Mitzi Gaynor: Vintage Style Icon

If you follow Juno Says Hello on Twitter, you might have seen that I often post pictures of vintage style icons on their birthday. Today is a particularly special occasion - gorgeous Mitzi Gaynor turns 80 years old. There are too many lovely photos of her to choose just one, so this birthday gal post has turned into a mini-blog. Enjoy!

Mitzi is an actress and dancer. The camera loved her and she started her career in showbusiness as a chorus girl.

Her dancing was legendary and Mitzi was often given her own TV 'special'. Here she is a program recorded in 1969:

In addition to her dancing career, Mitzi had a column in The Hollywood Reporter for many years.

Some of her routines are wonderfully camp and have no doubt influenced contemporary burlesque performers.

Like fellow dancer Ann-Magret (who tore it up with Elvis in Viva Las Vegas) she had gorgeous red hair.

Mitzi is best known for her role in 1958 movie South Pacific. I remember singing along to this with my mother when I was a little girl...

Mitzi toured her one-woman show, Razzle Dazzle: My Life Behind the Sequins (told you she was camp) in the United States throughout 2009 and 2011, and the show will be continued into 2012.

Many happy returns!

New to the boutique: 1960s hostess gown as worn by Julianne Moore in A Single Man

Tom Ford's directorial debut A Single Man came in out in 2009. The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood and stars Colin Firth, who was nominated for an Oscar for his portrayal of George Falconer, and Julianne Moore.

Based in California and taking place over the course of a single day, November 30th 1962, the film places emphasis on the culture of the 1960s; the production design is by the same team that designed TV show Mad Men, which is set in the same era.

One of the movie's most memorable moments is the dance scene with Firth and Moore:

The monochrome caped column dress worn by Moore was made by Neusteters, an upmarket department store that closed in 1985. Costume Designer Arianne Phillips sourced this dress for the movie. I'm informed there would have been about 40 dresses made for the store and I've have managed to track down the exact same design.

The dress is size 10-12 and is available to buy here. The back of the gown is covered with a floor-length monochrome cape, as seen in this photo:

The front of the dress has a high neckline and a tapered white panel down the centre:

If you would like to make an appointment to visit our studio in Kings Cross, please get in touch via this link.

Moore's 60s look has inspired several online hair and make-up tutorials:

Stephanie Theobald wrote a really interesting piece on Julianne Moore's character in A Single Man, explaining why a vamp on the verge of a breakdown is irresistible. Read the full article here. The Times called Moore's style 'sloshed chic' when the movie came out - read my previous blog post here.

Grazia Hot Trend: Embellished Collars

Jewelled Peter Pan collars are all over the designer collections & high street this season. Grazia magazine featured this style as one of their hot trends this week:


We have three stunning vintage dresses with unusual collar details in the boutique. Our Naomi Party Dress is an original 1960s handmade garment in metallic fabric with grey and gold woven thread. It has a cream lace collar with ribbon detail - very Alexa Chung - and the dress is fully lined.

Our second dress is a gorgeous 1960s-inspired design with white plastic 'gemstones' sewn onto the neckline. Available to buy here.


Finally we have a stunning Peggy French Couture late 1960s dress with embellished collar detail, available to buy here.

If you would like to make an appointment to visit our Kings Cross studio, please get in touch via this link. We can open up any time between 7am and 10pm, including weekends. There is no obligation to buy and all visitors receive a Juno Says Hello canvas tote and scented candle.

Two beautiful actresses in Juno Says Hello

Actress Annabel Scholey is playing Lady Anne opposite Kevin Spacey in the Sam Mendes production of Richard III at the Old Vic. For Press Night she picked out a 1930s crimson evening gown from our boutique. Annabel looked absolutely stunning - here she is with Kevin Spacey at the Savoy Hotel in London:

Annabel was accompanied by actress Maimie McCoy - a good friend of Juno Says Hello and pâtissière extraordinaire.

Maimie - also known as Mary - set up Mary's Tea Parties, specialising in elegant afternoon teas; the perfect way to celebrate any occasion, from birthdays to baby showers, to hen parties. Each party is made entirely the way you want it. She will suggest a selection from her carefully prepared menus with delights such as raspberry “fantasy” cake, or delicate lavender shortbread stacks, and together you can create a wonderfully bespoke party. Everything is handmade by Mary in her little kitchen and is delivered to your home, served by professional Afternoon Tea waiting staff, and then cleared up and whisked away, leaving you to play host and delight in cakes.

Mary surrounded by her delicious confections

Mary has supplied delicious treats for several Juno Says Hello late-night sales... the cakes and tarts are so irresistible they are in danger of outshining the dresses! We've had miniature Bakewell tarts, passion-fruit meringues, ice-cream cone cupcakes... all absolutely mouthwatering.


Mary picked out our stunning Scarpetta dress to wear to the Press Night with Annabel. Doesn't she look amazing?!

The chevron-pleated fabric is a black silk-cotton mix and the dress comes with matching belt. Click here to view the dress online.

We're doing another studio sale this afternoon and Mary is about to drop off another tray of delicious goodies... it's very difficult to resist eating all of them before the customers arrive!

If you would like to come along to our next event and sample her cakes for yourself, please get in touch via this link and let us know.

Rebecca x

Princess Catherine works a black lace shift

Princess Catherine arrived in Ottawa, Canada wearing a black lace shift by British-based Canadian designer Erdem Moralioglu:

I had to do a double take when I saw this picture... Juno Says Hello has a dress that is almost identical. A stunning vintage 1960s 'nude illusion' black lace dress with peach silk lining:

The dress is similar to size 10 and is available to buy here. If you would like to make an appointment to visit our Kings Cross studio, please get in touch via this link. We can open up any time between 7am and 10pm, including weekends. There is no obligation to buy and all visitors receive a Juno Says Hello canvas tote and scented candle.

Black lace dresses are absolutely foolproof - you will always look sexy and chic. Here's a picture of Marion Cotillard from Vogue Italia wearing a similar dress:

70s Fashion Icon: Michelle Pfeiffer in Scarface

Brian de Palma's award-winning film Scarface isn't the most obvious choice for fashionistas, but this epic crime drama set in the late 70s and early 80s also features some of the most glamorous moments in movie history thanks to Elvira Hancock, played by a breathtakingly beautiful Michelle Pfeiffer.

Elvira is Tony Montana's wife - a spoilt, pouting diva - and her cream skirt suits and satin maxi dresses have had a particularly strong influence on designer collections over the last few seasons.

Nightclub ennui. We've all been there.

Elvi's froideur as she struts past her husband Frank is one of the best entrances in film history:

Even when the wheels start to come off, she still looks amazing...

How the hell does anyone get their hair so shiny?

Here's a video tutorial on how to get her make-up 'look':

When we started out we didn't buy many 1970s dresses for the boutique, but they have turned out to be such a popular request that we recently sourced about 25 original 1970s evening gowns - all absolutely stunning and in excellent condition - that will be uploaded to the site soon. If you want to make an appointment for a preview, please get in touch via this link. We can open up the studio any time between 7am and 10pm (including weekends) and we're 2 minutes from Kings Cross station. This leopard-print maxi gown is one of our 1970s dresses currently in stock, available to buy here:

These YSL gold wedges complete the look:

I'm going to be posting on Studio 54-inspired fashion next week, including a selection of our amazing disco dresses. Here a sneak peek of a sequin maxi gown (size 12) we have in stock - not yet online - it arrived with original tags and has never been worn! If you want to come in and try it on please get in touch.

Dressing for Royal Ascot: three exquisite pieces

Royal Ascot starts today and for once decent weather is forecast for the entire week! As usual James Sherwood will be there with his camera spying the best (and worst) outfits. James has just written a book called Fashion at Royal Ascot, featuring photographs from the last 300 years at the races.

Here is Vogue model Fiona Campbell-Walter at Royal Ascot in 1953 in a beautiful saucer hat:


One of the most outrageous fashion icons in the racing world was Mrs Gertrude Shilling, aka the 'Ascot Mascot', seen here in 1969:

Here's Queenie and her gang in 1974, wearing a Launer handbag - still her favourite in 2011 - and a turban.

Martha Sitwell is a 21st century beauty who wears exquisite vintage pieces to the races:

We've picked out three outfits from our boutique that are perfect for Royal Ascot. Our first choice is a stunning 1960s silk houndstooth dress with matching jacket. See more photos here.

Our next choice is a shantung silk early 1960s dress with chiffon daisy detail on the hem.


This ultra-chic navy and cream organza dress would look sensational at the races:

To view our full collection of dresses please click here. We are able to deliver on the same day if you live in central London. If you need more inspiration here is some footage of James's show from Ascot a couple of years ago: