Just in time for Valentine’s Day, this cute Top Shop heart print mini dress is looking for an appreciative new home.
Or why not say it with flowers in this Miss Selfridge peach shift dress with a big bouquet of roses on the front?
Frockery Focus
Hearts and flowers
Tuesday, January 31st, 2012Feminine frockery from Diane Freis
Sunday, January 29th, 2012Diane Freis studied fine art at UCLA in her native of California before turning her talents to fashion design in the mid 1970s, attracting the interest and patronage of numerous Hollywood celebrities, including Diana Ross, with her bespoke beaded jackets and vintage inspired creations.
Relocating to Hong Kong in the late 70s, she had her distinctive and elaborate designs made up in luxurious fabrics by a skilful and meticulous local workforce. Her beautiful ultra feminine floral and geometric combination print dresses, mainly in georgette but also in silk, quickly proved popular and Freis progressed from owning a single Hong Kong boutique in 1978 to opening her own design, print and manufacturing facility in 1982, producing exclusive ranges of limited edition garments. By the mid 80s she had become a key player on the international fashion stage with celebrity endorsement for her high end bohemian creations.
Freis’s designs remain essentially easy-to-wear, unashamedly forgiving and figure flattering, which is a boon for the less than perfectly formed amongst us! “Real women gain and lose weight and they do not always conform to magazine standards of beauty”, the designer has always insisted. Thank you for that, Diane!
We are privileged to feature in our catalogue this stunning new arrival, a distinctive 80s georgette maxi dress with so many of the fabulous hallmarks of Diane Fries design. In a mainly black and white print, accented with bright fuchsia, teal and yellow, it incorporates lots of romantic detail, including a crystal pleated frill around the neckline and trademark tasselled and beaded neck ties. The shoulders are accentuated with delicate crystal pleated frills and the natural waist is defined by a contrast fuchsia and teal shirred band for a comfortable fit. The skirt is in two complementary contrast prints: black and white to hip level, below which it becomes black and white with colourful leaves and is crystal pleated for added volume and fluidity.
Buy it now for only £45 and prepare to turn heads!
Happy Australia Day with corks on!
Thursday, January 26th, 2012We seem to be on an international roll, having celebrated both the Chinese New Year and Scotland’s Burns Night this week, but it’s not over yet! Today we want to wish all our friends and customers from downunder a very happy Australia Day.
Our own Australian of the Year is a lovely lady called Ria who has become a Frockery friend and follower since making England her adopted home for the past few years. We fully expect tweets about (suitably weather proofed) barbecues, kangaroo steaks, pavlova and other traditional Aussie fare as the day goes on. You know that old old saying: you can take the girl out of Australia, but…
We are still feeling stuffed after all that haggis and the Chinese banquet earlier in the week, so a few days of starvation rations are in order before we visit our local Aussie restaurant Roo’s Leap, whose Australia-sized portions almost caused the chief frocker a wardrobe malfunction on her last visit. We’ll settle for a few Australian lagers in the meantime.
We must confess to being somewhat stumped when it comes to ‘typical’ Aussie fashion (apart from the obvious – see below), but Australia certainly scores highly in the style stakes, boasting several famous fashion ambassadors. Think Kylie, Cate, Kidman et al!
While we regret that hats with corks are currently out of stock at the Frockery, this stylish Crocodile Dundee version is available from The Party Mill. G’day all!
Hot frockery for the Year of the Dragon
Tuesday, January 24th, 2012“Do not meddle in the affairs of Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!”
The Chinese New Year celebrations kicked off yesterday and, if we are to believe the fabulous folklore, this coming Year of the Dragon will bring happiness and prosperity to all good and honest people. We are all for that! It is also the year for new ideas and innovative projects coming to successful fruition and we are all for that too!
When it comes to dressing to impress, we are reminded that the Dragon loves splendour, magnificence, grandeur and finery, so be sure to wear some luxurious fabrics and vibrant colours. This green and gold reversible satin robe fits the Dragon bill nicely!
Here are some more examples from our collection of Chinese frockery which should please the most discerning of Dragons. And a happy Chinese New Year to you all!
Chinese reversible cherry blossom jacket
Turquoise padded Chinese jacket
Black embroidered Chinese jacket
Chinese red satin skirt
Chinese silk wrap top
Black Chinese jacket with butterflies
Chinese style wine blouse
Check these out!
Friday, December 2nd, 2011We just couldn’t wait to feature this fabulous dogtooth check cape which arrived yesterday, probably straight from Miss Marple’s wardrobe! In warm autumnal shades of brown, tan and cream wool with a Peter Pan collar and double breasted styling, it’s a smart and versatile choice for the girl about town or country. Coming soon to the catalogue, price £38.
For discerning retrophile gentlemen, this vintage Burton’s tweed dogtooth check overcoat will also be coming to the catalogue soon. Size 40R (generous), price £40.
Returning to Miss Marple, this retro brown dogtooth check wool skirt has also just arrived. Fully lined with twin inverted pleats front and back, it is a stylish classic which is sure to be a wardrobe staple throughout the autumn and winter months. Size UK12, price £14.
Why not check out these lovelies as well?
Black and white dogtooth check secretary dress
And don’t forget: Frockery shopping means you’ll be sure to keep your bank balance in check! Why buy new when it’s more fashionable, frugal and eco-friendly to go retro?
It’s nice to be niche
Friday, September 23rd, 2011Just like It’s hip to be square, it’s nice to be niche; in other words, it’s cool to do your own thing, regardless of what the fashion police might seek to impose on the hapless shopping sheeple. As far as we’re concerned, embracing individuality is every bit as important to businesses as it is to individuals and, while many high street retailers are undoubtedly suffering the effects of the economic downturn, there is evidence to suggest that niche independents may be bucking the trend.
A Business Zone article which dropped into our inbox earlier today, headlined Why now is a great time to start a retail business, suggests that this feeling is not misplaced and that independent traders are well placed to take advantage of a perceptible shift in shoppers’ expectations. It seems that the cold and clinical, predictable, big store ‘factory’ retail model is gradually giving way to the more personalised customer experience offered by niche retail outlets, which provide both excellent customer service and individualised products and services. So small may yet become beautiful again, as it was in the 60s and 70s.
Growing up in the small Angus town of Montrose in the 70s, chief frocker Alison used to buy her clothes in the several small fashion boutiques that were dotted in and around the high street. She vividly remembers buying an emerald green batwing sleeved smock dress (which, with the benefit of hindsight, was truly hideous) in one such boutique. In another, she purchased a very distinctive (but a lot less hideous) black velvet two piece adorned with red stars, which she wore to her 18th birthday party with red shoes (on which she subsequently threw up after too many double vodka and pineapple combos). Her excuse is that Ziggy Stardust was big at the time!
The Boutique Elvira, which eventually metamorphosed into the Headline hair salon (currently run by a vintage hairdresser who cuts Alison’s hair and still has a collection of 70s splash patches in his attic) was a particular favourite, stocking some amazing pieces of funky frockery. This poem, Tie-Dyed T-Shirt, by Fiona Ritchie Walker (an old school friend of Alison’s), evokes distant memories of Elvira’s and other old familar places.
Occasionally, small town and country dwellers would make a special trip to Aberdeen, Dundee, or even Edinburgh, to sample the delights of big city shopping. Back then, there was still a strong independent retail presence, from smaller boutiques to big department stores like Dundee’s Draffens (long since gone) and Edinburgh’s Jenners. Retro Dundee has a wonderful collection of images which capture the essence of the city in past decades, including this picture of City Square and High Street in 1970, and provides an enjoyable nostalgia trip for locals of a certain age.
Although The Frockery has no immediate plans to make a move to bricks and mortar from its exclusively online presence (with the odd vintage fair thrown in throughout the year) we are always more than happy to recommend independent vintage retailers who have ‘visitable’ shops.
Talking of bricks and mortar, one of our favourites - RaRa and the Pretty Vacant Showrooms, based in Exchange Street, Dundee - is undergoing a major refurbishment right now, but we are hoping to go along and help celebrate its re-opening in the near future. It stocks an ecelectic range of fabulous clothes, accessories and curiosities from bygone eras and is run by the lovely Erin, who is as passionate about vintage as she is about showcasing emerging new designers.
Another small vintage boutique we like is in Forfar, just round the corner from The Frockery. GladRags is run by a very knowledgeable and friendly female duo and stocks some fabulous pieces, both vintage and contemporary. We were musing the other week that Forfar is fast becoming a vintage lovers’ paradise as no less than three small antique and collectables shops have sprung up in the past year to complement an already enviable range of independent retailers. The regular Farmers Market also features gourmet epicurean and gift products, from Cairn o Mhor (say it out loud!) fruit wines to farmyard inspired ceramics from our friends at Eeksy Peeksy. How cool is this cake stand!
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In our experience, independent retailers not only want to go that extra mile for customers but also want to support each other in business. You could say “we are all in this together”, but in a nice niche way!
Red shoes, ruby slippers
Friday, September 23rd, 2011
Image credit: Hollywood Reporter
A pair of ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland, who played Dorothy in the 1939 film Wizard of Oz, is to be sold at auction in December. Described as “one of the greatest pieces of pop culture in existence” – and who doesn’t remember Judy clicking these heels together to get back to Kansas? – they have a pre-auction estimate of between $2 and $3 million.
Fortunately, vintage footwear from the Frockery comes at a much more affordable price! And despite, or perhaps even because of, the age old “red shoes, no knickers” adage, which apparently connotes a degree of raciness or flashiness on the part of their wearer, we just adore red shoes.
These 70s vintage strappy red shoes have eminently clickable heels!
While these 80s lipstick red leather court shoes from Bally are sure to turn heads in the Railway Arms.
This cute pair of 70s vintage red slingbacks have just arrived and will shortly be listed in the catalogue.
To get back to the Frockery shoe department, just click these heels!
Slow fashion: winning the race for hearts and minds?
Friday, September 16th, 2011Twitter, we have found, is not only a wonderful way of interacting with customers, but is also a great medium for connecting like minds, who will frequently signpost followers and friends to articles and websites of mutual interest.
As our regular readers will know, one of our passions is for ‘slow fashion’ and so it was natural that we should follow Slow Fashioned on Twitter. Being sometimes lazy frockers, we are grateful to other tweeters for highlighting relevant links and, thanks to @slowfashioned, two media articles caught our eye yesterday. Both are well worth reading if you are a fellow proponent of slow, sustainable fashion.
The Guardian focused on the growing inflationary pressures on fast fashion, as identified by the ONS, under the headline Rising cost of clothes could signal end to ‘cheap chic’.
The days of “cheap chic” and throwaway fashion could be numbered, because the cost of clothes is rising at its fastest rate for nearly 15 years.
The “fast fashion” trend, where T-shirts sell for £2 and jeans are priced at less than a fiver in supermarkets, is being battered by big increases in the cost of cotton, labour and transport.
Some especially scary statistics cited in the article came from research at Cambridge University which found that:
“…as clothing prices have come down, the number of garments bought has soared fourfold. The study found that the average British woman buys half her body weight – 28kg (62lb) – in clothing every year”.
Eek! It’s surely time to hit the production and consumption brakes before we have no more land to fill with textile waste comprised mainly of throwaway fashion (one million tonnes a year and rising).
Another short but incisive article on the Atlantic website, Slow Fashion: Reconnecting Production and Consumption, also had us nodding our heads in agreement as it pointed to the unhealthy disconnection between production and consumption, mourned the loss of community and deplored the replacement of tradition with profit. It gave much food for thought about the undesirability, and ultimate unsustainability, of the fashion for ‘fast’ everything.
Awareness of the environmental impact of human activities is growing. For food, it means buying more organic, local, and seasonal products. For fashion, it should mean more organic, local, and less seasonal. A piece of clothing should last for decades. Like a recipe passed down from generation to generation, we should pass our clothes down to our grandchildren.
Amen to such sentiment! As the slow fashion movement gathers pace, thanks to a combination of consumer awakening and economic constraints, the growing prevalence of articles like these demonstrates that the times may well be a-changing for the better (and slower).
And it’s always reassuring to know we are but one voice among many for whom slow is every bit as beautiful as small. We’ve said it before and we may as well say it, and link to it, again: Landfill fashion: what a waste.
Polka dotty for you
Monday, August 1st, 2011Polka dots and spots never seem to go out of fashion and are always popular at the Frockery.
We especially like this retro white and red polka dot sun dress from Dorothy Perkins, which looks never to have been worn.
We also have in stock this pretty blue polka dot skirt.
Or how about a polka dot pin-up dress?
Meanwhile, this Fink Modell blue and black polka dot dress oozes 80s!
And coming soon, this 50s pink and white polka dot dress…
Frockery Focus on Laura Ashley
Wednesday, July 20th, 2011Frockery founder Alison first discovered Laura Ashley back in 1974 when she was a student at Edinburgh University. She and her friends used to frequent the Lothian Road shop which was temptingly filled with covetable cotton dresses in feminine floral prints, all designed to stretch the student grant to its limit. (Yes, we had grants back then!)
When she got married five years later, it was in a Victorian style cotton dress with a pin tucked bodice, self-designed with a strong Laura Ashley influence, and the bridesmaids wore dresses made from Laura Ashley fabric. Later she dressed her daughters, and continued to dress herself, in Laura Ashley clothes, ranging from day dresses and business suits to cocktail dresses and ballgowns. The attention to detail was always meticulous and the quality of the garments was unsurpassed on the high street during the brand’s heyday.
By way of background, Laura Ashley (nee Mountney) was born in Wales in 1925 and educated in London. Following her marriage to Bernard Ashley in 1949, she designed scarves from her London home for John Lewis and other retail stores. Her designs proved immensely popular and Bernard soon joined her in the fast expanding business which had also started selling by mail order.
Moving from London to Kent, then back to Laura’s native Wales, which had been the inspiration for many of her country floral designs, the brand enjoyed enormous success and in 1968 the first Laura Ashley shop opened in South Kensington, London. Increasing international interest and the addition of several thousand overseas outlets helped Laura Ashley grow a global following by the early 80s, although the brand sadly lost its creative force and much of its direction following the sudden tragic death of its founder after an accident in 1985.
The Frockery sells a wide selection of Laura Ashley brand clothing, mostly from the 80s, but occasionally we have earlier pieces on offer. Here are a few of the examples we currently have in stock, all at affordable prices and in excellent condition, and all timeless in their appeal.
80s cobalt blue Laura Ashley ballerina dress
80s Laura Ashley floral print sun dress
Laura Ashley red dress with back bows
Black velvet Laura Ashley prom dress
And coming soon!
Navy and white polka dot 80s Laura Ashley sailor dress
80s does 50s vintage Laura Ashley print dress
Royal blues
Tuesday, April 19th, 2011Both bright colours and royals are pretty full-on this season and here at the frock face we have suddenly come over all royal blue.
It all started with a pair of retro royal blue Bear Brand tights…
…and some bright blue beads.
Then this cutesy royal blue beret arrived in stock.
Along with this fabulous 80s royal blue burlesque hat with net and feather trim.
We were already in love with this royal blue vintage linen coat which is reminiscent of Jackie O.
And finally, while this Miss Selfridge frill front mini dress may not be quite royal, it is still a beautiful blue hue! 
Colouring in
Friday, April 15th, 2011There’s nothing like a splash of colour to brighten up your wardrobe and your mood, is there? And the good news is that, boldly led by Prada, Louis Vuitton, Christopher Kane et al, colour blocking has made a grand entrance this season. Clashing primary colours, colourful stripes and bright accessories are definitely in and will help you stand out from the crowd.
If you can’t afford designer prices and want an affordable, yet unique look, why not take a browse through some of the vintage and retro pieces in our catalogue for inspiration? In the 80s we all wore dresses, blouses, suits, shoes, bags and belts in very bright reds, blues, greens, pinks and oranges, typically by Jacques Vert and good old M&S. Some of us even embraced neons without a hint of embarrassment!
Here are a few of our current colourful Frockery favourites which will hopefully inspire you to colour in your spring/summer wardrobe.
Bright blouses
Emerald green frill front New Romantic blouse Pink Victorian style frill collar blouse Bright blue linen sleeveless shirt Orange silk blouse
Stripes
70s green and black striped dress
Accessories
Electric blue beaded bag Red sunglasses Red suede belt Green and white bag
Be bold, have fun colouring in your wardrobe and remember to ask yourself: Why buy new when it’s more fashionable, frugal and eco-friendly to go retro?
Frockery Focus: Mary Quant
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011Mary Quant is one of those iconic designers who is synonymous with the swinging 60s and jet set 70s London. Born in Blackheath, south east London, in 1934, she completed a Diploma in Art Education at Goldsmith’s College before undertaking an apprenticeship as a couture milliner.
In 1955, Quant and her husband Alexander Plunket Greene opened the trendsetting boutique ‘Bazaar’, which soon became renowned for its avant-garde window displays, in Chelsea’s King’s Road. Mixing with artists and musicians, they embraced the bohemian ‘café society’ lifestyle of the day and made the ‘London Look’ their own.
Frustrated at being unable to source the type of fashion she felt would appeal to the emerging mod youth culture of which she herself was inextricably part, Quant soon began designing her own clothing based on the key principles of simplicity and affordability. Her Ginger Group was founded in 1963, followed by the famous paintbox make-up and cosmetic range in 1966, by which time Quant was at the top of the London fashion industry and established as a worldwide brand.
Mary Quant is credited with having ‘invented’ the mini skirt, although she claims to have simply taken the concept from the street, named it after her favourite Mini car and turned it into popular fashion. In 1966, she was awarded an OBE for her outstanding contribution to the fashion industry, arriving at Buckingham Palace to receive the honour wearing a trademark micro mini skirt and sporting her classic Vidal Sassoon bob.
It is a privilege to be able to offer some vintage Mary Quant items at The Frockery. Dating from the early 1970s, these three eminently collectable pieces arrived along with two vintage Viyella blouses, one in a paisley pattern and the other in an art nouveau print, which we also absolutely love. Even better, they are all in unworn condition and look to be dead stock, possibly from a 70s Scottish boutique.
Just click on the images to be taken to the catalogue listings.
Dressember challenge
Friday, December 3rd, 2010We meant to post before now about the Dressember challenge, and even take part in it ourselves, but we got rather preoccupied with our own snow focused challenges and had to wimp out. Next year we will do it!
Dressember is capturing the imagination of dress lovers everywhere and raising funds for the charity Refuge at the same time. You can visit their justgiving page to donate and also like their Facebook page.
Here is the lowdown on the challenge:
December 1st marks the beginning of ‘Dressember’ – the challenge for women (or the adventurous male) everywhere to shake up their wardrobe and try ditching the jeans and t-shirts.
We’re aiming to wear dresses as often as possible – don’t worry if it’s not practical in the day, you can go for a skirt/top combo if needed, or have fun and dress up in the evening in that cocktail dress you never get to wear!
As well as having fun we are hoping to raise a bit of cash for Refuge and have a just giving page for this purpose here: http://www.justgiving.com/dressember.
Feel free to share your photos in the group or on your own wall if you’re shy, just have fun with it, and try something different for the month – plus it’a party season, so use the wall to ask if you need help deciding!
There are no rules, it’s all about stretching your wardrobe boundaries, trying something different, and having fun, so just jump on in.
Given our snowbound status, which came upon us so suddenly and prevented our own participation this year, we thought we would feature a couple of dynamic dresser-uppers who we know will do Dressember proud.
Firstly, we have the lovely Julia, who blogs over at Imperfect Mother and who chose a Frockery frock for her first Dressember outing. That 60s dress could have been made for her as it bright, bold, vibrant, sunshiny and oh so tiny, but perfectly formed – just like the model. Who could guess Julia has recently given birth to a beautiful new baby!
Amber, meanwhile, is undeterred by a bit of the white stuff and is embracing the challenge in her own inimitable style, complete with snow shovel, on her Forever Amber blog. She is putting us fellow Scots to wimpish shame, but our excuse is that we are further north and have had more feet of snow!
Kudos to everyone who is dressing up this December. Maybe we could do jumpers in July?
Frockery Focus on Jean Varon (John Bates)
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010John Bates, creator of the vintage Jean Varon label, was undoubtedly one of the most influential and iconic designers of the 60s and 70s.
Born in Northumberland in 1938, Bates secured an apprenticeship at the age of 18 with the design house Herbert Sidon in London before becoming a freelance fashion illustrator and going on, in 1959, to found Jean Varon – a name he allegedly chose because it was French and sounded more sophisticated.
Along with his contemporaries, he helped push the boundaries of 60s fashion, raising hemlines to unprecedented heights, introducing trouser suits for women and creating the mesh midriff bikini dress. He made use of futuristic shapes and fabrics, especially leather and vinyl, in his avant-garde designs and is even credited by some as having been the inventor of the mini skirt.
Julie Christie wore one of his dresses in ‘Shampoo’ and he designed the iconic black leather catsuit worn by Diana Rigg as Emma Peel, along with a whole range of clothing for the Avengers series. Meanwhile, one of his midriff exposing designs won Dress of the Year in 1965. This newsreel film, Dressed to Kill, gives a flavour of his innovative work during the swinging 60s and even features designs for canines!
By the 1970s, ultra feminine evening wear was becoming a key element of the Jean Varon label, with the famous backless evening dress making its debut in 1973 and the empire line gown consistently featuring in collections. Royalty and many of the celebrities of the day – including Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra, Julie Christie and Dusty Springfield – wore Jean Varon, assuring John Bates his well deserved place as one of the most influential designers in fashion history.
John Bates is currently living, and painting, in Wales.
We have been privileged to offer several Jean Varon pieces at The Frockery over the past few years and they are invariably snapped up quickly by discerning customers. We currently have this evening dress in stock, which is a beautiful example of Jean Varon and every bit as wearable today as it was in the 1970s.
Louis Féraud adore les femmes
Monday, July 7th, 2008Louis Féraud was born in the southern French town of Arles in 1921 and opened his first boutique in Cannes in 1950.
When, in 1955, Brigitte Bardot visited his shop with the paparazzi in hot pursuit and bought a white sundress, the rest of Cote d’Azur elite immediately flocked to buy his clothes, assuring his success as a designer.
By the mid 1950s he had established a couture house in Paris, designing for Bardot and other film stars such as Ingrid Bergman and Kim Novak, and he presented his first haute couture collection Paris in 1958.
Féraud subsequently hired up and coming designers Jean-Louis Scherrer and Per Spook, going from strength to strength throughout the 60s and signing up with Fink of Germany in 1970 to design a ladies’ prêt-à-porter collection.
“Fashion is not created to separate people but to bring them together; it is a rendezvous of love,” he famously declared. His aim, he said, was always “to please women”, and he invariably succeeded with his sophisticated designs and fine French tailoring, coining the slogan “Louis Féraud adore les femmes”.
An accomplished fine artist as well as a designer, Féraud was heavily influenced by his colourful Provencal roots and he continued to paint throughout his life, exhibiting in Europe and the USA. He also created a number of perfumes.
Féraud twice won the ‘Golden Thimble Award’ for his haute couture collections in 1978 and 1984, and his designs were favoured throughout the glamorous 80s by stars like Joan Collins in her ‘Dynasty’ role as Alexis Colby. In 1991, he was elected Prince de l’Art de Vivre and was made an Officier de la Légion d’Honneur in 1995 by the French President.
Following his retirement in 1995, the House of Féraud was run by his daughter Kiki until 1999, when it was acquired by the Dutch group Secon. Féraud died that same year at the age of 79, but his label, famous for its elegance and sophistication, continues to delight new generations of women from across the globe.
Just as “Féraud adore les femmes”, it is undoubtedly still the case that “les femmes adorent Féraud”. The Frockery does too and we can never resist this particular label.
Marion Donaldson: the label that brought the Swinging 60s to Glasgow
Tuesday, January 8th, 2008In 1966, at the age of only 22, newly married and with just £50 of capital behind her, Glasgow designer Marion Donaldson created a new and exciting fashion label which was to have a profound and lasting influence and which has since been widely credited as bringing the mood of Carnaby Street and the Swinging 60s to Glasgow and Scotland.
Specialising in one-off mini skirts and dresses, Marion and her husband David quickly took the fashion world by storm. Contrary to popular belief, they never had their own shop but began selling their clothes wholesale to Glasgow’s first fashion boutique, In Gear, and Aquarius on Byres Road, soon graduating to Fenwick’s of London. A subsequent partnership with Liberty’s of Regent Street led to a rapid expansion and the production of Marion’s best known ‘signature’ dresses in fabulous Liberty fabrics.
The company’s turnover quickly grew, but while the customer base was widely spread throughout the UK, the design and manufacturing elements remained Glasgow-based.
The company’s iconic art nouveau label was originally inspired by an oval mirror which the Donaldsons bought at auction and remains instantly recognisable in all of their garments. Initially printed purple on white in the 60s, it changed to brown on cream, then gold on purple and finally became silver on black.
Marion Donaldson Ltd traded from 1966 until 1999, but her garments have a timeless charm and quality and remain immensely popular, both for everyday wear and collecting.
The Glasgow Museum of Transport is currently creating a display of family snapshots about 60s fashion with a particular focus on the work of Marion Donaldson as she is recognised as being such an important design influence. According to curator Kate Tansley, ”The popularity of the Marion Donaldson label reflects the mood of Glasgow at that time, and hopefully the photographs will help visitors travel back in time to the 1960s.” For more details of the project and exhibition, visit the Museum’s website.
The Frockery can never resist a Marion Donaldson piece and we have a selection currently in stock.
Joseph Ribkoff: a golden anniversary for a wow factor label
Wednesday, November 28th, 2007It is fitting that, for the first of our Frockery Focus pieces, we should feature the glittering career of Canadian designer, Joseph Ribkoff , who this month (November 2007) celebrated 50 golden years in the fashion industry.
This memorable milestone was formally marked at the 2007 Montreal Fashion and Design Festival where Ribkoff was held up as “a pillar of the fashion industry, both at home and abroad, who has been serving femininity for more than 50 years.”
The now global fashion label started from fairly humble beginnings in Dorval, Quebec, in 1957, when the loss of his job at a local fashion house prompted the young, newly married Joseph Ribkoff to launch his own business venture. Later he would joke that he only started his own business “to avoid getting fired again!”
With a natural flair for fashion and a keen instinct for business, Ribkoff started as he was to go on, creating stunning top-end statement designs, while providing unrivalled customer service and successfully meeting the challenges of changing market conditions over half a century. He has never looked back, declaring his clothes to be for women who unashamedly want to stand out from the crowd.
Ever popular with discerning fashionistas the world over, Joseph Ribkoff pieces are, without exception, beautiful creations with an undoubted wow factor, as these examples from The Frockery catalogue demonstrate.
