Back to the 80s via "The Crown"

Think what you may about the series, now that season 4 is out.  The media has not much to cover as we are in month 10 of the pandemic, so they are analyzing the series: history is being distorted. Yes. But the clothes are right on. To the point where, in the mean time, my newly retired friends who are home sequestered are digging up old photos. I came across some of my own. 

I had posted in an earlier blog that I was more Laura Ashley than punk back in the late '70s and early 80s. 

That might be a reflection of my undeniable bourgeois background. But Laura Ashley was more petit bourgeois and Diana in her youth, way back when she was a kindergarten teacher, was also more down to earth. 

I latched on to the Laura Ashley look as did many other young women back then. I liked cotton prints, as opposed to the synthetic crap that was flooding the department stores. I remember going to Lord and Taylor and Ohrbachs, stores that no longer exist, department stores being now a thing of the past, looking for bargains in the sale racks. The results were usually catastrophic, but I didn't care. 

Here is a thankfully small sample of the "look" that I awkwardly adopted back in my early twenties. 

    The Norwegian sweater look. I hung on to that sweater for decades. It came from a ski shop on the Upper East side. The bandana closely tied around the neck must have been an in accessory back then. 

My mother sewed me this dress from a Laura Ashley pattern. I latched on to the combination V-neck sweater/floral patterned dress or skirt. Call it preppy, call it what you like. As for the ankle socks, that was my choice, people teased me for it. Now it's a catwalk standard. 

The Peter Pan collar on a silk blouse, paired with a blue floral skirt. It doesn't get more Lady Di than that!

                       I think that might be a Laura Ashley dress. Never mind the poodle hair. 

                     There's that V neck/cotton skirt combo again. I LOVED that skirt. 

And for the final photo: My boyfriend at the time bought me this outfit from the original Putumayo store on Lexington Avenue. I loved that store! I wonder if Diana ever wore Putumayo?