THE MODS: LONDON IN THE 1960S

In its heyday, mod was known as a fashion-obsessed and hedonistic culture of young adults in metropolitan London.

Mod is a British youth subculture of the early to mid-1960s and was briefly revived in later decades. Focused on music and fashion, the subculture has its roots in a small group of London-based stylish young men in the late 1950s who were termed modernists because they listened to modern jazz.

Significant elements of the mod subculture include fashion (often tailor-made suits); music (including soul, ska, and R&B); and motor scooters (usually Lambretta or Vespa). The original mod scene was associated with amphetamine-fueled all-night dancing at clubs.

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LOVE AND YARDLEY 1960's COSMETICS

When Mary Wells, one of advertising’s most influential people in the 1960s, was approached by a pharmaceutical manufacturer, Menley and James, to help market their new cosmetics line, she chose “Love Cosmetics” for its name to capture the essence of the culture at that time.

A brilliant marketing strategy ensued, with Mary eventually convincing M&J to choose Ali MacGraw, who was then a photographer’s assistant, to represent the brand.

You may remember the cool television commercials for Love Cosmetics with the song “Wear your love like heaven” by Donovan playing in the background.

Love's advertising budget surpassed $7 million. There was an emphasis on long-term building operation, with advertisements on television and in women's magazines.  A 4-page spread appeared in the February 1969 Harper's Bazaar. The headline theme was This is the way Love is in 1969.

The opening continued with Love today is different than it's ever been. It's freer, more natural, more honest-more out in the open. So are the girls who fall in love these days. Singer Andy Williams hosted a mid-March 1969 Andy Williams Love Special. Love Cosmetics is credited with introducing the lemon craze.

Love Cosmetics were just the coolest makeup ever made. The advertising agency promoted to the youth market and was not your "mother's" makeup. Love Cosmetics (1969 - 1980) was introduced by Menley & James Laboratories on March 1, 1969. 

By the summer of 1970 the company was marketing and promoting Fresh Lemon bath products and Soft Eyes items to beautify the eyes. Advertising was coordinated by Wells, Rich, Greene advertising agency (1967 - 1990), a company founded by Mary Wells Lawrence.

The ideal customer on which marketing-focused was a young woman, 20 to 25. She might be a young businesswoman, co-ed, or young married. She was likely a trendsetter and a heavy cosmetics user.

Love Cosmetics' first line of items included Love's Fresh Lemon Cleanser, Lovelids eyeshadow, and Eau De Love. The latter came in a 6 oz. bottle. In all, there were eleven products, and with the inclusion of shades, they numbered forty-three.

Love shines was the fun stick to contour and color your eyes, face, all your other kissable little curves and hollows. Lipsticks were called Lovesticks. The remainder of the line was Love's Basic Moisture, Love's A Little Color, Love's Transparent Powder, Love's A Little Cover, Love's Liner, Love's Mascara, and Lovelids.

The latter was eyeshadow with a container in the shape of a plastic eyeball.  I had all this line and the eyeballs were so cool but you had to use your finger to apply it. That became an unhealthy procedure so eyeshadows with applicators became the standard.

Yardley of London is the world's oldest cosmetics company. Established in 1770, Yardley was a major producer of soap and perfumery by the beginning of the 20th century. By 1910, it moved to London's Bond Street, and in 1921 Yardley received its first Royal Warrant. Today, Yardley holds two Royal Warrants.

Yardley London is famous as a purveyor of luxury fragrances and soaps. House of Yardley was born in England in the mid-seventeenth century, during the reign of king Charles I of England.

An entrepreneurial young man named Jonathan Yardley obtained a royal warrant for the provision of all the soap to City of London.

The means by which this warrant was obtained are lost to history, however we might suppose it involved payment to the monarch of a sizeable, and no doubt welcome, sum.

This first incarnation of Yardley was lost, as was so much of the old city, in the Great Fire of London of 1666; save for one detail – that lavender should be used to perfume the soaps.

RETRO:KIMMER FAVORITE 1960'S BEAUTIFUL WOMEN IN B/W

Brigitte Bardot

Twiggy

Sharon Tate

Elizabeth Montgomery

Elizabeth Taylor

Kim Novak

Connie Francis

Jane Fonda

 Ronnie Spector

Ann-Margret

Sophia Loren

YARDLEY LONDON SLICKER LIPSTICK KEYCHAIN UNUSED

This post is for TEE who emailed RK and asked us if we knew where to buy Yardley slicker lip polish. Unfortunately they are stuck back in the late 60's and banished to Ebay if you are lucky to find one. Which I did just now. Go bid on it HERE

I did find a little online store that carries Yardley scents which I loved the lilly of the valley scent when I was a teen. My Nanna wore the English Lavender which I haven't smelled that since the 80's.

WATCH THIS VIDEO GIRLS (GUYS TOO)....

Check this out! I just found a cool flickr picture set featuring Yardley magazine advertisements go see them HERE


Here is a very retro set of favorites sent in from a RK fan...

Slicker Lip Polish from Yardley, Needed to be white. very light pink, Loves Baby soft, Bonne Bell Ten O Six, Blue Mascara (making a HUGE comeback) , Dippity Do, Sun IN , stick/pancake make-up (Max Factor), Cutex Nail Polish and Revlon Polishes too

Check this out they are bringing white lipsticks back now too! Very cool retro fabulous in our opinion. Because as we already know there has never been a more fantastically super cool decade like the 1960's!

What better way to end this retro makeup story than a video featuring one of our favorites of the retro age Edie Sedgewick and Nico too!

If any of you have photos of your cool retro stuff and you'd like to share PLZ send them to Retrokimmer@gmail.com

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY: LONDON 1960's

Blow-Up is a fabulous Retro film based on the real life antics of fashion photographers from 1960's London.

Recently a friend mailed a copy of a terrific documentary about the real people behind the film Blow-Up. I sat absolutely mesmerized for 2 hours watching the documentary, the backstory behind the 60's Fashion scene:

THE REAL BLOW UP fame, fashion, and photography in the 1960's.

A 2 hour BBC Documentary that is unfortunately not available for sale or out even on a You tube video. The background of the photographers, models, actors and rocks stars of the 1960's is riveting and the BBC should make a film about Bailey singularly. Release of the original would be in store as well.

Thank you HH for all of your generous tutorials!

I did find a great two-part interview with Mr. Bailey on You Tube:

David Bailey, who captured the most powerful icons of the 1960s in his photographs. He first became interested in photography while serving in the Royal Air Force, and he started out as an assistant to fashion photographer John French.

His first published pictures appeared in 1960, and from then he became famous for making stars of a new generation of models, including Jean Shrimpton, Catherine Deneuve, who he married for five years, and Penelope Tree. You adapt to who you're photographing. It's their personality, not mine I want. Whereas models once appeared cold and aloof, Bailey's work gave them a personality, thanks to the close rapport he enjoyed with them. It was considered revolutionary at the time.

Of Jean Shrimpton, he said: "She was magic and the camera loved her too. In a way she was the cheapest model in the world - you only needed to shoot half a roll of film and then you had it. "She had the knack of having her hand in the right place, she knew where the light was, she was just a natural."

Bailey continues to work today, with recent subjects including Manchester band Oasis, boxer Naseem Hamed and model Naomi Campbell. But his style of photography remains the same. "I've always tried to do pictures that don't date. I always go for simplicity," he said.

Jean Shrimpton started it all:

Jean Shrimpton

When British newcomer David Bailey came to New York in the winter of 1962 with model and girlfriend Jean Shrimpton, it was considered by most to be an audacious move. The refreshing body of work that resulted however, allowed Bailey and his photographs to pioneer the subsequent transatlantic invasion by the likes of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones.

Shooting with his new 35mm camera and without any crew members or stylists, Bailey was able to capture the energy of this city during the era of Andy Warhol and jazz nirvana.

The photographs in NY JS DB 62 exude the beauty of a tough, but naïve couple whose decision to break boundaries is just as inspiring today as it was in 1962. Images from NY JS DB 62, are out now on Steidl.

Barry Lategan

Barry Lategan is one of the country’s most renowned and influential photographers. Probably best known for his early discovery and portraits of Twiggy – two of which are exhibited in the V&A Museum – Barry has photographed some of the most notable celebrities of the past forty years.

HRH Princess Anne, Paul and Linda McCartney, Iman, Germaine Greer, Calvin Klein, Sol Campbell, John Major, Margaret Thatcher and Salman Rushdie are just a few of the famous faces that have appeared in front of his lens.

His career as a fashion photographer has also seen much of his work make it to the pages and front covers of international editions of Vogue and Harpers Bazaar and he won the Halina award for the 1986 Pirelli calendar. Other plaudits include a Clio Award for a TV commercial for Armani perfume and a D&AD Award for the Millennium stamp.

TWIGGY PART 2

Twiggy's Webpage is HERE

Retro Kimmer's most popular post since we began

Nov. 3 , 2008 is: TWIGGY

Watch a NEW video HERE

Order Twiggy's Book HERE

Get Twiggy posters HERE

Best Twiggy Fan Site HERE

Twiggy Makeup Tutorial HERE

Cool video: