step into paradise

In 1973 when Melbourne still had  evening broadsheet The Herald, the Saturday issue had what were, in those pre-CelebTrash days, referred to as 'human interest' features.   Now papers have less news than puff, but way back then, they did not.
(One time my journalist pal Jillian Burt wrote one on Andy Warhol and they said to her "we can't run that - nobody has ever heard of him".)

They did however, risk running one of these non-news pieces on a tiny new Sydney boutique in the very pretty Strand Arcade, called Flamingo Park. The feature was about the originality of Bondi-born Jenny Kee who founded it, and Beaumaris-born Linda Jackson who joined her shortly after.

The frocks illustrated were unusual and lovely, silky slinky and bias-cut in the 1930's style, from vintage patterned fabric - one was of lining silk, monogrammed all over with the name Letty Lynton and I wish I could see the gowns it had otherwise lined.  


Totally impressed,  I, dear reader, wrote them a fan letter.

When, in 1976  they came down south to Melbourne and showed their collection in a suite at The Windsor Hotel, a trunk show as the Americans call it when a store sets-up temporarily away from home base -  I got a backless, circular skirted silk gown called Harold Park (after the dog races I assume).
It ties at the neck, it has no buttons or zips.  
Here it is on my floor for a picture (left) 
and I have spread on it the description catalogues from 
3 of their Sydney collection launches I attended.

Here left,  is the parade card from Flamingo Follies on a close-up of the pretty floral.

When I moved to Sydney we became pals in the way shops do with good customers, and when they took their first trip to New York City they were clutching my streetmap, well-used and marked with all the best department store locations.

Geraldine Stutz at Henri Bendel the most stylish, the absolute biggest deal at that time, gave them an order.

They sent me Met shop postcards of Sonia Delaunay geometrics.

On the left,
one of Linda's Delaunay-inspired jackets 
(on a model)
and underneath, 
another on TV journalist 
Lyndall Hobbs in Melbourne before 
going to Los Angeles and directing Beach Blanket Bingo.
Lyndall was at the 1983 London wedding of Sydney model Gael McKay whose gown was also one of Linda's loveliest creations. Sienna's sister Savannah Miller was her flowergirl and other guests were Dodi Fayed, George Harrison, Ms Jerry Hall and singer Mick Jagger.

In 1976 I bought Linda's taffeta jacket
homage to Delaunay, and
 in 1979 a Cesarine sundress
with Delaunay pockets.
Both so very very 'Sydney Seventies' and
still looking cheerful hanging on
my gates today in Mount Helen
nearly 40 years on.


Jenny Kee is known for her knits designs
(you may recall seeing photos of Lady Diana 
Spencer wearing 
a koala pattern that Jenny gave her),
and which, 
when I bought one called 
The Wattle.
were created/realised, by
Jan Ayres.




Somewhere here on the left
or wherever Blogger decides to 
plonk the image,
 is Linda wearing it, 

(Linda photo copyright William Yang probably)








and then my color photo
as it looks today 
hanging in this room.

Bigger people than me love
Jenny and Linda's styles.
Powerhouse Museum NSW  has a lot of it, and now in Melbourne
a show at NGV Federation Square.

A colourful feast you have plenty of time to see
 as it runs until September.

Coincidentally, before Linda teamed with Jenny
she worked in Paris at Mia and Vicki,
who made my favourite frock, covered in my previous post you might like to read as well.
Thanks for your visit.
UPDATE 31st Jan: The Loupe has posted photos of the NGV opening night worth the clickthrough just to see Linda's incredible hair, and what Melbourne wears on a very hot day.

This image of the label in my dress, and all other images 

(except Lyndall*Hobbs and the model) are copyright Ann O'Dyne)

My favourite dress of all time was made by Mia Fonssagrives and Vicky Tiel in 1965 for Paula Prentiss to wear in Woody Allens 'What's New Pussycat' which I went to see 5 times the week it opened. The dress is backless, which is not apparent from this picture of it worn by Jane Holzer for VOGUE USA. The Mia and Vicky label however, was backed, and by none other than Dame Elizabeth Taylor, and Mia was the daughter of a legendary 50's model Lisa Fonssagrives - Erwin Blumenfeld photographed her famously, in a long gown and swinging by one hand from high on the Eiffel Tower. What's New Pussycat, was of course, set in Paris, and if you follow that link there is a photo of Paula in the movie version of this fab frock.

blogger me

1950,
Parkville,
Victoria.
Accessorised.

under the boardwalk 2

This is for Petticoats And Chrome too. We love lingeries.

Bucklebury woman weds

An update after the event because this image is so lovely. Far left is the little girl looking like a cherub, who later was freaked by the noise and had mean people saying she looked demonic.
Do follow this link to the BEST photos of the whole shebang. Also, if you check my last image here, it is not so far from the gown actually worn.

That poor girl, knowing the
entire world will be
examining her wedding gown
and ripping into every detail.
I hope she wears her hair up,
and I hope she is influenced by
The Young Victoria as Emily Blunt
looked in that movie.
I hope she goes in with an
orange blossom circlet and
comes out in a
stonking great glittering tiararara.
I know she won't do cleavage,
or a meringue, and I know that
no Emanuels will sway her into a
6-metre train as dippy Di was swayed.

This gown on the left is the 1923
wedding gown of Lady
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon aka The Queen
Mother.
The wedding gowns by
designer Alice Temperley

are in similar styles,

which makes me think

Miss Middleton will be

heading that way.

If I was

being married I would

want this sort of gown.

Meanwhile, all the Kate

hysteria by the media is

allowing Zara and Mike

to do their wedding in relative

peace, and good luck to them

all from me.

Mr Galliano's Circus

Dior does not make anything that my lifestyle could embrace, but this rich peasant look has charm. Mr Galliano is not having a good week. I knew from the first reports that something was missing, and here it is: the 'victims' provoked him, without knowing who he was.
Another casualty is Natalie Portman who managed to make a statement despite being very pregnant and busy winning an Oscar. She claimed to be proud of her Jewish heritage (as I am of mine), but one has to ask 'How proud?' since her birth name is Herschgel. not very, really. obviously.
(Image: Sipa Press/Rex Features)

"On Thursday night at the posh fashion bar La Perle in Paris ... the Dior head designer might have had a couple of glasses more than he should have. In fact, the designer was pretty drunk but rather in a jolly mood than in an aggressive one.”

Our witnesses tell us that the couple who sat next to him at the bar didn’t recognise the celebrity designer and started to insult him, mistaking him for a bum when he tried to strike up a conversation with them (Galliano’s personal style could be at fault here).

“On his joyful “cheers everybody!” the woman and her boyfriend replied

‘You’re ugly, you’re disgusting, move away from here!’” as our eyewitnesses tell us.

Galliano didn’t react to this statement and raised his glass with other bar guests.

He then turned around to respond to the lady, saying:

“You’re ugly and your fucking bag is ugly too.”

“The boyfriend of the women then got up from his chair and aggressively charged it to threaten the designer. Galliano’s bodyguard tried to quiet the situation, as did the staff from La Perle, but there was nothing more to do; Galliano and the couple exchanged further insults until the couple called the police while Galliano calmed down and smoked a cigarette.”

The end of the story, our eyewitness tells us, was that the police just talked to the designer while his bodyguard was on the phone with his lawyer and Galliano conceded to go with them to the police headquarters to give his version of the story, since the couple wanted to press charges. “No big police arrest took place. As for the anti-Semitic statements, Galliano did call the man who threatened him with a chair “Asian”, which is indeed a racist statement.”

All in all, another dodgy fashionable night in the heart of Paris!

What do we learn from this?

Bad style can get you into legal trouble, and no matter how drunk,

a designer can never see past an ugly bag.

(this is all from www.sleek-mag.com and I was tipped off by The Telegraph fashion page)

Just the ticket -1966

This is the swing-ticket,
and I still have the dress too. It's a white crepe Dollybird dress.
Puff sleeves covered in rows of lace, covered buttons all down the front.
I wore it with white patent Mary Jane shoes bought in Regent Place.
Totally sweet Sixties. The Sixties I'm in now, are not so totally sweet that I can get more than an arm in it. But at least I am not alone, as model Pattie Boyd says in her recent memoir that she looks at some of her Sixties dresses and they appear to have been made to fit a doll. Dolly birds.