Categories / Retro Women's Fashion

Carmen Swimsuit by Diane von Furstenberg

Dvfswimsuit

Pre-emptory it may be, but the shops are now starting to bring us summer wares thick and fast, including brand new swimwear ranges. This Carmen Swimsuit by Diane von Furstenberg is part of the designer's new range and takes obvious inspiration from vintage looks.

The one-piece combines practicality with an unmistakeable fifties-inspired chic. Details like the sweetheart neckline, halter neck fastening and low-cut leg line cut a sharply retro silhouette that flatters the figure. The ruffling throughout the bodice helps to both slim the figure and create curves in all the best places for that killer 50s hourglass.

Get it now from Matches Fashion for £278.

Find out more from the website

Categories / Retro Women's Fashion

Patent Wedge Shoes by Steve Madden

Madden

With the first signs of Spring finally here, we can start shopping in earnest for warm weather clothes and accessories. Open toed shoes are a great addition to the retro wardrobe, especially for 70s looks. These Rose Patent Wedges by Steve Madden are an ideal choice for a seventies inspired look this Spring and Summer.

Taking inspiration from the equal parts fun and glamour of the seventies disco scene, these extreme wedges combine a cartoonish sole with some classic upper styling. The corsage rose, vented vamp and ankle strap provide retro style and enough practicality to make these most adventurous of shoes wearable.

Get them online from Oli in the UK for £110.

Find out more from the website

Categories / Design and Interiors, Food and Drink, Homeware

Missoni Home Bianconero range

Missoni home bianconero

Missoni's distinctive clothes and textiles crop up time and time again on this site but their home products are also well worth a look, especially when the designs are as appealing as the Bianconero range.

The tea set has the bold use of pattern and the retro feel you'd associate with the brand. Each object has a slightly different look: from the Op Art style waves on the coffee pot to the Pop flowers on the mug. The black and white colour scheme helps to unify all the designs. 

Prices, as you'd expect from a designer brand, are high. They range from £108.50 for the teapot to £29 for the mug. However, they'll probably look as stylish in another thirty years as they do now, so perhaps you could consider it an investment. 

See them online at Occa-Home

Categories / Bags

Adidas retro-style Adicolour Teambag

Adi1

Not an exact replica of a vintage bag, but the Adidas retro-style Adicolour Teambag does take inspiration from the sports bags of the 1970s.

Choose from the green above or the black (pictured over the page), both offering up a contrasting Trefoil logo, contrast stitching and piping, four zip compartments (two outside and two inside) and an extra large main compartment with retro material zip closure. There's also an adjustable and removable shoulder strap, carry handles, logo-stamped rivets and branded metal zip pulls.

Want one? £54.99 gets you one.

Find out more at the Size website

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Categories / Homeware

Marks & Spencer retro-styled Ceramic Engraved Vase

Marks_engraved

A week or so back, we featured the M&S Folk vase, complete with a design that was a throwback to a bygone age. Here's another – the Marks & Spencer Ceramic Engraved Vase.

It harks back to the studio pottery of the late 60s and early 70s, with a handmade look that's no accident – it is actually handmade. For your money, you get that distinctive engraved design for the lower part and the contrasting tall neck, combining to produce something that would look rather smart on your vintage sideboard.

Cheap too – just £19.50.

Find out more at the Marks & Spencer website

Categories / Books

Bad Penny Blues book by Cathi Unsworth reviewed

Badpenny

The Bad Penny Blues book by Cathi Unsworth was recommended to me a short while back, so I picked a copy up and now a full review of the book is online.

If you've not encountered it before, Bad Penny Blues is initially in the Absolute Beginners era in London (think beatniks, jazz and teddy boys), before moving into the mid-60s for most of the 'action'. It's a re-telling of the real Jack the Stripper murders of the era through the eyes of two people, fashion designer Stella and police detective Pete Bradley. The former has psychic powers that 'tune into' the last moments of the murdered girls, the latter, by accident, is assigned to find the killer, but finds himself instead immersed on the crime and corruption of the city.

The review is on our Modculture site right now, so please check it out if you're after a summer reading recommendation, because, yes, it is rather good and available to buy for under a fiver.

Bad Penny Blues book review at Modculture