The Swinging Sixties

Swinging Sixties takes a new look at a revolutionary moment in 20th-century fashion. Its starting point is the publication in April 1966 of Time magazine's famous issue on London's reinvention as the new world centre of style. Forty years on, chapters by prominent authors reconsider the role played by designers, retail entrepreneurs, journalists, photographers and film-makers in promoting a new way of dressing that reverberated far beyond the British capital. Illustrated with stunning new shots of key pieces from the V&A's dress collection, alongside contemporary photographs, posters and other ephemera, the book relates the clothes to the rapidly changing social context of the times, arguing for the central role played by fashion in the brave new world of Sixties pop culture.

While many books, films and documentaries claim to have captured the phenomenon that was Swinging London, just one magazine was present in the capital during the 1960s to illustrate this extraordinary moment as it unravelled. London Life emerged in October 1965 and, over the next fifteen months, would document the capital's action at its absolute zenith. With imagery from the likes of David Bailey, Duffy and Terence Donovan, designs from Peter Blake, David Hockney, Gerald Scarfe and fledgling artist Ian Dury plus words and opinions from those riding high on the city`s cutting-edge, London Life remains the coolest document from the capital's most exciting period. Collected for the first time, including forewords from Peter Blake and David Puttnam and a scene-setting introduction from Simon Wells, London Life offers a remarkable and candid view on a period when London was the creative hub of the world.

The swinging sixties was the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in Great Britain during the 1960s, with 'Swinging London' as the hip capital. This book takes an affectionate look back at the fashions, music and lifestyles of this vibrant decade in almost 400 photographs hand-picked from the archives of Mirrorpix

'An active pleasure to read' Mail on Sunday Harold Wilson's famous reference to 'white heat' captured the optimistic spirit of a society in the midst of breathtaking change. From the gaudy pleasures of Swinging London to the tragic bloodshed in Northern Ireland, from the intrigues of Westminster to the drama of the World Cup, British life seemed to have taken on a dramatic new momentum. The memories, images and colourful personalities of those heady times still resonate today: mop-tops and mini-skirts, strikes and demonstrations, Carnaby Street and Kings Road, Harold Wilson and Edward Heath, Mary Quant and Jean Shrimpton, Enoch Powell and Mary Whitehouse, Marianne Faithfull and Mick Jagger. In this wonderfully rich and readable historical narrative, Dominic Sandbrook looks behind the myths of the Swinging Sixties to unearth the contradictions of a society caught between optimism and decline.

Discover the long and fascinating history of this tiny self-governing island in the Irish Sea. Many people don’t know that the tiny Isle of Man, midway between the coasts of Lancashire and Northern Ireland, is one of the richest historic landscapes in Europe. Packed into its 225 square miles are dramatic stories of Bronze Age conflict, Viking warriors, medieval kings, smugglers, maritime and railway history, wartime airfields, and even a pirate radio station. Add to that the island's unique motorsport heritage (on two, three and four wheels), and you have a combination unrivaled anywhere in the British Isles. Whatever your passion, or whichever historical period appeals to you, the Isle of Man will have something fascinating to offer. Packed with illustrations, and using first-hand accounts to enhance the narrative, this book takes you on a chronological journey through the island’s history, before offering a series of guided tours which pick up the highlights of each district. From Bronze Age hill forts to medieval castles, from heritage railways to historic quaysides, from award-winning museums to country mansions, the Isle of Man has it all. Let this book be your guide to historic Britain's best-kept secret, as you explore a place untouched by the hectic pace of twenty-first-century life. Includes photos

Travel back in time to the era when Carnaby Street led the world, a golden age of youthful innovation and exhilarating pop culture, and a fashion scene that defined a generation. The 1960s was one of the most exciting fashion decades of the twentieth century, during which British pop and youth culture gave birth to styles that would set international trends. This book reveals how the sweeping social changes of the 1960s affected the British look, how designers and entrepreneurs such as Mary Quant and John Stephen made London the fashion city of the decade, and the influence of public figures such as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Cathy McGowan, Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton on the national identity of a country finally recovering from a prolonged period of austerity.

Psychedelic Celluloid is the definitive guide to the decade when swinging London was the film capital of the world. Illustrated throughout with colour images of the period and covering over 300 British and European films and TV shows, Psychedelic Celluloid moves from the Beatles via Bond spin offs to crazy personal folies des grandeurs, Blow Up and its imitators, concert movies, documentaries, stylish horror films and many more. Carefully researched and drawing on interviews with some of the survivors of the era, Psychedelic Celluloid provides a witty and detailed account of each major production, listing its stars, directors, producers and music and showing how they were linked to the fashion and trends of the period.'Psychedelic Celluloid covers the swinging sixties in minute detail, noting the influence of pop on hundreds of productions' - The Independent 'While the pop and rock of the 60s has been the subject of innumerable studies, and people have catalogued the films too, often at great length, up until now no one has put the two together' -Little White Lies 'A richly illustrated guide' - The Bookseller