There’s a good choice of guitars out there if you’re after a retro or vintage look – and here’s another option for you – Danelectro.
If the name sounds familiar, that’s because it has a rich pedigree – the company was founded in 1947 and peaked in popularity during the 50s and 60s, with the likes of Link Wray, Syd Barrett, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Tom Verlaine listed amongst its happy customers.
Unless you read trashy lifestyle magazines, chances are you’ll not want to copy the look of celebrity clothes horse and all-round waste of space Victoria Beckham. But that’s what you could be doing just that if you buy this 60s Monochrome dress from Rare.
Yes, it’s actually loosely based on something the ex-Spice Girl was seen wearing recently – but don’t let that put you off, it’s still quite a cool frock – and very affordable. The dress is just above the knee in length and made of a kind of jersey fabric in black with white detailing and a black top button.
And best of all is the price – a very pocket-friendly £22. You can buy it online or you might be able to find one in Topshop.
Find out more at the Rare website
Fancy some sixties style in Europe this summer? Well, you could try the Cala Del Bove near Porto Santo Stefano, Tuscany…if you have the cash.
It’s a summer seaside retreat, set right on the water’s edge and with an open plan and big stone walls – just right for a Bond villain! And the sixties vibe continues with the interior design – sixties-style furniture, globular floor lamps and big, chunky staircases. Add to that a private pool, views over the west coast of the Monte Argentario and a floodlit tennis court and you just know it’s unlikely to be cheap.
And that’s about right – it sleeps 14 and prices run from £13,000 per week. Yes, you read that right. But think about it – that’s under £1,000 per person per week for real luxury.
Next isn’t the first place I would look for interior design, but this season they have some great lighting at cheap prices – including this Sputnik-style pendant light.
Very much in the style of the original Sputnik, this light fitting is claimed to be easy to fit and with plenty of chrome on display, including chrome-plated plastic balls.
Operating with a 100w bulb, it’s available for a bargain £15.
It’s hard to get excited over kitchen scales – they’re not exactly the sexiest of kitchen appliances, But we all use them, and if you’re going to buy some, you might as well get some good-looking ones – like these Lakeland retro kitchen scales.
A mix of polished and beige metal, they’re compact, but with everything you need, including a deep off-set, pear-shaped bowl and an easy-to-read scale with weights up to 2kg in 10g denominations or 4lb in half ounce breaks.
You can pick them up online for £24.99.
Find out more at the Lakeland website
From early in my life (or to be exact, from reading Absolute Beginners for the first time), I always thought the teenager was a product of the late 1950s – I think there’s a piece in the book describing how you previously jumped straight from childhood to adulthood. Well, according to Teenage: The Creation Of Youth 1875 – 1945, that’s certainly not the case.
Author Jon Savage (yes, he of the excellent pop culture books, including England’s Dreaming) goes back to 1875 (when the first teenage memoir appeared and the first teenage mass murderer was tried), taking in locations like London, New York, Paris and Berlin, with individuals, street gangs and organised youth groups covered all the way through to 1945. Everything from the hooligans to the boy scouts and Hitler Youth, not to mention music and fashion crazes, including flappers, ragtime and swing. And indeed, how the "adult" world has always sought to profit from the teenager.
Out now in paperback, with a hardback to follow in two weeks, you can pick it up for around £14.
