Vintage fashion

Being all about protecting the head, helmets are generally hard both in look and feel. But 1960s fashion was full of the weird and wonderful, and what’s to preclude the hard inner shell of a helmet being covered by soft, fluffy, feathers? This black and white image by British photographer John French captures one of those quirky and cute moments of ’60s fashion.

The 1920s was a time when women defied their position in society. This new breed of woman smoked and listened to jazz and cut her hair short. She indulged in the flapper fashions of the day. Sometimes that meant taking cues from menswear, showing that women too could wear the literal and proverbial pants. With her boy-short hair and relaxed suiting, this original flapper from…

If you think a 1920s fashion revival means you have to get decked out in fringing, feathers and a Louise Brooks bob, think again: that's not what it's all about this fall. Instead we're taking subtle inspiration from particular elements including outerwear and suiting. Read on for the full report.

Before effortlessness was a thing to be engineered, photographer Ronald Falloon threw his denim shirt onto Jean Shrimpton and took these photos. The photos were for the first ever Sunday Telegraph supplement but never ended up going to print. It’s clear from the simple tests why Shrimpton was such a celebrated model, bringing beauty with absolute ease to the simplest of looks. It’s not effortlessness…

“Sometimes something strange can be beautiful, too.” Thus spoke Jean Paul Gaultier several decades ago, and it still holds true now more than ever. In fact the rebellious elements of the ’80s – the clashing prints, the boxy cuts, the masculine details – no longer need to be so forceful in their efforts to challenge convention. We accept all sorts. But as much as things…

There’s a particularly iconic series of Erté artworks that you’ve no doubt seen before: a woman – swathed in fur and adorned with a headpiece, cutting a silhouette that’s since become the recognisable epitome of Art Deco decadence – walks a lithe, silver-collared greyhound with all the drama of one who’s just walked onto a stage. Like much of Erté’s work it sweeps the viewer…

Melbourne’s weekend Tweed Ride couldn’t have asked for more idealistic weather conditions. Except that, well, most people were perspiring a little than they would have liked to in their vintage plus-four suits. But a far merrier option to the previous day’s deluge of rain, Sunday’s event was smiled upon by sunshine and calm winds as the 200 strong participants pedaled their way along the city’s…

If your definition of woman is a full bust and hips separated in the middle by an impossibly tiny waist, than the dictionary entry can be replaced simply with a photo of Brigitte Bardot. Odds are you’ve seen these images, many times – Bardot on the beach, near invisible waistline cinched in by a belt while her then-moussy hair spilled over exposed shoulders. The outfit…

The topic of how much a fashion week of the 1940s differed to those of the present day proved fascinating when we recently came across an account by Rosamond Bernier. It was an extract, published over at The Paris Review, from her book Some of My Lives: A Scrapbook Memoir, and in it she recounted what it was like to travel with illustrator Carl ‘Eric’…

The entertainment value of this video is multifaceted. Mostly, it stems from how times have changed. In the 1950s a fashion show dedicated to swimming caps was somehow warranted. An adorable Punch & Judy booth setup – well, good luck finding Punch or Judy now. And passing up the valid excuse to send models in bikinis down a runway? Not likely to happen anymore. Note…