One-piece culottes in vibrant floral print

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

Details

Credit: Courtesy of Diane Strevens
Copyright: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 Licence
Manufacturing location: Auckland
Garment type: Culotte
Material: Silk
Features: The top of the culotte has a slight cutaway shoulder line and blouson effect. Note too that the cowl collar sits high at the front and drops away in a V at the back.
Colour: Bright pink, coral, orange and tan on a black ground
Purchase location: French Shop, Remuera, Auckland
Label: El Jay
Date: Early 1970s