Tag Archives: 50s

A trip into my collection: 5 new Horrockses purchases

Posted in 40s, 50s, cc41, Horrockses by

Today is an opportunity for a sneaky peek into my personal collection. In the last few months I’ve gone a bit mad on Horrockses dresses, my collection has been pretty large for a while now, but within a short while I have added five more to my collection, all which add something a little different I feel.

This is Horrockses number one, and is probably the latest of all the Horrockses I bought. With this label it is most likely it dates to post 1958. I don’t normally buy Horrockses in this style although I thought a corduroy Horrockses was a must as dresses such as they often appeared in Vogue during the winter months.

Here is Horrockses number two and one I was particularly excited by. This little number is actually earlier than I ever normally buy Horrockses wise and predates the launch of Horrockses fashions in 1946. This dress infact combines two things I collect as it is also a CC41 dress. What is good about this dress therefore is it can be dates quite easily between 1942-1946. Although it predates Horrockses fashions it still has an iconic Horrockses print which makes it a great addition to my collection.

This is Horrockses number three and is so typical of my Horrockses collection in a wonderful biadere stripe design. This is almost certainly a mid 50s example. What I like about this is that it also has a Richard shops label demonstrating how Horrockses primarily sold through concessions in department stores.

                                                          (it has pockets yayyyyyy!!!!)

Horrockses number four and is probably the most show stopping of all I recently purchased. This is more of an evening dress, and what this really reminded me of was Matisse’s cut out designs.
This lovely dress was purchased from Scarlet vintage. Check out the website or visit the shop in Bath, AMAZING stock.

And finally Horrockses number five. At first this appears the most unremarkable of all the Horrockses I have purchased, but is infact probably the most important. This amazing example can be EXACTLY dated to 1953 as the dress was produced as a special souvenir for the coronation. If you look closely you can see “Elizabeth Regina 1953” printed all over this lovely dress. So not only is it a Horrockses, but with the Queen’s diamond jubilee coming up it is a highly relevant dress too.
I hope you all enjoyed a little outing into my collection!

What I’ve been buying lately: Suits, dresses and jackets galore

Posted in 40s, 50s by

Today I thought I would share with you all some of my recent purchases, my very kind Nanna and Great Aunt both gave me some money for Christmas so I have been lucky enough to have a little bit of spare cash to spend on vintage!
I’ll start off by saying I’m actually feeling really let down by ebay at the moment, well in the UK at least. I am finding that there are less and less sellers out there offering high quality vintage pieces that are accurately described. There are a few exceptions, Lestervintage is one such seller. I’ve bought from this seller before and their items are always exactly as described. I also really appreciate how well photographed they are. Another on this list is redappleclothing who again I have bought from in the past.
The problem seems to be the sheer volume of incorrect listings out there. I’ve ended up with three paltry eighties copies of 50s dresses lately due to people insisting things are genuine 50s that are not. If you aren’t sure, state it!
So yes, this means my vintage buying habbits have swerved overseas and I’ve been buying quite a few bits from America, something I never used to do for fear of a)import charges and b) the items taking an age to arrive.
This has surprisingly not been the case and I’ve been really happy with the items I’ve picked up from the US and the price I’ve paid including postage.
Here are a few of my recents.


First off these lovely two Bobbi Brooks jackets which I think cost me under £40 for the two and from America. They are in MINT condition and are really versatile too. They both look amazing with jeans, and when the weather warms up a little more I’m sure they will become my springtime failsafes.
I also bought this SENSATIONAL 40s red suit. I’m sure it only cost $45, it wasn’t expensive at all. The quality of this piece is quite frankly wonderful. It has padded weighted pockets it is beautifully lined in silk throughout and has a really strong metal zipper. The fabric is some sort of Gaberdine and its pretty warm. I think come February I’ll be wearing this number regularly. I’m not normally one for wearing red (I think it looks a bit funny with my skintone) but the colour really looks good on, and even better the suit makes me feel amazing.

 Then onto this lovely little Blanes dress. Another of my obsessive collecting labels. I believe this dress is a very early 60s piece and is a sensational fit too. What gives this dress the edge is its lovely cowl draping at the back. I just need to find a belt to go with it now. Hmmmm….

I also wanted to show the fact that I don’t only buy vintage and sometimes the odd new piece creeps into my wardrobe too. I bought this during the week in Leeds as my finishing coursework treat to myself. I love a good bit of zingy orange and it has some little side splits for added interest. I bought it in the Whistles sale and it was reduced from (if memory serves me correctly) £175 to £40. Ace! I just want to apologise for my drag queen worthy make up in these pictures, unfortunately the light in my room is absolutely horrendous and I can never tell until I leave the house quite how heavily I have clarted the make up on!

My new Horrockses dress!

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I just had to share this with everyone. This is my latest Horrockses dress. Anyone who follows me on twitter may have seen it already (if not, why not? – @liztregenza). It is a pretty special design to say the least and I think it might be my new favourite in my collection. Saying this does make me feel like I’m cheating on all of my other Horrockses by saying it, but this one is show stopping. Quite simple in design, but wonderfully elegant, crisp and I believe in unworn condition. The dress has its original integral petticoat still and this is SO clean and white still it is almost scary.




So onto the design of the dress itself. The dress is probably a John Tullis design. Tullis designed one of my favourite Horrockses dress that isn’t in my personal collection ( a dress that once belonged to Lucienne Day). See my blog post about the other dress here. Tullis was renowned for the complex cut of his dresses, which many of the seamstresses complained were a nightmare to stitch! Tullis got his training at Molyneux the couturier in Paris. This couture training could be one of the main reasons for the complicated cut of many of his garments. If you spot a Horrockses with a particularly complicated bodice, or details like pockets on the outside of a dress, then it will be probably be a Tullis design!
As far as Tullis designs go (or probably Tullis designs!) this isn’t the most complicated of designs, but it is an interesting piece. The design is what is known as a “unit” design. The bodice are made from related but different patterns. A process which was used for dresses where quantities were limited.
Something that I find interesting about Tullis is it appears he was the only fashion designer to ever be credited for his designs, a feature in Vogue stated (of a Horrockses dress) “designed by John Tullis” something which annoyed Herbert Mallot and prompted him to stipulate “ a Horrockses’ fashion production is, in the future, described as such and that no reference is made to the individual who created it…I must stress that the goodwill of our fashion business must remain in the name of Horrockses and not in anyone who is employed by us”. This probably happened because of Tullis’ couture credentials, which was also one of the reasons why he was hired in 1950, to bring prestige to the brand.
In my opinion this dress probably dates to between 1955-58 (if memory serves me correctly 58 was when Tullis left). As this is a size 10, a size which Horrockses (it appears) did not begin producing to 1954/55.
So how do I know so much about this dress? It’s a pretty important design I have to say. Not only does it appear in Chris Boydell’s book on Horrockses, but the design was also the inspiration for one of the new bedding ranges that features Horrockses original prints. This particular print named “Sophia”. I actually have the bedding on my bed back at home! (I’m at uni at the moment so my bedding is some very dodgy Asda value sheets : /) I bought my bedding at full price but on the website now there is 20% off. I urge you to go and have a look it really is lovely stuff made of really good quality cotton and when I ordered it arrived amazingly quickly.

And one last note on my new dress. It’s a perfect fit!