I have a dream

One of my favourite photographs, ever, is this 1975 Helmut Newton shot of le smoking for French Vogue. I love the androgynous model, the mood, the composition and the ambiguity of this picture - a quiet Parisienne street after dark, what/who is she waiting for? And it captures a moment in the seventies when Yves Saint Laurent's revolutionary vision collided with Newton's powerful photography. In The Beautiful Fall, Alicia Drake says, 'Newton provided a link in the creation of the Saint Laurent visual world; thanks to Newton's imagination you could actually 'see' the Saint Laurent woman in action and witness the decadence and adventure of her life.'

At the time, the image caused a sensation, as the fabulous Colin McDowell points out in Fashion Today, 'Nice women did not wear the ambiguous smokings of Yves Saint Laurent.... And yet, both suit and image were an homage to the new female elegance - years before their time.'

This is the kind of elegance That's Not My Age aspires to. Grown-up and edgy, I've always longed for a YSL tuxedo. Unfortunately, I'm not a sixteenth arrondisement bourgeoise woman with too much money and time on my hands (how Helmut Newton described the way his ideal YSL-clad woman dressed). Though I have visited the Pierre Bergé - Yves Saint Laurent Foundation in Paris, where on a behind the scenes tour of the archives I actually got to see the original le smoking, a very special fashion moment indeed, almost as exciting as meeting Mary Portas. But that's as close as it gets. Or is it?

I've spotted this YSL wool-blend tuxedo on The Outnet (yes, yes, I know I've become completely obsessed with that birthday deal but imagine it, two quid for a tuxedo!)



And in homage to my middle-age crush - that's Tilda Swinton, not Mary Portas (though Mary in a tux - now that would be Portas-tic!) - I might actually opt for a cream pants suit:





Tuxedo love: Yves Saint Laurent with Catherine Deneuve in 2002.


PS If you haven't read The Beautiful Fall - a book about the rivalry between YSL and Karl Lagerfeld, about 'Fashion, genius and glorious excess in 1970s Paris' - I can highly recommend it. Brilliant stuff.



And don't forget....TheOutnet.com is throwing a very special birthday party, for one day only on April 16th the online fashion outlet will host a pop-up sale where all items will be available at the giveaway price of $1/£1/€1. For more information, www.theoutnet/birthday.com

Photos
Yves Saint Laurent and Catherine Deneuve: The Beautiful Fall
Tilda Swinton: ES Magazine

70s Style and Design: Dominic Lutyens and Kirsty Hislop

A special mention this week for the lovely Dominic Lutyens, 48, who together with co-author Kirsty Hislop has just published a book on 70s style and design. Lutyens is a brilliant arts journalist who writes regularly for Elle Decoration, Vogue, The Observer, The Guardian and The Daily Telegraph. The equally lovely Hislop, is a writer and stylist who has worked for Elle and The Observer.

The pair met at a party in the late 80s and bonded over a love for 70s disco, 'Then it was round to Dominic's to listen to Cerrone and Giorgio Moroder,' says Hislop, 'While poring over his mum's vast collection of 70s fashion magazines.' Twenty years later, this proves to be time well spent - previously unreleased photos and information on some of the era's more obscure designers sits alongside all the big names, "We wanted to explore the lesser know and in some cases forgotten designers of the decade,' adds Lutyens, ' without neglecting such perenially fascinating episodes of 70s history, such as Biba and punk.'

Focusing on 70s cool, not synthetic fabrics, flares and the usual tat, this inspirational book covers fashion, design, architecture, interiors and art. Divided into four themes: the pop movement and the rise of postmodernism; the Edwardian, 20s and 30s revivals; the back to nature movement and finally the decade's avant-garde movers and shakers, we get to read about Alan Aldridge, Jean-Charles de Castelbajac, Daniel Hechter, Jean Paul-Goude, Mr Freedom and Mrs Howie. As well as old favourites; Barbara Hulanicki, Laura Ashley, Ossie Clark, Celia Birtwell, Yves Saint Laurent and Vivienne Westwood.

So you can forget Jon Savage's 'The decade that taste forgot,' line (The Face, February 1988). As Lutyens points out, 'A lot of looks that were born in the 70s, such as the Debbie Harry/Fiorucci look became associated with the 80s instead, because the mainstream was slow to catch up.' And anyway, the only quote that matters now is from Thames and Hudson's press release, 'Seventies Style and Design is a must for nostalgic 40 to 60-somethings or younger people seeking style inspiration.' That sentence alone is enough to get me filling my electronic shopping trolley.