El Jay was a label which set a benchmark not just for design, but for its use of fabrics. Diane discovered El Jay garments when she was teaching in Remuera, and the culotte is one of a number of El Jay outfits she bought from The French Shop in the late 1960s/early 1970s. "I fell in love the gorgeous feel of this vibrantly patterned silk. This garment also reminds me of the elaborate hair styles we all wore to balls. In those days I had long hair, and spent hours at the hairdressers, getting sculpted curls, interlaced with tiny plaits – everything concreted into place with a heavy dose of hair lacquer. When I got back from a ball, I would wrap the hair-do in toilet paper so that it would last for at least another day!" Read more about 1970s fashion in the New Zealand Fashion Museum publication The Age of Aquarius: A 70s Revolution in Fashion.