Fantasy Bidding

Kerry Taylor Auctions is having another sale on March 16th. This sale has a selection of "celebrity" items donated with all proceeds going to benefit Age Concern & Help The Aged, both very deserved charities in my book, but I'm not really bothered about Kate's hand me downs, it's the rest of the sale which really interests me. This sale as always has a stunning selection from antique through to modern garments. Not too much 60's & 70's boutique era this time, although there is a ton of Bill Gibb items. The real stars are the lots from the 20's - 40's. Check out my favourite picks below and click each title to check the original listing.

30's Summer Gowns

Pretty, pretty, pretty. Want.

Zandra Rhodes Purple Crepe Dress

You can't go wrong with a bit of Zandra, this purple is so striking.

70's Pop Art Guinness Jacket

Love this jacket, fun early 70s pop art clothing.

Selection of Givenchy 60's Outfits

I always have a bit of a soft spot for 60s Givenchy, it is soo chic and wearable, the mustard dress is my fave.

30's & 40's Crepe Gowns

I just want to dive into this rack of crepe-y loveliness.

Foale & Tuffin Trouser Suit

Rare as hen's teeth, Foale & Tuffin stuff hardly ever comes up for sale, and due to the recent show and book, I bet this will fetch a good price. Love the print.

Bill Gibb Bee Brooches

How cute are these, estimated at £60-80, and at a fraction of the price of a bit of Gibb clothing.

Dandie Fashions 60's Jacket

Well I love a bit of vintage menswear, and good labelled items are very hard to come by, this mid 60s Dandie Fashions jacket is such a perfect example of Swinging London and super, super rare.

Selection of 30's Daywear

The gingham dress really shows where Ossie got his inspiration from, and it is so wearable today.

Ossie Clark Cuddly Dress

Love the colour of this, and of course the stunningly sexy cut. A classic.

Fantasy Bidding...

The latest sale catalogue is up for perusal over at Kerry Taylor Auctions, featuring items from Audrey Hepburn and the divine Marie Helvin. The sale takes place on Tuesday 8th December, in London and online. As ever there is the most amazing selection of antique and couture fashion. Although there isn't that much of a selection of mid century pieces apart from the Audrey bits and lot's of Ossie gowns. There were far too many lovely things for me to choose from but I had to narrow it down so below is a selection of my favourite pieces. Please click on the title of each to go to the listing.

Givenchy A/W 1966 Cocktail Dress.

Any 60s fan will have seen this promo shot before and this dress is Audrey perfection, soo chic but a little cutesy too!

Ossie Clarke Satin Celia Print Dress c.1969

I'm intrigued by this dress, I've never seen this print and also haven't seen many Ossie satin dresses either, 'tis beautiful though!

Alice Pollock Moss Crepe Gown c.1970

Just look at those sleeves, soo fabulous.

Zandra Rhodes Chiffon Evening Gown 1977

The draping, the print, the colour, the beading. Divine.

Bill Gibb Sequinned Ensemble 1973

I'm ashamed to say I don't know too much about Bill Gibb items, apart from that Twiggy was quite a fan in the 70's and that they fetch very high prices nowadays, but this outfit really caught my eye, I love this mix of textures and the relaxed elegance of it.

A Little Bit of Ossie

Here's another shoot from Rave October 1967. This one has a couple of Ossie Clark cullotte suits in the first and last pictures, which cost about £6 each at the time, I expect it would cost a bit more to find one nowadays... I love this look with the longer skirts and low heeled knee boots.sorry the pictures aren't as clear as I'd like but this wasn't a high fashion mag so the quality isn't vogue-like!

Breakfast on Pluto

Ordinarily I am totally weary of modern films or which are set in the 60's and 70's, because I am a complete stickler for detail especially in the costume department. It really gets me when they are showing people wearing psychedelic mini dresses and gogo boots and it is supposed to be like 1963 or something!

There is one fairly recent film however which I think has done a particularly good job recreating the look and style of an era. This is a film from 2005 called Breakfast on Pluto, starring the totally swoon worthy Cillian Murphy (those eyes. seriously.) Adapted from the wonderful book by Patrick McCabe this is the story of Patrick Braden aka Kitten) a teenage transsexual from a small town in Ireland during the 70's, set against a backdrop of political violence which he wants to escape, firstly Kitten meets the singer of a band called Billy Hatchet and The Mohawks, they fall in love and goes to live in Billy's caravan, all seems to be working out perfectly until he finds out Billy is hiding guns for the IRA and he decides it is time to leave.

Kitten goes to London to try and find his real mother, where along the way an ever so suave Bryan Ferry tries to strangle him in a car. He gets a job as a Womble and a magician's assistant, is caught up in an IRA bombing campaign, ends up working in a peep show. It also features a couple of pretty awesomely obscure songs, No More White Horses by T2 & Freelance Fiend by Leaf Hound (Leafhound?) (though both are not on the official soundtrack). What I really love is the costumes which take you from small town glam in flares and tank tops, to the lurex & velvet glamour of London, right through to disco and later 70s housewife chic. It really follows the years and changing times perfectly.

This really is a wonderful story, with a happy ending the book is beautifully written and it's wit & humor come across in the film brilliantly. But I won't spoil it anymore than I already have, so catch it if you already haven't!

Oh yes one more thing, just to show how much of a geek I am, Kitten's friend Irwin is wearing a Ossie Clark chiffon Celia print shirt in one scene at a train station.

Pics from melisdramatic flickr album