let’s take a trip...
era
SPECIAL THANKS Bea Went (fabulous model) Heather Griffin Dani Choate of www.thriftypyg.etsy.com, for the vintage wallpaper images
To contact please email: erazine@yahoo.co.uk
a quick note T
he Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘era’ as “a date or event marking the beginning of a new and distinct period of time.” American forces arriving in Vietnam in 1961saw the beginning of a decade bursting with uprisings, riots and all round anger against hegemonic powers; enter free love, flower power and all those hemp, hippy clichés. In 10 years, we were transported from a confined, restricted society, to one that felt a little more free, loose, and certainly shorter thanks to Mary Quant. 1979 to 1990 saw big money investments which not only meant bigger wallets but bigger shoulders, opitimised by Dynasty star Joan Collins, and as an armour by our first female prime minister. Girl power continued into the 90’s, albeit in a slightly younger, more scantily clad frame of an assortment of Spices. Perhaps then this zine should be called ‘decade’…but I thought ‘era’ sounded a little snappier. This zine plans to take a look at eras, vintage and overall great memories; a personal journey not only in to my interests, but in to creating an entire zine for the first time, and on my own. I hope you enjoy reading it and perhaps even telling your friends about it, just as much as I enjoyed creating it and putting all my muddled up thoughts on to these neat pages. Jenny x
GWEN STEFANI style icon of the 90’s
truly unique M
usty, aged; how one would imagine the odour of Miss Havisham’s darkened room, memories clinging on to the air. The smell definitely hits you first. It gets right up your nose and feels sticky in your throat, slightly off-putting, oddly inviting. Eyes dart around the room unsure of where to settle, give fleeting glances to a moth ball mink coat and fragile, intricate cuts of lace woven into smooth, silk gowns. It is a patchwork quilt for your fingers to run through, for your senses to be brought alive and tested. Embarking on a journey in to vintage can be difficult- the sizing, the quality, the challenge to not look like your parents in the photos that you get out on a rainy Sunday to have a good old giggle at. Whether it be online or on a shop floor, you have to sift through, basically, a lot of junk. Mysterious, brown ochre stains on a triple XL shift dress made from scratchy, and slightly flammable fabric. But oh, the feeling when you lay hands on perfection. The discovery of a piece that feels like it was meant for you. I had such an experience with a delightful 1950’s, canary yellow prom dress. Staring at the
image on my screen, no event to wear it to was not going to stop my purchase. With a few clicks of the mouse, it was on my way to me from midwest America. Worrying that it would be too small, or that it just wouldn’t look right, when the package arrived I had to hold back on ripping apart the delicate tissue paper in which it was encased. Unfolding it from its box, I had no reason to worry at all. Silky fabric fell through my hands, perfectly formed pleats cascading from the boned bodice. As the zip was pulled up, I realised that it was the perfect fit. It fits! Hence the start of a great deal of dancing around my bedroom, watching the skirt swish and swoosh around me. Imagine the excitement of its previous owner, back in the midwest, zipping it up, applying a lucky, last coat of coral lippy and stepping into a pair of ivory, peep toe slingbacks. Perhaps there is a photograph, slightly faded yet framed, sitting on a dresser that is looked at with great happiness of all the memories it holds. This particular dress was from www.bohemianbisoux.etsy.com
Diets- from real life stories to low calorie meals that will solve all your problems, has anything really changed?
of the times
I recently came across a few issues of the Ladies’ Home Journal from the 60’s. Let’s see what the American housewife cared about, what should be brought back, and what we’re not sad to see the end of.
All images taken from Ladies’ Home Journal April 1961 and November 1966
Instant food for the busy housewife- a complete meal in a box, foods you never knew could be spread (bacon, clam and lobster or pineapple), and generally anything in a can.
A do it yourself wardrobe- patterns to show the reader how to make what was featured on the glossy pages; ingenious! The practicality of shoe colouring however...
this ain’t no costume party taking on an era doesn’t mean donning fancy dress...
DO IT YOURSELF SEVENTIES Crocheted vest and shorts BETTY STURROCK (my nan)
THE FLOWER POWER MOD GIRL Dress ASOS, Necklace HANDMADE
PASTEL POWER DRESSER Jacket TOPSHOP, Bandeau PRIMARK, Jeans PRIMARK, Necklace VINTAGE
COOL BRITANNIA Dungarees MANGO, Vest TOPSHOP, Badges KOOLBADGES, Handkerchief ETSY
JANE BIRKIN style icon of the 60’s
thanks for reading :)