1960s Archives -

gilhoolie is definitely getting out lots this month which is great for the soul! I think now my kids are older and more independent I’m realising I have a lot more freedom to go into London for inspiration; it’s only 30 minutes away after all and there’s so much to see and do on my doorstep, it just takes a bit more effort and planning.

I can’t say I know much about fashion designers from the 60s, or fashion designers full stop really but I’m definitely interested in textiles and clothes so I thought the Mary Quant exhibition at the V&A was worth a trip. (Thanks for the recommendation Sam!) It makes a change from all those hours I’ve spent with two small boys in car, tank and aeroplane museums (anyone with boys will empathise).

The ticket said to allow an hour but we were so absorbed in the display that nearly 2 hours passed in a flash. We wandered around looking at the many beautifully dressed mannequins in original outfits (sometimes with a photo of the owner) and black and white photos and films telling the story of Mary Quant. From her beginnings opening a small boutique ‘Bazaar’ on the Kings Road in Chelsea in 1955, to mass production all over the world. I loved the V&A curation of the display and the way it described the story of the Mary Quant brand. It must’ve been so exciting to be a young woman in the 60s, empowered by this new bold fashion.

I also didn’t realise Mary Quant had a line in makeup – below is a cartoon strip that was published to help girls see what they should be buying to add to their makeup collection and keep up with trends. Love this!

This dress ‘Alice’ was bought at the Chicago department store Marshall Field in 1971. It is made out of co-ordinated fine wool prints from Liberty and retailed for around £20 (about £150 today). I really like the cut, the sleeves and the length of this one. There were so many dresses I could see myself wearing today and ‘Alice’ is one of them.

Below are some of the shots I took on our visit. The exhibition finishes in a couple of weeks, so hurry if you want to take a look. You can read more ‘gilhoolie gets out’ blog posts here or subscribe to the blog by clicking the follow button on the right. Thanks for reading!

Love the red A line dress and the stripes too

Restoring a treasured lampshade for a client has to be one of the best things I get to do at gilhoolie.

Jules from Flackwell Heath had two 1960s, very unusual shaped lampshades that her mum had bought many years ago. They were looking very sorry for themselves but still in use by Jules.

The lampshades were originally made from silk fabric stitched to cardboard and then stitched again to a metal frame. I’ve never seen anything like them and totally understood why Jules wanted to revive them if at all possible. You certainly wouldn’t be able to find replacements in a high street shop!

The whole process started with Jules sending me photos and measurements of the two lampshades. As she isn’t far from Maidenhead we met up and talked about options for fabrics and I checked that the frames weren’t misshapen so that I could reuse them. All part of the service 🙂 Jules sourced a beautiful orange silk fabric that would look amazing when the lampshades were lit. Most fabrics are fine; you just don’t want to choose anything too thick or fabric that frays really easily.

Here is one of the original lampshades – a bit torn and battered as you can see, but the frames were fine.

Original 1960s lampshade ready for gilhoolie restoration

The lampshades were taken apart so that I could use the cardboard as a template for cutting new PVC for the new silk fabric. What a lot of dust and quite a tricky operation to make sure it all came off in one piece – it was over 50 years old after all! You can see the panel goes round in a spiral but the two ends don’t meet so this had to be taken into account.

Quite a lot of patient, careful work (and breath holding!) later and the lampshades came back to life. What a transformation! (Scroll down to see). Always exciting when I stand back and look, especially when I know how treasured they are.

Jules was really pleased with the result and said her mum would’ve been happy too. I love a happy customer! To top it all off she gave me an original 1960s lampshade book that was in her family as a thank you gift – what a lovely surprise. It’s the little things and gestures that can make your day!

You can see the lampshades below in my workshop, and then in Jules’ garden when she got home, on the original 1960s vintage glass bases.

If you have a lampshade you would like restoring just get in touch with photos and measurements and I’ll get back to you.

Tag: 1960s

Mary Quant at the V&A

1960s vintage lampshade restoration…