It's called fashion, darling!
Stories shared by Audley homeowners
When you walk in to an Audley village you can expect to see statement outfits and a stunning selection of fashion donned by homeowners, including vintage pieces making a comeback from a previous decade. Why save it for best? The best is now.
Two homeowners living in Audley villages have kindly shared their fashion-inspired stories below.
Thank you to Mrs Coz, a homeowner at Audley Redwood in Bristol, who kindly shared her fashion story with us.
From the age of 17, in 1970, I pored over the Biba Mail Order catalogues and ordered items which were just about affordable…..if I saved up. Maxi coats, maxi dresses, trouser suits, accessories and eventually cosmetics.
My friend and I occasionally took the train up to London, simply to visit Biba in Kensington High Street. When they moved to Big Biba, taking over the former Derry and Toms department store, it was like walking into a wonderland. There was even a food hall with Biba branded food products including baked beans and pet food. The pinnacle though was dining in their Art Deco Rainbow Room. Bliss.
My favourite purchase was a trouser suit with matching hat which I first wore to a friend’s wedding in 1972.
Somewhat stupidly, I gave the suit to charity many years ago but I did keep the hat….which still fits!
About 10 years ago, I met the designer, Barbara Hulaniki, at the Bath Fashion Museum, where she signed my photo. She commented what a shame that I hadn’t kept the complete outfit as it would now “be worth a fortune”!
I’m thrilled that my 18 year old grand-daughter is now a Biba aficionado and, earlier this year, we went to the Biba Exhibition in London together where I wore my Biba Hat! It had to be done.
Thank you to Michele Dias, a homeowner and artist living at Audley Cooper's Hill in Surrey, who kindly shared some beautiful fashion-inspired artworks with us.
I provide art classes to owners here.
During the summer we had a couple of sessions which were inspired by Coco Chanel for clothing, and Dior for shoes.
Here are some examples of our work. You can see how much we enjoyed creating retro fashion designs.
Eleanor de Rosmorduc Fraser, a homeowner at Audley Nightingale Place shares her memory of a real Coco Chanel fan given to her at a party in Paris.
The Black Fan
I was invited to a lavish fancy dress ball in Paris: the sort of party that has several hosts. I arranged to stay with friends, who wholeheartedly entered into the game of dressing me up.
Yes, the finishing touch, they insisted, was a real Coco Chanel fan that had been given to my hostess by the great lady herself.
So I arrived in splendour, but rapidly came to the conclusion that the fan had been a mistake. You cannot dance rock and roll with a full-sized black ostrich feather fan in your hand.
Looking around I decided to put it somewhere discreet but near to hand. The window ledge behind an upright piano seemed to fit the bill perfectly.
Some hours later I went to fetch it, and it may not surprise you to learn that the fan had gone.
I did all the right things, visited the venue, circulated a polite message, but all that came later.
First I had to face breakfast with my friends.
The fan was never returned.
Owners, please share more stories
The Marketing team love to receive your stories, photos, videos, and creative artwork. If you'd like to see your story on the website or in the media, please email stories@audleyvillages.co.uk and the team will get it online. Showcasing the wonderful things you do is a great way to change perceptions of the beautiful villages we live in, and encourage more like-minded people to become your neighbours.
