Vintage Velvet Illusion 1990s Y2K does 1960s Op Art dress pale blue white Mod Psychedelia New Psych high quality cotton
Velvet Illusion dress dating from between 1999 and 2007, this is a fabulous iconic quality cotton dress fully lined with a neatly concealed back zip. It is a UK size 8, though would also be fine for a UK 6. A small UK 10 may get away with it.
I also have the same dress in black and white, see my other listing. The black and white one is a size UK 10 to 12. If you are a size 8-10 either will fit you, though the blue will be rather more fitted to your form. So, decisions decisions for you....blue & white or black and white ???? ...
I LOVED Velvet Illusion, was one of the best boutiques ever, done out with Op, Pop and psychedelic art and a nexus for 1960s enthusiasts, Mods and the emerging new psychedelics.
I shot some of the pics in the park...as I think it's a lovely summer dress so fresh looking...as well as the Op Art/1960s vibe. Not as if that doesn't have a connection anyway...."it's all too beautiful..." as the Small Faces sang in Itchycoo Park their local park in Ilford in 1967 as they moved to more psychedelia sound, and while I recall getting stung badly by nettles at my local park years ago, they are gone. We have catkins atm though and daffodils so indeed very beautiful ! And, this park would almost certainly have been walked by Op Artist Bridget Riley as a child! As she was born and raised as a child before WWII in Norwood my manor!
Now please note: these dresses have been copied by many other labels but this IS THE authentic Velvet Illusion one. Copies are tatty made and not in the same league. So this by contrast is lovely to wear, the cotton is quality, fully lined, doesn't cling, not even this smaller one in blue, and hidden zip on the back. These are CLASS dresses! I am a UK size 8 btw.
So please know what you are looking at here: Velvet Illusion was simply one of the most exciting boutiques I have come across, all themed Sixties Op Pop & Psychedelic, it was based in Camden and also Kensington High street, and those of us who recall it have very fond memories. It wasn't cheap: but you get what you pay for. I couldn't afford these dresses at the time, but I managed an Op Art mini skirt in their sale and was trembling and kept looking at it in the bag on my way home!
So, I think the person who buys this dress should appreciate it, and so hopefully, you will read on if it appeals to you as much as it does to me, and for sure will be by those who admire you when you wear it. And if they don't get it, well, you can explain the aesthetic ! Obviously it's 60s & Op Art inspired, and I think fashion should also be fun! And believe me you will have a lot of fun in this dress!
While the Velvet Illusion boutique was a focal point for Mods, Acid Jazz and New Psychedelia fans, plenty of mainstream folk at the time late 1990s to early 00s, wanted the 60s look even if they weren't into the music. So you'd see the odd one at very smart West End clubs , and indeed the clubbing scene in Kings Cross. What all these folks had in common is in Velvet Illusion you were cool as they come!
Many like myself lament the closing of the stores ...owner Mickey Wolf went back to the USA apparently. You can read more about the label on the Dandy in Aspic 1960s Blogspot if you google that with Velvet Illusion.
It is especially a shame because within a year of its closure, mainstream fashion was again going nuts for the 1960s inspired fashion and Mod look with Steven Meisel shooting the Mod theme with supermodels, and the release of 'Factory Girl' about Edie Sedgwick Andy Warhol's muse. The Mousetrap Psychedelic night was still going, and indeed STILL IS, 33 years now! The same people New Untouchables also promote Mod and soul nights at The Phoenix pub in Cavendish Square in London which was also the big London Mod pub in the 1980s Revival. And they are still going too! So you will still see the odd Velvet Illusion dress at these events. They also organize Modstock btw and you can see the 2004 Fashion show Velvet Illusion did there on You Tube.
By the late 1990s enthusiasm for Op art and all things sixties was on a high again, and Velvet Illusion found their niche and they did quality garments. Thing is you see Velvet Illusion's Mickey Wolf was obviously a huge enthusiast of the 1960s himself and saw Art Fashion & Music connected, and believed in what he was doing and the love showed in the quality of the clothes and the shopping experience. It was not like corporate fashion whose motive is only profit.
So my 'Spirit of the Age and Garment' for this dress is by The Creation....yes the 1960s Mod band that also were among the pioneers of psychedelia, and in 2004 their 'lost' material was released mostly recorded mid 1980s but never released, on the fab album 'Psychedelic Rose' . So I use the title track. Such a fab song! To me they are far better than some of the more laid back 'shoegaze' & 'stoner' so called new psych bands. I don't listen to this stuff to go sleep thx. Of the new bands I love Iceland's Singapore Sling who I've seen live & met, and The Horrors whose 'Sea within a Sea' for eg would be in my top 10 psych songs of all time. And again, consider Rhys Webb of The Horrors is one of the top 1960s DJs in London! Associated with 60s soul, freakbeat and psych events organized by the New Untouchables & Le Beat Bespoke, you may see besotted young Art student girls dancing in Velvet Illusion dresses to records Rhys spins at events like the soul nights at The Phoenix among the veteran Mods on the dance floor! Anyway watch out for all those events they do such as Mousetrap if you are seeking somewhere to wear your 60s and psych, Op Art colour block & Dollyrockers & Velvet Illusion and Mod, outfits ! It is all very well swanning around Kensington Rooftop Gardens for swish events but let's face it while the ambience is lovely, the music at such is pants! If you see Rob Bailey Rhys Webb or Dr Robert are DJ-ing at an event, this is what the soundtrack to your clobber should be! Had so many great nights dancing at places such as Paper Dress Vintage , who also stage international live bands with a freakbeat vibe. You get a real mix of people too all ages, and style ranging from Mod to psych/goth and alternative rockers. Interesting to see a lot of the young New Psych kids getting into a more minimalist Mod style now too, and you have 60s influenced new young bands like The Molotovs and again appealing to all generations.
Speaking of Paper Dress vintage they also used to run Twin Peaks themed nights with freakbeat music after the release of the new series....so now at least the wanderings of my trippy mind can make more sense to you than the show, as of course the rose in Twin Peaks is pale blue ! 'Bue Rose' is FBI & other government agencies (eg Project Blue Book) code for an unexplained mysterious event, as referenced in the David Lynch series. A memorable icon too on the Op Art background.
Usually, though a good 10 years after closure of Velvet Illusion, there'd be girls wearing their dresses at these events.