There are few fashion items that truly have quality and style enough to keep forever, but this Checked Wool-Blend Coat is one of few that earns the title of heritage piece.
From Marc by Marc Jacobs, it draws on English heritage fashion too, taking countryside style and adding some modernity with a deep purple colour palette. The longline cut combines with a high waist and double breasted buttons to give a classic 60s cut.
Get it online from Net-a-Porter for £595.
Not a million miles away from the reissue we saw earlier this year, the latest Adidas Superstar Vintage trainers trim a little off the price and just a little off the 'luxury' aspect too.
In general, these are pretty faithful to the 1969 originals, both in colour scheme (blue and red on the white premium leather upper) and with that classic 'shell' toe. But it does lose that plain tongue and contrast interior.
Saying that, it also loses £20 off the price too – you can pre-order these now for £65.
If I was pushed on a year (without knowing otherwise) for the Fontana Arte Huna Suspension Lamp, I would have guessed at 1930s. But it actually dates back to 1965.
From Archivio Storico, the light certainly has that 1930s utilitarian feel, albeit with a lot more class than the kind of thing you might have found in a factory or warehouse. In terms of construction, the Huna offers a painted aluminium pendant with black or white interior, complete with a staineless steel suspension cable and transparent power cable.
If you want one in your home, it sells for £174.
If you want to save yourself a few quid on some top-end Fred Perry gear, get yourself down to the new Fred Perry Pop Up Shop, which has just opened its doors.
You'll find it in Old Spitalfields Market, specifically 113 Commercial Street, London, E1 6BG, where it will stay open until 31st August 2009, offering discounts starting at 50 per cent on the designer collections, including Comme des Garcons, Jessica Ogden, Siv Stodal (above), Alastair McKimm, Judy Blame, Peter Jensen, &Son and more.
So if you want it, get down there as soon as you can for first pick.
Via Modculture
Another reissue of a 60s title, The Shell Country Alphabet taps into the nostalgia for books full of innocent pursuits and things to do and is packaged with a suitably retro cover. However, unlike some of the titles that are around, as its subtitle 'From Apple Trees to Stone Circles: how to understand the countryside' suggests it's a far reaching and thoughtful book. Over 448 pages it covers everything you need to know about the British countryside, from clouds and rainbows to mazes and ha-has.
The author, Geoffrey Grigson, was originally a poet and proves an expert guide. The book has been slightly updated from the 1966 original text with an introduction from his daughter Sophie Grigson (the cookery writer) and some new further reading suggestions. For just £12 on Amazon, it's a fascinating thing to dip in and out of, even if the closest you ever get to the countryside is your garden.
The Twentieth Century Society has been campaigned for the past two years to have the remaining examples of the K8 phone box given listed status (we featured the tea towels sold to support the campaign last year. The Society has recently announced its first success in this campaign with the K8 at Shrub Hill Station in Worcester given Grade II status.
The K8 has designed by Bruce Martin in 1967 and was the last of BT’s great red telephone boxes. There were originally 11,000, but now only 60 remain in use. The Society hopes to achieve listed status for another 14 of the iconic boxes.
To see a complete list of the remaining K8s, photographs of other examples and further details of the campaign, visit the Twentieth Century Society’s website.
