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Recent Home Renovations
Not strictly Biba - but keeping with the faith and Barbara Hulanicki - here is the bedroom I have in the house part-owned with my sister (it's the old family homestead) which needed an overhaul as the last time it was decorated was in the year we purchased it - 1974! So I've graduated from Laura Ashley pink to Barbara Hulanicki neutral (a bit unusual for me but more fitting for the bedroom).
Diva Beige
I suppose anything with 'Diva' in the title would suit what some may think of me - but I know what I like and someone once said I don't 'suffer fools gladly' and I don't suppose I do!
This is a shot of my bedroom and compared to the advertisement web pages at the Graham and Brown outlet I think I can say I've done Barbara justice!
Here is Graham & Brown's suggestion for cushions - I chose the ones shown below
House of Fraser Barbara Hulanicki cushions - the cream version has gone over to the bedroom with some earlier versions with the matching 'Diva' design and the darker version has remained in my current house.
The Bathroom
Our bathroom is not Biba in any sense of the word but it does resemble the style of Art Deco to its 9th degree being completely black, white, chrome and glass with a specially commissioned shower curtain in my favourite Art Deco design background. (Images to follow) However I have furnished it with Biba jars and tooth glasses as well as towels and bath mat all courtesy of the House of Fraser who in collaboration with Barbara replicated the originals.
l to r Glass and Storage Jars in my bathroom
Press launch party for the Biba make-up range, Kensington High Street, April 1970. Sourced from Pinterest
My personal items are comprehensively chronicled in the Exhibitions section but not all of them made it there - one of them is the frock worn forefront extreme right as you look at the picture in the image above purporting to be from 1970. The only reason that I would query the date is that I bought this frock in Big Biba somewhere between 1974-77. However, as with many of the items I purchased I did wait for the sales. (Only the purple frock in the exhibitions was bought full price and I probably didn't eat for a week). I distinctly remember this as it was made from a cheesecloth type of fabric, felt beautifully light, was black and had been classed as a night dress (not night attire) and I just thought it would make a great evening frock if I needed one. The bodice part was so stiff and tight it felt like a corset but it kept you in your proper shape, the sleeves and skirt were, of course, soft and billowy! Eventually I cut it down to wear as a top over jeans as I could not sleep in it and didn't have too much opportunity to wear it to evening 'dos' working for the BBC and Royal Court respectively at the time. I resented the loss of material so cut down to an uneven hem covering my hips and bum and the back and just below the waist at the front - pretty cool reimagining of the style if you ask me!
Extolling the virtues of Biba tights (I just loved the colours) in the free A3 sized newspaper used for promotional purposes
Stash of Biba Tights - Plums and Biba Brown
Page refresehd : 5th September 2019 (G)