Flights of Fancy

I've had uniforms on the brain for the past couple weeks. The subject keeps thrusting itself into my attention: whether through a daydream shared with a friend about the glories of British boarding schools, or references to WWII nurses during my subway reading time, uniforms keep popping up in my consciousness. I've always loved the concept of uniforms, and have always been vaguely disappointed by the fact that I've never had to wear one, except for sports (and somehow spandex crew unis simply aren't as romantic as wool skirts or severe cotton dresses). With my love of clothes, it may seem contrarian, but I'm utterly fascinated by situations where choice is removed from dressing.

In this vein, I'm also intrigued by moments when companies have to come up with new uniforms. One of the most memorable movements of this type happened in the Golden Age of air travel in the 60s. With myriad new airlines springing up overnight, everyone competed to have the funkiest and most forward-leaning uniforms on the block, with truly memorable results. Even Pucci got in on the game-- witness the Braniff Air photo below, with illustrations of the 4 "Phases" of his famous "Air-Strip". The results are truly inspiring for the modern viewer(as well as occasionally highly amusing.) I've assembled some of my favourite finds below.

Signing off for the Shrimpton team,

Alexandra





[Images via Dark Roasted Blend]

Inspiration - Givenchy Haute Couture

Inspiration - Starlets

Vogue ran these photos taken by the great Terry O'Neill this morning and I could not help but re-post them for you. These are some of the most beautiful women in the work and Terry had a way of capturing them in a moment that let you see them a tad unguarded, just to the left of their public persona's. Which will you use as your inspiration today?

Brigitte Bardot

Faye Dunaway

Brigitte Bardot

Audrey Hepburn

Rachel Welch

Sophia Loren

Jacqueline Bisset

Terry O'Neill: Behind The Scenes in association with Getty Images
opens tonight at Westfield and runs until August 3.

Inspiration - Move Those Legs!

Inspiration - Skirts

I am constantly collecting images that I find inspiring and now have amassed quite a collection of them on my computer. I thought I would start a new feature here at the blog called Inspiration as a way to share. These are images I find to be interesting and that I draw inspiration from when I work on Shrimpton Couture.
Enjoy

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