Navy is more than just a colour when it comes to retro fashion, as this nautical inspired winter dress clearly proves. From Miss Selfridge, this dress uses Breton stripes and bib detailing to great, and unusual, effect on a knitted winter dress.
As with most woolen frocks, this is great for casual daywear, but thanks to its fifties style wiggle shape this one can easily translate into something for the evening too.
It’s available new from Miss Selfridge for £38.
Cosmetic bags that are well designed are a really ideal Christmas gift for a girlier recipient. Ollie & Nic‘s new range is especially worth the purchase thanks to the fact that they’re equally good looking enough to serve as handbags or purses too.
While any old thing will often do for makeup, a cosmetic bag or vanity case that you really love feels like a treat, and is a really easy gift idea for girls who aren’t so easy to buy for. Opt for vintage framed purse styles, or a ditsy print floral vanity case as shown.
Next have rarely been known for being on the cutting edge of clothes design, but they’re far beyond the one stop workwear shop they used to be. Their new 60s Beat collection is certainly a more understated look at the decade’s fashion, but there are some pieces worth a look.
This Printed Shift Dress is one of the best, with its geometrical print and ever-classic monochrome. It’s made more accessible for all ages with a less harsh cream shade, and a soft chiffon-style material.
The high-neck and slightly belled sleeves show great attention to making this not just another modern dress, while the slightly daring hemline is a wearable way to get a sixties edge.
It’s available now from Next for £38.
Brigitte Bardot is undeniably one of the 21st century’s biggest fashion icons. These Monsoon Bardot tops are surely named for the Gallic maven, and are a very wearable way to emulate her sultry early style.
They might look a little bit demure, but the off the shoulder style and accentuated waist are a great ode. The light pastels might be hard to pull off, but if you can, they’re a quick way to late 50s/early 60s mainstream style.
They’re £28 each from Monsoon online or in the shops.
Ever since the 1960s kids went on their Eastern kick, fashions from South Asia and Africa have been something of a mainstay in Western fashion. The kaftan is still something of a sixties and seventies signifier, no matter how often it’s reinvented.
This Allegra Hicks Cayo kaftan is a very much updated version, though there are still obvious elements of classic inspiration. Converted into a dress with the use of added waist in the cut of this number, it’s a more feminine version. It’s ideal for wearing both on its own or over jeans for a more relaxed and retro look.
It’s available online from Net-a-Porter for £320.
“Off the Wall: Fashions from the German Democratic Republic” is a great little book that celebrates the unexpected fashion delights from the East Germany before the Berlin Wall came down, covering the period from 1964 to 1980.
The book consists entirely of photographs with only a brief introduction that explains how these photographers were commissioned by the government but can only speculate on the reasons behind it. It is a shame that more is not known about the pictures, but the photographs are still worth a browse.
It is available to buy from Red Dot Books for just £3.99.
