky twists – for example, an extra ingredient that was originally added by chance – while others will stick to time-honoured techniques handed down through multiple generations of the same family.

Some of my favourite dishes in this beautifully illustrated cookbook include:

• a secret recipe Devon apple cider cake (p.52). In 1983 Sandy Gilbert brought a former bakery with her husband and as part of the deeds they were required to buy this recipe along with the property;
• bonfire stew with cannonball dumplings. Publican Tony Leonard cooks this dish with the South Street Bonfire Society every year and serves it in his pub, The Snowdrop Inn, Lewes, East Sussex, at the start of the Lewes annual bonfire night on November 5th (p.70);
• Henry’s Malay jungle curry (p.84). Rachel Kelly’s father learned to make this dish when he was in the army in Malaya in the 1950s, do also check-out Rachel’s excellent food blog Marmaduke Scarlet it is packed full of great recipes and food photography;
• Laura’s fiery ginger cake (p.94). I can vouch for the fact that Laura Wiles’ cake is delicious. My husband and I tried it at the South-East regional heat in Brighton;
• Nettle cake (p.139). Marcelle Burden’s cake comes from her French grandmother, who used all sorts of wild plants in her cooking;

As well as the featured recipes, there are thoughtful reflections on Britain’s food heritage and the nation’s love affair with home cooking. This is the definitive guide to the nation’s best recipes, written for the people of Great Britain, by the people of Great Britain.

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Vintage Pinboard – Period Drama & Documentaries – Be Inspired in 2013

1930s society glamour.

Here are my recommendations for the best documentaries and period dramas currently on or soon to air on British television.

One other treat, that I am thrilled to tell you about, (credit and thanks for this must go to my husband for its discovery), is the recently digitised Radio Times Archive.  The first edition of The Radio Times was printed on 28th September, 1923, a joint venture between the BBC and publisher George Newnes Ltd. The BBC edited the publication from 1925 until 1937 and it was published in-house until 2011. The digitisation of four thousand five hundred copies of the magazine was completed in 2012. However, access to the full archive is currently restricted to BBC staff but it is hoped that by the end of 2013 the entire archive will be available on-line to the general public. Public access is currently limited to a small collection of, downloadable, pre-war television supplements. For the main website, CLICK HERE.

My favourite supplement is one published at the time of King George VI’s (1895-1952) coronation, which took place on Wednesday 12th May, 1937. To download this issue, CLICK HERE. If you want to listen to an original recording of the King’s coronation speech, then it is available on British Pathé’s website. It might be a good idea to turn-up the sound on your computer before you begin, as it is very faint. The whole speech lasts just over eight minutes.  For the speech, CLICK HERE.

Ripper Street – BBC One

• Victorian Era
• Drama Series 8 x 60 minute episodes. Sundays 9pm

Set in April 1889, six months after the last Jack the Ripper killing, East London. For H Division, the police department charged with keeping order in the seedy back streets of Whitechapel, life goes on. This fictionalised account of the aftermath of the Ripper murders and impact upon the police responsible for solving the crimes, is particularly violent and gory. But nonetheless, a well-acted ensemble piece that contains plenty to hold the interest of Ripper enthusiasts and social historians alike.  Cast includes: Matthew Macfadyen (Detective Inspector Edmund Reid); Jerome Flynn (Detective Sergeant Bennett Drake) and Adam Rothenberg (US Army surgeon and one-time Pinkerton detective, Captain Homer Jackson).

Hat from 1909.

Mr Selfridge – ITV 1

• Edwardian Era
• Drama Series 10 x 60 minute episodes. Sundays 9pm

I have been waiting ages to see Mr Selfridge, ever since ITV teased us with trailers during season three of Downton Abbey last year. It was worth the wait, I know reviews have been mixed but the production values are high and Edwardian London never looked so good. This sumptuous slice of nostalgia helps fill the gap left on Sunday evenings by Downton.

Mr Selfridge is based upon Lindy Woodhead’s book Shopping, Seduction & Mr Selfridge and created by multi-award winning writer Andrew Davies. It tells the story of Harry Gordon Selfridge (1858–1947), the American gentleman who established the iconic British department store, Selfridges, in 1909.  Cast includes Jeremy Piven (Mr Selfridge) and Katherine Kelly (Lady Mae).

Harry Selfridge was born on the 11th January 1858 at Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. Aged twenty-one, he went to work at department store and mail-order firm Field, Leiter & Co (later Marshall, Field & Co). In 1886, he became manager of their retail department. Selfridge left the firm in 1904, after having spent the previous fourteen years as a junior partner there. He used his fortune to buy Chicago firm Schlesinger & Mayer which he proceeded to sell quickly, turning him a profit of £50,000 to go with the return of his £300,000 initial investment.  Selfridge arrived in London in 1906 and lived in fashionable Arlington Street. He set about realising his grand plan to open a large department store in the heart of London and spared no expense in gathering around him the best team possible, employing one thousand two hundred staff at his Oxford Street store and even hiring Goldsman, the chief window-dresser at Marshall, Field & Co.

According to writer and historian, Claire Masset: ‘Perhaps the greatest advertising campaign of the early twentieth century was that of Selfridges, announcing its much-awaited opening in March 1909.  During the entire week of its opening, Harry Gordon Selfridge commissioned thirty-eight advertisements designed by well-known graphic artists, appearing on over a hundred pages of eighteen national newspapers. The campaign, which cost £36,000 (equivalent to £2.35 million today), caused a sensation, with 90,000 people visiting the store on its opening day and over a million in the first week.’ (Masset. C., Department Stores, 2011, p. 26, published by Shire Publications.)

I have had a look through a selection of contemporary newspapers from 1909 and found some simply fascinating examples of Selfridges’ advertising campaign. I hope you enjoy reading them as much I did.

The dedication of a Great House.  A day well spent is passed at Selfridge’s. This house is dedicated to woman’s service first of all.  And for this there are many excellent and satisfying reasons.  To begin with, everything at Selfridge’s is obviously and charmingly NEW – the great building itself and its equipment – the vast stocks of varied merchandise in their entirety – the methods of displaying them to best advantage – and the unaccustomed and luxurious appointments instituted to provide every possible comfort for daily visitors.

  This House is dedicated to woman’s service first of all, and our purpose is to make her shopping more attractive than it has ever been before; so to satisfy her with value, stocks, and prices that she will discover a wider and more pleasurable opening in the word ‘shopping’ than she has hitherto read in it;  and learn regard for Selfridge’s as the best equipped place of merchandise in London for every shopping purpose in which she takes an interest.  There is a home-like lounge for smoking and gentleman are invited to use it as they would their club.

(Daily Express, London, Tuesday March 16th 1909)

Enamelled hat pins, tie-pin and buttons. 1912. On display at the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham.

The new hat pins  – we believe that we have gathered the largest show of hat pin novelties ever seen together on a counter. Some are metal filigree, some in enamel, others set with big coloured stones, and others again representing dragon flies, bees, etc. with semi-transparent born wings. This price for a ‘scarab’ pin is 6d. Filigree pins from 9d, and Louis Seize designs set with imitation amethysts, topazes, etc. are 1/- each.

(Daily Express, London, Wednesday 19th May 1909)

Woven underwear – for the chilly season.  Ladies’ white Scotch all wool combinations, guaranteed unshrinkable, with spliced seats, high neck and short or long sleeve or low neck and short sleeves – all sizes, price 8/3.

Autumn knickers – Ladies’ satin, cloth and serge sports knickers suitable for Autumn and Winter wear. These are particularly well made as regards shape and finish, and have buttons for fastening in detachable linings. Jap silk accordion pleated knickers in black and white (with linings) for dancing and evening wear. Price 35/

(Daily Express, London, 20th September 1909)

From 1916 to 1922, Harry Selfridge leased Highcliffe Castle, Highcliffe, Dorset from the Stuart Wortleys and this became his country residence, away from the hustle and bustle of London life. His wife, Rosalie and mother, Lois, lived at Highcliffe. Highcliffe Castle is a Grade 1 Listed Georgian Mansion, built in the Gothic Revival style between 1831 and 1835, originally for Lord Stuart de Rothesay. During his tenancy, Selfridge added a number of modern flourishes to the Mansion, including fitted bathrooms, steam central heating and a fully equipped modern kitchen.

After the death of his wife, in 1918, and his mother, in 1924, he lost his direction somewhat and embarked upon a number of romances with younger women. Then came the Great Depression and World War Two when retail therapy was the last thing on everyone’s mind. In his twilight years, Selfridge frittered away his money in French casino resorts and eventually died, virtually penniless, at 2 Ross Court, Putney Heath, London on 8th May 1947. He is buried in St. Marks Churchyard at Highcliffe, next to his wife and mother.

Meridian (ITV) have produced a short film (3 mins. 47) ‘Meeting Mr Selfridge’, about the new series and Harry Selfridge’s life here in England. There is also a segment about his time at Highcliffe Castle. CLICK HERE.

1930s Burberry shooting coat. Perfect for those country house parties.

Dancing on the Edge – BBC 2 

• 1930s
• Drama Series 5 x 60 minute episodes – Mondays 9pm (Starts Monday 4th February 2013)

This new drama series by acclaimed writer/director Stephen Poliakoff is set in England in between 1931 and 1933.  Dancing on the Edge follows black jazz musicians, the Louis Lester Band, as they find fame at the parties and performances of London’s upper class society. Cast includes Chiwetel Ejiofor, Matthew Goode, Jacqueline Bisset, Janet Montgomery, Joanna Vanderham, Tom Hughes, Angel Coulby, Wunmi Mosaku, Mel Smith, Anthony Head, Caroline Quentin and Jane Asher.

For further background on this production, see David Gritten’s excellent article, ‘Poliakoff’s Dancing on the Edge: Behind the Scenes’, published on The Telegraph’s website, Monday 21st January 2013. For the article, CLICK HERE. For behind the scenes photographs of the production, CLICK HERE.

One of the locations for this lavish BBC production was  Upton House and Gardens, Nr Banbury, Warwickshire (The National Trust). Before the Second World War, this fifteenth century manor house was owned by Lord and Lady Bearsted. Lord Bearsted (Colonel Walter Horace Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted, MC – 1882-1948) brought Upton in 1927 and until 1929 made many changes to the property and gardens. Notable additions to the interior include a stunning red and silver aluminium leaf art deco bathroom for Lady Bearsted (Dorothy Montefiore Micholls – d.1949) and in the grounds a swimming pool. Lord Bearsted was an astute businessman, he was Director of Lloyds Bank Ltd, Alliance & Assurance Co and also founded the Shell Transport and Trading Company. During the 1930s, the multi-millionaire and his wife hosted lavish house parties at Upton.   The house is full of priceless art treasures and Lord Bearsted was once a Trustee of the National Gallery.

On the weekend of 9th and 10th March, 2013 (Mothering Sunday Weekend),  Upton have a 1930s Beauty Parlour event. There will be demonstrations of 1930s fashion, make-up, hair and beauty techniques. There will also be an opportunity for you to make a gift for your mum. There is no need to pre-book as this event is free, although you will have to pay normal admission charges to Upton.  The house and gardens open again to the public from Saturday 16th February (11-5).  For 2013 opening times. CLICK HERE.

Riding sweater by Hawico, London, 1930s advertisement. ‘Makes an irresistible appeal to all smart riding women. Made in sky, yellow, beige, white and guaranteed to withstand countless washings.’

London store Marshall & Snelgrove’s 1935 advertisement for silk stockings.

Spies of Warsaw- BBC 4

• 1933 to 1943
• Drama Series 2 x 90 minute episodes. Wednesdays 9pm

Directed by Coky Giedroyc, Spies Of Warsaw is a thrilling spy story set in Poland, Paris, London and Berlin between 1933 and 1943. French and German intelligence operatives are locked in a life-and-death struggle on the espionage battlefield. Based on a 2008 novel by American bestseller Alan Furst with the screenplay written by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais. The main protagonist is jaded French agent and former hero of the Great War, Colonel Jean-François Mercier.  Cast includes: David Tennant (Colonel Jean-Francois Mercier); Janet Montgomery (Anna Skarbek); Marcin Dorocinski (Antoni Pakulski) and Ludger Pistor (Edvard Uhl). This is a superb, classy and intelligent thriller. Tennant is brilliant as Colonel Mercier.

Commissioned by Richard Klein, Controller, BBC Four and Ben Stephenson, Controller, BBC Drama Commissioning. Executive produced by Richard Fell for Fresh Pictures and Chris Aird for the BBC, co-produced by Apple Film for TV Poland in association with ARTE FRANCE and BBC Worldwide.

If you would like to read more about the background to this production, Olly Grant has written an excellent, detailed article in Broadcast Now. CLICK HERE.

Call The Midwife (Series 2) – BBC 1

• 1950s – London’s East End
• Drama Series 8 x 60 minute episodes. Sundays 8pm (Starts on 20th January)

Set in London’s East End in the 1950s and based on the memoirs of former midwife Jennifer Worth. For a short history of midwifery in the Britain then please see my popular article, Call The Midwife: An Historical Perspective  (well it did get picked-up and recommended by http://www.studentmidwife.net, which I was thrilled about). I will be writing about the tie-in book for series one and two in a future posting, so keep an eye out for that.

Julian Fellowes’s Historical Houses – ITV 1

• Goodwood House and Burghley House
• Documentary – 2 x 60 minute episodes. Tuesdays 9pm (Starts 22nd January)

Who better to present a documentary about two of England’s greatest stately homes, than Downton Abbey‘s creator Julian Fellowes. The two houses in question are Goodwood House, in West Sussex and Burghley House, Stamford, Lincolnshire. Fans of vintage may already be familiar with the annual Goodwood Revival event, which this year takes place on the 13th, 14th and 15th of  September. Fellowes goes in search of fascinating stories behind these two houses and the characters who helped shape their history. Both houses were selected on the basis that they are still in ownership of the families who built them.

Goodwood House is the seat of the Duke of Richmond and Lennox. Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1672-1723) was the illegitimate son of Charles II (1630-1685) and Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth (1649-1734). The 1st Duke’s love of hunting led him to Goodwood where he purchased a small Jacobean house on the estate in 1697 for use as a hunting lodge. This house is now referred to as the ‘old house’ and is located at the back of the main house. Goodwood House was developed throughout the eighteenth century. The classical Main Hall was built in 1730, a Palladian style South Wing between 1747-1750 and a North Wing added in 1771. The Regency State apartments were added to the South Wing in 1800. The House now resembles three sides of an octagon. Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond (1701-1750) was a keen cricketer and arranged matches at Goodwood in the mid 1720s. The 2nd Duke is credited with setting-up the first formal rules of the game, the original document is now kept in Goodwood’s archives.

Burghley House was created by William Cecil, 1st Lord Burghley (1521-1598), Lord High Treasurer to Elizabeth I (1533-1603). The house is thought to be one of the largest Elizabethan mansions ever built. Building began in the 1550s. One of the most notable owners of Burghley was William Cecil’s great-great-great-grandson, John Cecil, 5th Earl of Exeter (1648-1700) who, together with his wife Lady Anne Cavendish (1645-1703), crammed Burghley full of priceless treasures, paintings, furniture and tapestries.  The 5th Earl embarked upon the fashionable Grand Tour and with his wife travelled extensively overseas during a twenty year period. One particular treasure is the Florentine cabinet, enriched with pietra dura panels, which was given to the 5th Earl by the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The 5th Earl died in 1700 at Issy near Paris, apparently after consuming a surfeit of fruit!

The world’s first solid bar of chocolate was produced by Bristol company, J S Fry & Sons in 1847. It was called Chocolat Délicieux à Manger (delicious to eat). The bar was bitter, heavy and a challenge for even the strongest of teeth and jaws. After a slow start, popularity gradually followed. The Victorians often took this portable confectionary with them on long railway journeys whereby it served as a handy snack. The three brothers who were running the company when the bar was invented were: Francis Fry (1803-1886); Richard Fry (1807-1878) and Joseph Fry (1795-1879). By 1910, Fry’s employed 6,000 staff.  Invention No. 5 in the BBC’s booklet 50 Great British Inventions. The exhibit shown are examples of Fry’s chocolate labels, on display at MShed Museum, Bristol.

The Genius of Invention – BBC 2

• History of Inventions and Technology
• Documentary 4 x 60 minute episodes. Thursdays – 9pm. (Starts 24th January)

This four-part series will explore the background behind some of the inventions found in everyday life. Michael Mosley, Prof. Mark Miodownik and Dr Cassie Newland explore the very nature of invention and how and why things are invented. Some of the inventions discussed in the series will include the steam engine, jet propulsion, electrical generator, telephony and television. There is a fascinating and well put together booklet to accompany the series, 50 Great British Inventions. It is free to download and packed full of useful background information and images. CLICK HERE.

1935 advertisement for Schweppe’s drinks. The advert reads: ‘For lively people, let there be lively drinks to match - drinks with sparkling, bubbling freshness to revive tired palates.  Schweppes Soda mixes with anything: it improves everything…that’s why it’s so famous.’ Soda water was invented, in 1772, by Joseph Priestley FRS (1733-1804) a clergyman and scientist. He published instructions on how to make carbonated water, using sulphuric acid and chalk. In 1774, the Swiss fizzy drinks pioneer, Johann Jacob Schweppe (1740-1821) set-up his Schweppes drinks company in London so that he could manufacture carbonated mineral water using Priestley’s method. The brand is still going strong today. No. 14 in the BBC’s booklet 50 Great British Inventions.

This series is part of the BBC’s year-long schedule of programmes focussing on all aspects of British inventiveness.  To browse the full catalogue of programmes due for transmission this year, CLICK HERE. Some of my personal favourites are documentaries on the Romantic landscape painter J.M.W. Turner RA (1775-1851);  Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727); Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) – see my article on The Wedgwood Museum for further information on the Wedgwood dynasty; Why the Industrial Revolution Happened here; Locomotion: Dan Snow’s History of Railways and Stephen Fry’s Planet Invention exploring the background to the ‘stuff’ that fills our homes from putting knives, jeans, bras, flip-flops and fridges to handbags, fast cars and Swiss watches.

Do also check-out the many Genius of Invention related activities that are taking place at museums and heritage sites throughout the UK. CLICK HERE.

The modern hypodermic syringe was invented, in 1853, by Scottish physician Alexander Wood (1817-1884). He was not the only gentleman important to the development of this type of syringe. Francis Rynd (1811-1861) invented hollow needles and Charles Gabriel Pravaz (1791-1853) invented a metal-bodied syringe with a fine hollow point needle for treating aneurysms. No. 15 in the BBC’s booklet, 50 Great British Inventions. Objects shown are from a display at The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret, London.

Petworth House, West Sussex (the National Trust) currently have an important exhibition of Turner’s paintings on view, many for the first time. Turner’s Sussex  includes forty exhibits, plus a rare opportunity to view the Old Library, used by Turner as his studio when he visited Petworth, which he frequently did in the 1820s and 30s.  One of Turner’s patrons was the 3rd Earl of Egremont (George O’Brien Wyndham, 1751-1837) for which Petworth was his country seat. The exhibition continues at Petworth until 13th March 2013.  Booking is essential for Turner’s Sussex. Gates open: 10am; Last admission time: 2.15pm; Timed tickets every 45 minutes; Adult £10, child £5; Two-course lunch and high tea available to pre-book on 01798 342207.  To book tickets, call 0844 249 1895 or book online.

 Carved With Love: The Genius of British Woodwork – BBC4

• History of British Woodwork
• Documentary 3 x 60 minute episodes. Thursdays 9pm

As part of the year-long partnership between the BBC and V&A, this three-part documentary explores some of the most important individuals responsible for shaping the history of British woodwork. Episode one explores the extraordinary life and work of fashionable furniture-maker, Thomas Chippendale (1718-1779). Episode two looks at the output of wood-carver Grinling Gibbons (1648-1721) and Episode three provides a close study of carpentry during the Middle Ages, including a detailed look at the roof of Westminster Hall and the seven hundred year old Coronation Chairs.

1930s cocktail party.

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Dazzle – Art Deco Fashion From The Roaring Twenties – Gosport Gallery

Dazzle Exhibition (until Saturday 29th December). Gosport Gallery, Gosport, Hampshire.

Modernistic effects in furniture and architecture are being used with a vengeance by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Joan Crawford’s new picture.  Weird beds, almost on the floor, have little woodwork frame save foot-high boards which conceal the springs and do away without the conventional legs of a bed.  These are set against a wall whose only ornamenting is the shape of the doors.  Black statues set against gold papered panels from the ornamental note. The whole thing is being photographed under the huge new incandescent lights.

(Extract from a 1928 Studio Press Release for MGM’s Our Dancing Daughters)

Our Dancing Daughters was the first in a trilogy of films designed under the auspices of Head of Art Direction at MGM, Cedric Gibbons (1893-1960).  The other films in the trilogy being Our Blushing Brides (1928) and Our Modern Maidens (1929). His high style, Art Deco inspired, set designs were befitting to the telling of modern-day stories that celebrated the decadence and rise of flapperism in The Roaring Twenties.

In 1925, Gibbons along with one hundred other U.S. delegates, visited the Paris Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, and it was here that Art Deco received one of its first major, official, public appearances. Art Deco made an impact upon the U.S. delegates, many of whom went on to introduce this style to American consumers and cinema audiences alike. During the Twenties, Art Deco was extremely popular in Europe and America, although only the rich and middle-classes could afford to consume the style in its undiluted form.  However, it is important to point-out here that ‘Art Deco’ was only defined as a design style in 1968, when Historian Bevis Hillier wrote his seminal work, Art Deco of the 20s and 30s. In the Twenties, Art Deco styling appeared everywhere, from building exteriors to fashion.

Dazzle Exhibition, Gosport Gallery, Hampshire.

Dazzle Exhibition, Gosport Gallery, Hampshire.

This was the decade when socialites, aristocrats and Bohemians hosted extravagant parties and wore stunning beaded ensembles that shimmered in the electric lights whilst they Charlestoned their way through the night to fast-paced, jazz music. If you want to experience this exciting ‘Jazz Age’ then take a moment to pause here and watch a short British Pathé film (2 minutes 40 seconds). The film is from 1929 and features the Covent Garden Band playing jazz tune, ‘Who Wouldn’t Be Jealous Of You’. A flapper boy and girl also dance the Charleston. CLICK HERE.

I have a passion for Twenties fashion and was delighted to accept an invitation to visit Gosport Gallery in Hampshire to view the exhibition Dazzle.  What an absolute treat Dazzle is and cleverly curated in the space by Gill Arnott, Keeper of the Arts for Hampshire Museums and Arts Service. Upon entry to the Gallery you are greeted with a central display of spectacular Art Deco beaded dresses and are instantly transported back in time by vibrant jazz music.  The exhibition, although a gem in its own right, is also a superb source of inspiration, for the fashion forward among you, for what will be the hottest trend in 2013, the Twenties. There are eighteen garments from Hampshire County Council’s Museums Service collection on display and it is a unique opportunity to see these amazing but fragile pieces displayed together for the first time.  The exhibition ends on Saturday 29th December. Free admission.

Light green chiffon dress, tabard style, with wide shallow scooped neckline. Decorated asymmetrically with a bold design of silver bugle beads. C.1925-27.Weight 406g.Dazzle Exhibition. BWM1963.161. Hampshire County Council Arts and Museums Service (HCC Arts & Museums).

Salmon pink and silver dress decorated in pink faceted rocailles, pale pink bugle beads and silver lozenge-shaped beads. The beaded fringe would have created movement when dancing. The dress is constructed in three layers, with the bottom layer forming the lining. C.1925-27. Weight 914g. Dazzle Exhibition. C.1996.116. HCC Arts & Museums.

Alongside this incredible selection of dresses are shoes, fans, hats, shawls and other exquisite accessories from the same collection.

Black crepe de chine shoes edged and trimmed in gold kid. Complex cross-over T-straps trimmed with green and red dyed lizard skin roundels ending in imitation tassels.  Red cut paste buttons. Very high Louis heel. C.1923-1925. Dazzle Exhibition. The secure T-strap meant this type of shoe was perfect for dancing the frenetic Charleston without fear that one’s shoes might come off and be flung across the dance floor. HCC Arts & Museums.

Art Deco style, beaded evening bag. C.1920-1930. Dazzle Exhibition. The fashion for wearing make-up meant that the bright young things needed somewhere to store their powder compacts and lipsticks. The beaded bag was the perfect solution.  HCC Arts & Museums.

The Twenties female silhouette is easily recognisable.  Dresses have loose-fitting, drop waists with knee-length skirts and often incorporate pleating, rosettes and brooches on a single shoulder.

Evening beaded dress in black silk with white and silver beads in peacock feathers style design. Dazzle Exhibition. C.2003.2.1. HCC Arts & Museums.

Evening dress in pale pink chiffon decorated with glass beads and silver thread. Rivis Collection. Purchased with the support of the V&A Purchase Grant Fund. Dazzle Exhibition. C.1976.31.417. HCC Arts & Museums.

Black, open weave dress decorated with silver and gold bugle beads and sequins. There is a striking narrow V to the neckline, with collar band reminiscent of Egyptian design. The beads are sewn on machine stitch using a tambour. Rivis Collection. C.1926-28. Weight 904g. Dazzle Exhibition. C.1976.31.418. HCC Arts & Museums.

This style of dress was perfect for dancing the night away and allowed for freedom of movement. Design influences were drawn from a wide range of countries and their cultures including the Far and Middle East, the Americas and most notably Egypt.  In 1922, the discovery by Howard Carter (1874-1939) of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings sparked an interest, particularly among fashion designers, for Egyptian motifs.

White satin shoe with oval diamante trim. High curved and waisted Louis heel covered in white plastic, painted with a design on an Egyptian theme in red, green and gold and inset with multi-coloured diamante. Printed label Debenham and Freebody. Wigmore St. C.1935. Dazzle Exhibition.C.1988.124. HCC Arts & Museums.

During the 1920s, Coco Chanel’s (1883-1971) iconic “little black dress” (LBD) also emerged, made from thin silk and crèpe de chine. Chanel was: ‘..known for her simple daytime garments, often made from materials such as wool jersey.  In 1926, she brought the little black dress to the fashion world and created the essential fashion garment of every woman’s wardrobe.’ (2010, p. 2, Dazzle Exhibition, Hampshire Museums Service). At this time, Chanel also started a fashion for wearing long strings of pearls.

In 1922, beige seamed stockings became available. The fashion was for legs to appear as naked as possible, a daring change from the modesty of Edwardian ankle-length gowns. Gradually, other stocking shades appeared such as grey and flesh tones. Artificial silk (Celanese acetate) was also invented during the Twenties.  The word “Celanese” was first introduced as a trade name in 1925, a combination of the words “cellulose” and “ease”.

Surviving examples of dresses from this period are very rare, which is one of the reasons why this exhibition is so special. The dresses on display at Gosport Gallery would have more than likely been made by hand and cost a great deal of money at the time to purchase. Curator, Gill Arnott, tells me: ‘The average cost of one of these dresses was between £3.10 shillings and £6. 10 shillings. That was approximately one tenth of a working girl’s annual salary.’

Some of the luxury fabrics used are of a very delicate nature, such as silk chiffon, silk georgette, silk satin, ninon and voile.  The evening dresses are heavily beaded which means that each garment can weigh anything from 450g to several kilos. The average weight of a satin party dress nowadays is 250g. ‘The best beaders were in Paris and La Maison Lallement were considered one of the finest establishments. Some of the heavily beaded dresses could have taken a single person up to three weeks to bead.’ (2010, p. 5, Dazzle Exhibition, Hampshire Museums Service).

Close-up detail of the exquisite beadwork. Dazzle Exhibition. HCC Arts & Museums.

‘The weight of the dresses helped them to fall into the straight tubular fashion but also caused them to tear and rip, which explains why so few have survived in good condition.  The sequins, or paillettes could also cause problems as they were generally made out of wax which clumped together or melted when the wearer got too hot or when a partner rested their clammy hands on the dresses!’ (Ibid. p.8).

I asked Gill to tell me about some of the challenges faced by her team in displaying and conserving these precious dresses: ‘All the mannequins in the exhibition were bespoke, made in-house, to fit each dress exactly. Every mannequin has an accession number marked inside so that we can match them up again in the future should we re-exhibit.  The dresses are different weights and shapes so it is important that they are supported on a tailor-made structure to avoid any deterioration whilst out on display.  It took a team of three to get each dress onto a mannequin and we have to wear gloves to handle all the items in the collection. Firstly, a sheet was placed on the floor to catch any falling beads or sequins. Then, one person held the mannequin while the other two fitted the garment on it. The first person then eased down the hem. We had to work together as a team and I am very proud to say that with Dazzle, so far we have only lost one bead!’

I asked Gill if there were any plans to re-exhibit Dazzle in 2013? ‘Yes. We are hoping to re-exhibit a version of the collection at the Willis Museum in Basingstoke  during the summer next year. Displaying the dresses at that time of year will present my team with additional conservation challenges.  The gelatine-based sequins do not respond well to warm temperatures, heat from our gloved hands could melt them. We will have to wear extra gloves and try not to over-handle the dresses.’

Women in the Twenties began to wear heavy make-up and many followed the fashion of the day by having their hair cut into short bobs (1924). Another popular hairstyle, appearing for the first time in 1923, was an even shorter cut, the shingle. ‘Developed in France by a Parisian hairdresser, it was a method of cutting the hair by means of tapering which, in the hands of a skilled operator, could be adapted to suit any shape of head.  The early form of shingle was short and exposed the hair-line at the back of the neck. By 1925 it was fairly common, the hair being cut to follow the shape of the head with perhaps a slight fringe and soft waves at the sides…Bandeaux of every description were fashionable, especially for evening wear, including narrow ones of diamanté or broad ones of beadwork, silver lace or silver thread embroidery.  Some, known as shingle bands, were artfully designed to cover the shorn back of the head.’ (De Courtais D., 1988, p.150, Women’s Headdress and Hairstyles: In England From AD 600 to the Present Day). In 1926, the boyish cut known as the Eton crop was another popular hairstyle.

Shawl, feathers and cap of bronze mesh with gold sequins. C.1928. Dazzle Exhibition. HCC Arts & Museums.

Once the hair had been cut into a preferred style, permanent waving, such as that offered by Messrs. Marcel’s Ltd, was also a popular and practical fashionable flourish.  I found an advertisement from 1923, by Marcel’s Ltd, for permanent waving in which the benefits of this new hairdressing technique were promoted:

..this modern method of waving and curling the hair so that it “lasts in” for six to eight months is most bountifully time-saving.  Bobbed hair or long hair, scanty hair or thick – it is all the same to the clever assistants at this famous house for permanent waving, 353 Oxford Street, W1 and the charge is always the same, five shillings each per curler or waver….Tropical heat, hot shampoos, or sea bathing have no effect on permanent waves.

Young lady with “Marcel Waves in her hair”, from the firm’s 1923 advertisement.

Interest in Twenties fashion and lifestyle is growing apace and I predict this trend will continue throughout 2013.  I asked Gill Arnott (Curator of Dazzle) for her thoughts on this: ‘I definitely have seen more beaded garments on the High Street in 2012. Miss Selfridge produced a range of beaded dresses earlier in the year. I also think that younger people are asking more questions of their older relatives about fashions worn by them in their day. The family photo album is now inspiring conversations between younger and older generations about fashion trends from bygone eras.’

There are also several high-profile productions, set in the Twenties, due for release in 2013. One being series three of Downton Abbey premiering on Masterpiece Classic in the US on January 6th. and the long-awaited release of Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby, on May 10th.  Gill and I are not alone in our observations for a Twenties revival, according to a recent MailOnline article: ‘..it appears that we are so fixated with the upstairs/downstairs lives of the 1920s characters that we are even starting to copy their wardrobes.  Sales of retro styles, including flapper dresses and demure ruffled blouses, are on the rise…. Figures from Littlewoods show that since the third series [Downton Abbey] started sales of flapper style dresses have increased by 40%, traditional ruffle blouses shot-up by 109% and even men are buying in to the trend with tweed and cord blazer sales rising a massive 146%.’ (Daily Mail – MailOnline ‘Return of Downton Abbey Sends Sales of 1920s Fashion Soaring’ – 3rd October 2012)

Fashion journalists also predict that sales of Twenties inspired velvet jackets will continue to be a menswear trend in 2013: ‘With the eagerly awaited movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby set for release in 2013, styles of the 1920s have become one of the biggest trends in womenswear this year.  But thanks to the velvet jacketed stars of The Great Gatsby, the Twenties are taking menswear by storm as well….A huge catwalk trend, the trend has hit the high street too, with M&S reporting a 42% increase in sales compared to this time last year.’ (Ruth Styles, Daily Mail – MailOnline ’Great Gatsby Chic The Velvet Jacket is this Season’s Biggest Partywear Trend for Men as Great Gatsby Chic Sweeps the Nation’ – 13th December 2012)

I thoroughly recommend the Dazzle exhibition at Gosport Gallery, a visit will put you in the mood for the forthcoming Christmas party season as well as give you ideas for the hottest fashion trend around.  The exhibition continues until Saturday 29th December 2012 and admission is free. The Gosport Gallery is located just across from the Discovery Centre, Walpole Road, Gosport, Hampshire, PO12 1NS and is open Monday to Saturday 10am – 4pm (closed Sunday and 24th, 25th and 26th December).  For more information visit http://www3.hants.gov.uk/gosport-gallery.htm or call 0845 603 5631.

Further Resources

• The Victoria and Albert Museum, London have a brilliant section on their website with many articles and information about Art Deco. CLICK HERE;
• Fashion bible Vogue have a Great Gatsby fashion on-line gallery. CLICK HERE.;
• Glamour Magazine have compiled a selection of 1920s inspired vintage dresses that are currently available. CLICK HERE;
• For a brilliant article on fashion and lifestyle in 1920s Berlin, have a look at the recently published: Bohème Sauvage: back to Berlin 1920s style by Carolyn Hair at Culture Darling. There are some great images to inspire you as well. CLICK HERE.
• Finally, there are some gorgeous 1920s style dresses on www.rockmyvintage.co.uk . They have gathered a collection of vintage 1920s dresses and Twenties style dresses ‘…to tempt you into a classic Charleston look with a modern twist’.  CLICK HERE.

Shapewear advertisement from 1923. Girdles for young ladies were lightly boned with elasticated panels. If you were well-endowed, bandeaus or cupless brassieres were worn to flatten the breasts, this also allowed the dress to hang smoothly from the shoulders. This was the decade when dieting become fashionable and counting calories normal among the bright young things.

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1950s Britain – Part Three

FIFTIES FASHION

Christian Dior’s salon launch of his revolutionary New Look took place on 12^th February 1947. This date marked a watershed in the history of post-war fashion in Britain and the rest of Europe. The New Look style inspired a whole generation of fashion designers and helped kick-start a boom in couture and ready-to-wear clothing for women during the following decade. Women’s clothes became more light-hearted and feminine, shaking-off the austere aesthetic of utility clothing. Clothes rationing ended in March 1949.

Me wearing the 1948 New Look at the first Goodwood Revival meeting in 1998.

In September 1998, I was very lucky to be at the first Goodwood Revival event dressed in a Dior New Look outfit. The jacket was original but the skirt a later copy. The Goodwood Revival is still as popular today as it was fourteen years ago. This year’s event takes place at The Goodwood Estate, Chichester, West Sussex between 14^th and 16^th September inclusive. CLICK HERE. The perfect opportunity to wear your newly created fifties inspired vintage look.

At the beginning of the 1950’s, shoulders were more rounded and waists defined. Long narrow skirts or full circular skirts were worn, about 30cm off the ground. The full skirts made a statement; they celebrated the end of post-war clothing restrictions. Criticism was levied at designers for the excessive amount of fabric needed to realise their creations. The full skirts held their shape thanks to the many layers of frilled petticoats of stiffened nylon. Sometimes these petticoats contained upwards of twelve metres of nylon net. Previously, women had had to make do with just over a couple of metres of utility tweed.

The playsuit was a popular item of leisure wear and would traditionally be teamed with a wedgy pair of espadrilles. The playsuit has made a recent comeback. This time around it is often worn with a thick pair of tights and statement-making footwear. There were a number of European key designers and design houses producing high-end fashion in fifties. I list here the more well-known but this is by no means an exhaustive roll of honour: Balmain (fashion house); Balenciaga; Coco Chanel; Hardy Amies; Hubert de Givenchy; Norman Hartnell and Victor Stiebel. The last three of these designers were British. In 1958 The Fashion House Group of London was formed. This group of British designers created collections to be sold in high street stores. The designers were: Susan Small (mostly evening and party dresses); Horrockses; Peggy Allen; Jaeger; Dannimac; Polly Peck and Aquascutum.

French fashion magazine from my own collection, 1957.

In order to achieve the fashionable tiny waist of the fifties, a short corset of five or six inches deep, called a “waspie” would be worn. The waspie was often worn over the panti-girdle. A foundation garment controlled by stretch rather than boning.

1950s evening dress. Portsmouth City Museum.

Strapless, glamorous, evening dresses required another type of undergarment, the basque which had incorporated bra cups. Bras in the 1950’s were under wired and had spiral stitching, creating the conical-shaped bosoms synonymous with the film-inspired “Sweater Girl” look. Padded bras or inflatable inserts were a suitable alternative if nature had not blessed you in that department. In 1952, seamless stockings were introduced into Britain.

Ready-to-wear ranges emerged in the 1950’s that made good use of the new, man-made materials such as Nylon, Crimplene and Orlon. These materials meant that garments were easy-care and required little or no ironing. Crimplene revolutionised the colour palette of fifties fashion due to its colour fast properties. Ready-to-sew kits were also popular and made sewing accessible to a wider number of women.

Original shop sign for Liz Tilley Millinery, Lymington. St. Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, Lymington, Hampshire.

An original Liz Tilley hat made from black pedal straw and trimmed with a white Cire Camelia. St. Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, Lymington, Hampshire.

Liz Tilley hat box 1950s. St. Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, Lymington, Hampshire.

St. Barbe Museum’s recent exhibition ‘1950’s – Having it so Good’ included a display featuring the work and career of society milliner, Liz Tilley.  Liz opened her haute couture millinery store on No. 1 High Street, Lymington in 1959.  She had trained with Aage Thaarup, the Mayfair based Danish designer. Thaarup is known for the hats he created for Princess Margaret and Queen Elizabeth.  Thaarup recognised Liz’s natural talent for millinery design and encourage her to move to Paris.  The aim of the move was to expose her to the houses of Dior, Chanel and Jacques Faith.  Liz lived with her sister in a tiny Parisian bedsitter in the Latin Quarter.  She borrowed a friend’s salon in Paris to display her designs but the hats themselves were created from the confines of her tiny bedsit. Liz’s shop in High Street, Lymington closed in the 1990s.  In the course of my research I did manage to find a couple of British Pathé films of Thaarup at work in his Mayfair salon:

1. Easter  Bonnets (1954);
2. Albert Hall Hat (1957).

Men in the fifties often wore dark, two or three-piece suits to the office and a tweed sports jacket and flannel trousers at weekends. Neatly laced brogues of either brown leather or suede (‘brothel creepers’) were often worn. English gentleman’s athletic clothing was also popular. Teaming an old college blazer with a cravat. The classic English city gent would wear a black bowler hat, three-piece suit or black jacket and waistcoat with pin-striped trousers worn with a white or finely striped shirt with semi-stiff detachable collar. To complete the ensemble, a pair of black Oxford shoes, coat in Crombie woolwith a black velvet collar and a rolled umbrella.

1950s wedding dress belonging to Barbara Clapham. On display at the recent 1950s exhibition at St. Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, Lymington, Hampshire.

St. Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, Lymington, Hampshire.

My mother as a bridesmaid at my Great Aunt’s wedding in February 1955.

I asked my mother and mother-in-law about fashion memories that they had of their teenage years in the fifties. My mother recalls:

fashions were very feminine, tightly fitted bodices, full skirts and lots of net petticoats. To starch my petticoats I would dip them in sugar-water and leave to dry. However, if it rained it was awful as you ended-up with sticky legs. I remember my petticoats had a channel in them and I had to pass a corset guide or flat stiffener – which you brought by the foot – through it to make the petticoats stand out. I had to be careful on the bus so that when I sat down the skirts wouldn’t flip-up and show my underwear. That was a big no, no. Girls in those days were trimmer than they are today. The waists were tiny and nipped in. I had an elasticated waspie. I also wore wide, about two inches wide, elasticated belts which had either a metal clip or a pretty buckle. On my feet I had flat ballet pumps and wore my hair either in a pony tail or had it curly. I didn’t wear that much make-up as I was very young. I do remember that a lot of girls wore quite thick eyeliner, Cleopatra style. You had to practice a lot to get your eyeliner straight but most girls became quite expert at doing their own make-up. I did have a block of mascara that I had to spit on to moisten and then would apply using a mascara wand. I wore light coloured lipsticks and always made sure my eyebrows were tidy. I also liked wearing a few bracelets, so too did my friends. Padded bras with circular stitching were popular. There were no tights. Instead you had stockings and suspender belts. The rubber bits on my suspender belts often perished and I would use a six pence penny piece to keep them up. It was quite breezy in the underwear department. There were no skimpy pants, thongs or g strings. I do remember some girls had seamless stockings but my nylons had seams up the back. I wore a lot of waist length cardigans with buttons up the front. Women of my mother’s generation always wore a hat but the young women did not wear hats as much. Gloves were also always worn.

I enjoyed making my own clothes. One of the first dresses that I made was in 1957 when I was thirteen. It was in a cotton fabric, which was sky blue with white spots and white bias binding trim. I sent for the fabric pieces from Honey magazine, which was a popular teenage magazine. It cost me about £4 and I was so proud of it. There was a choice of blue or pink and I preferred blue because I was fair-haired. It wasn’t a full skirt but a shift dress. It had a fabric tie in the middle. There was no paper pattern. All the pieces of fabric came ready cut and you just had to sew them together. My mum had a Singer sewing machine which she had waited three years for after the war and it was always in use at home. During the war they were not manufacturing sewing machines as the metal was needed for armaments. My mum was a very good needlewoman and came from the ‘make do and mend’ generation. She always brought her bras from Marks and Spencers in the 1950’s and 60s. She had a French figure. Big bust, nipped in waist and ample hips.

My mother-in-law grew-up in rural Northern Ireland in the fifties and her fashion choices reflected her musical interests at that time.  She recalls:

I loved rock n’ roll and jive dancing. I was a big fan of Elvis Presley too. I used to wear skirts that were plain but not fully flared. The skirts had a wide waistband or were gathered in at the waist. They were called Dirndl skirts I think and were mid-calf length. I think they were based on traditional maid’s style costumes worn in Germany. They did still have a lot of material in them though. My underskirts were bright colours. Layers of pink, yellow and white netting. I remember that I also had a black feather hat. The feathers were bunched on one side of my head and secured to the head. The feathers would then lay flat across the top of the head reaching to the other side. The hat did not last long. We came back from Mass one Sunday to discover that the family dog had shredded it to pieces. It looked like a blackbird had been massacred in our kitchen. I used to wear my ‘V’ necked jumpers back to front as well, with the ‘V’ at the back. We didn’t refer to suits as suits, they were costumes. I never wore red lipstick. I wore pan stick foundation, a little powder with a pink or peach coloured lipstick.

McCalls 1952 pattern no. 9028 from my collection.

Last year I purchased McCall’s blouse pattern no. 9028 at a vintage fair. It is from 1952 and I thought that it would be a good project to have a go at making one of blouses. I consider myself to be a fairly competent needlewoman but I am afraid I could not make head nor tail of the pattern instructions. I admitted defeat and passed the pattern to my mother who cheerfully took-up the challenge. I come from a long line of excellent dressmakers but know my limits. My mother has made a wide variety of clothes over the years: theatrical costumes; copious clothes for me; curtains; cushions and is also a dab hand at upholstery too. Definitely the right woman for the job.

When my mother was first married, my father worked in Southern Ireland at Raidió Teilifis Eireann in the latter part of the 1960s. Married women were not allowed to work for money in Southern Ireland at that time. However, my mum did not want to get stuck at home so managed to secure voluntary work at Ardmore Film Studios in the Wardrobe Department. She helped out with ironing, pressing and doing minor sewing alterations on a number of film productions including Sinful Davey (1969), directed by John Huston and starring John Hurt and Pamela Franklin.

View D, McCalls pattern no. 9028.

Anyway, those are my mother’s credentials and here is her advice on working with vintage patterns. She made view D from McCall’s 1952 pattern no. 9028:

First of all the pattern markings are a lot clearer to work with than modern patterns. However, the instructions are not easy to follow. There is a lot of reading and assembling to do before you begin and you really do need some prior needlework experience before working with a vintage pattern. I found it difficult to attach the collar and the tie was not as easy as it looks to make. A complete beginner would struggle with the pattern. In the fifties, sewing machines did not have automatic buttonhole options. But if you are using a modern sewing machine then this part of the construction would definitely be easier now. Interfacing is also important. Interfacing in the fifties was not sticky; it was a separate item, a separate piece of fabric. Make sure you choose the correct weight of interfacing for the fabric you are using. Ask in the fabric shop when you are buying supplies. The seam allowances are surprisingly generous. Although be aware that sizing is different today. A size 12 pattern, as this was, is about a size 8-10 today. Although, the generous seam allowances do help when adjusting a vintage pattern to fit a modern body shape. The bottom of the shirt appears to offer a generous fitting but remember that this was so that you could wear it over your full skirt.  Also check that the pattern you are buying is complete, luckily this one was but you may find some bits are missing. I used a modern sewing machine and just made sure I had the right needle for the fabric I was using but other than that I did not have to make any other adjustments on my machine.

Close-up view of neck detail on finished blouse.

The lovely blouse that my mother made went to a good home. Unfortunately, I have inherited my grandmother’s ‘French figure’, so the garment was no good for my body shape. However, my dear friend and retro goddess Carolyn Hair now has it in her large collection of vintage fashions.

Front view of finished blouse.

Back view of finished blouse.

1950s fashion is enjoying a huge revival at the moment. Original garments can be sourced from one of the many vintage fairs popping-up all over the country or for the more resourceful among you, why not try one making your own 50s clothing. Pattern companies such as Butterick, Simplicity and Vogue all have 50s inspired patterns or re-issues of originals from their own archives.

Butterick pattern from their ‘Retro’ range. Pattern No. B556, 1957. From my own collection of retro patterns.

If recreating your vintage look from an original pattern or wearing second-hand clothes is not your thing, then don’t panic.  If you want to dress to impress the vintage way, then high street fashion stores are currently full of garments that have a retro feel to them.  I recently visited Westfield shopping centre in White City, London to see the pop-up fashion display ‘Future Fashion’ (27^th March-1^stApril).  In all of the fashion trends on display I could identify trends from the 1930s right through to the 1980s.

Alongside each of the themed displays there were five digital 103” LCD touch-screens housed in Styling Cubes. The idea being that you chose the fashion items that had caught your eye, then you dragged and drop them into a personalised mood board to create your perfect wardrobe of outfits.  Once you had chosen your favourite items you simply entered your e-mail address and the images were sent directly to you.  There were also options to link to your Facebook page or share your finds on Twitter. Here are a couple of my favourite items from this event. A sixties-inspired dress and a fifties-inspired swimming costume.

Dandelion lace prom dress by Monsoon. £75.

River Island peach flower one piece swimsuit.

For information on 1940s and 1950s hair and make-up, please my article from September 2011.

Image from 1957 magazine showing eye-liner detail.

1950s HMV hairdryer. St. Barbe Museum and Art Gallery, Lymington, Hampshire.

RESOURCES

I have listed below a few books and resources that should help to inspire your top-to-toe 1950’s look:

• Victoria and Albert Museum, London – ‘Ballgowns – British Glamour Since 1950’ (19^th May- 6^th January 2013);
• Victoria and Albert Museum, London – ‘Design 1948-2012: Innovation in the Modern Age’ (31^st March – 12^th August 2012);
• Royal Mail Mint Stamps – Great British Fashion: 1945 to 2010. I rushed out and purchased my pack at the local Post Office on the first day of issue. I brought the presentation pack priced £6.50. The presentation pack contains a stylish and well-written booklet, written by Professor Amy de la Haye, Rootstein Hopkins Chair, London College of Fashion. The booklet charts the history of British fashion from 1945 to the present day.
• Ketteler, J., (2010) Sew Retro: A Stylish History of The Sewing Revolution published by Voyageur Press;
• Brennan, E., (2005) Making Vintage Bags: 20 Original Patterns for Vintage Bags and Purses published by Guild of Master Craftsman;
• Ours Drager, B., (2009) Hat Tactics: Instructions for Creating Early 1950’s Hats published by Bramcast Publications (although this book is a reprint of one produced in 1950);
• Westmore Beauty Book – A Complete 1950’s Guide to Vintage Make-up, Hairstyling and Beauty Techniques (2009) published by Bramcast Publications. This is a fantastic book and was originally published in 1956;
• What Katie Did, 26 Portobello Green Arcade, 281 Portobello Road, London – for all your vintage shapewear needs. If you are unable to visit their shop, they do have an on-line shopping facility for overseas customers. For the more daring and patriotic among you there is even a Diamond Jubilee inspired corset – the Union Flag Corset;
• Here are a few fun and fascinating British Pathé fifties fashion clips:

1. Kitchen Hats (1959);
2. Italian Knitwear (1958);
3. Spectacles (1955);
4. She Walks in Beauty (1950);
5. She Walks in Beauty (1951);

My family on the beach in Hythe, Kent. Inky the poodle can be seen in the bottom left-hand corner. 1956.

Poodles became the must-have fashion accessory of the 1950s. Friends of my aunt and mother had a poodle called ‘Inky’ who can be seen in the above photograph, on the left. I hasten to add here that Inky was not dressed in any of the fashion outfits worn by high society poodles of that time, neither was he dyed lurid pink, he was just a much-loved family pet.

The craze for poodles had an impact on mainstream fashion too. The ‘poodle skirt’, with its bright colours and breed motif appliquéd on the front, is one of the most memorable fashion trends from this decade. Even TV star Lucille Ball got herself a ‘poodle hair cut’ and who can forget Doris Day with her bevy of rainbow-coloured poodles in a fashion shoot from 1950. The poodle often featured in French fashion and beauty advertisements.  Here are a few examples of the fifties passion for poodles that may amuse you:

1. Paris Hotel Boutique Journal Blog – Glamour Dogs;
2. Poodle Fashion Show (1956);
3. Dog Fashions Beware (1959).

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Two recommendations for fans of all things Vintage

1950s room exhibit, Museum of 51 Exhibition, South Bank

If you are a fan of all things Vintage, I have two recommendations for you:

• Vintage Life Magazine- This monthly magazine (£3.70) is perfect if you are a fan of 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s nostalgia.  Regular features on beauty, fashion, lifestyle, music and food.  Good news is that the publication is easier to source than before, since WHSmith now stock it.  I love this magazine and the classifieds section at the back is great for sourcing Vintage goods.

1950s Scarf, exhibit in the Museum of 51 exhibition, South Bank

 

• Blitz Vintage Department Store - Opened earlier this month in London.  A huge five-room Victorian warehouse has been turned into a department store to cater for all of your vintage fashion and lifestyle needs.  Situated just off Brick Lane, 55-59 Hanbury St, London, E1 5JP. Tel: 0207 377 0730. E-mail: bricklane@blitzlondon.co.uk.

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Vintage Festival South Bank 29th-31st July

This weekend, as part of the ongoing celebrations on the South Bank London, a Vintage Festival is taking place.  The event promises music, film, fashion, art and design from the 1920s to 1980s.  Highlights include:

• The Vintage Marketplace
• Pop-up catwalk shows and ‘Best in Show’ parades
• Daily decade-specific revue shows in the Royal Festival Hall auditorium
• 10 night clubs including Vintage favourites the Torch Club, Let it Rock and Soul Casino, plus new clubs The Studio and The Penthouse
• Themed restaurants and bars

Jo Wood and Pearl and Daisy Lowe will be storming the runway in exclusive catwalk shows.  If you want to enter into the spirit of the occasion, then why not treat yourself to one of the decade specific make-overs.  The only question is, which decade will you choose?  I’m a Victory roll and Make Do and Mend kind of girl, I’ll make mine the 1940s I think.  

Souvenir powder compact from the 1951 Festival of Britain

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