A Little 1960s Inspiration....Just Because!

I have a bad habit of saving random images onto my computer without keeping track of where they came from. I saved all of these images because they are connected to the 1960s in one way or another and, well, I LOVE 1960s fashion.

When I lived in Los Angeles many many years ago, I was fortunate enough to attend a 1960s "Mods and Rockers" themed film festival at the Egyptian Theatre. I had already been long-obsessed with 1960s pop culture, but this specific event is what inspired me to teach myself how to sew with the hope that I would eventually be able to make my own 1960s style dresses. Hopefully you will find these images as inspiring as I have!

Models from the 1966 film Where Are You, Polly Maggoo?

Mia Farrow during the filming of Rosemary's Baby.

Twiggy wearing the most exquisite babydoll mini dress!

Amazing 1960s color block dress.

Lush red babydoll dress with all of the most drool-worthy details (sheer balloon sleeves, pintucked bodice, buttons and a bow!).

Linen color block dress with a keyhole peek-a-boo bodice.

Sylvie Vartan wearing a snappy Peter Pan collar dress and jacket.

I love oddly-shaped collars like this one! These were used heavily during the 1960s, especially on little girls' dresses.

Detail of a stunning layered petal petal bodice from a 1960s Vogue Couturier pattern.

Vogue Fashion

Every once in a while, I'm lucky enough enough to find a really cool fashion book at one of the library branches here in Springfield! I picked this one up yesterday - VOGUE FASHION.

It's a 400-page book that's jam-packed with info on the history of Vogue magazine, breaking everything down by decade. The majority of the book, however, is an encyclopedia of designers whose fashions have appeared in Vogue. I'm not a huge fan of the modern Vogue magazine itself, but I do love all of the amazing photographic images from past fashion editorials. I've picked out my faves and scanned them to share!

Classic Chanel sports ensemble, circa 1928.

Beautiful Cecil Beaton photograph - Suits on Blocks.

Wasp-waisted playsuit by Claire McCardell, circa 1953.

Gorgeous 1960s swinging London couple Terrence Stamp and Jean Shrimpton.

Twiggy and a fellow 1960s doe-eyed model showcasing Mary Quant's innocent babydoll dresses.

An early Betsey Johnson design, circa 1968.

Probably one of my favorite images of all! Signature Jean Muir jersey dress, circa 1971.

1970s-meets-1930s at Biba!

Speaking of Biba, I have a copy of Barbara Hulanicki's autobiography From A to Biba that I plan to give away to a lucky reader (if there are any out there, that is!) in a few weeks. Stay tuned - I will make an announcement on the Sew Retro Blog!