Tidying up my wardrobe last week I came across this vintage AnnaBelinda, Oxford pinafore dress I'd completely forgotten about and, with it being 100% wool, it felt like the perfect choice to wear on a chilly day like today.
I found it in a charity shop back in 2021 and nearly died of excitement. For anyone interested in the British boutique fashion movement, AnnaBelinda, Oxford is one of the must-have labels. These pinafore dresses, handmade using Liberty fabric, command prices upwards of £200!
Holding it up against the tops hanging in my wardrobe, this aubergine cotton blouse from Neatawear, London (a chain of boutiques which closed down in 1966) sprung out at me and these incredible 1960s suede boots, sent to me by Gisela, finished the outfit off perfectly. The vintage navy felted wool hat with the purple band was a charity shop buy back in 2011.
So, who or what, was AnnaBelinda?
AnnaBelinda was a boutique on Gloucester Street, Oxford, in business from 1971 until 2012. The name was an amalgimation of the names of the founders, Anita Woodhead (who left soon after to live abroad) and Belinda O’Hanlon, who left her studies at Oxford University to set up the sewing partnership. Originally located within a converted public toilet in Park End street, Belinda described the early days of the business, we had a sign saying AnnaBelinda makes clothes in a day. We put velvet on the walls to hide the tiles and people would come in with material to be made up into dresses.
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AnnaBelinda's heyday was the 1970s, becoming famous for its quality, hand-finished garments often made from Liberty fabrics and with designs inspired by a pre-industrial, rural England. AnnaBelinda featured in several exhibitions showcasing British Boutique fashion including Liberty in Fashion (2015-2016) at the Fashion & Textile Museum in London and the 2018 the Liberty Art Fabrics Fashion retrospective at Edinburgh’s Dovecot Gallery. In 1975 AnnaBelinda was one of three labels chosen to design a dress to commemorate Liberty's 100th anniversary.
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Their dresses were popular with Oxford undergraduates, one notable customer being Benazir Bhutto, the future Prime Minister of Pakistan, who studied at the university from 1973. Other famous fans included Judi Dench and Prunella Scales. The label expanded beyond Oxford with outlets at Liberty & Harrods and stores in Nantucket, Padua and Oslo.
The advertisements from the time, published in The Observer and Vogue, were designed by Belinda’s husband, Redmond, who had also studied at Oxford University. They were slightly risque and aimed at a well-educated audience; William Harvey of Oxford: discoverer of the circulation of the blood. Annabelinda of Oxford: discoverer of ways to make it circulate a little faster. Another advert stated, For the greater delight of your paramour, AnnaBelinda will make you a pinafore; a reference to the pinafore dresses (like mine!) for which AnnaBelinda was best known. A 1979 advert from Country Life speaks to their well-connected and cultured clientele; AnnaBelinda. Dress designers of genius for formal receptions in Royal Societies; for clandestine meetings in unmentionable places; for gala performances at the opera (and at later hours elsewhere)….
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The boutique hit the national headlines in 1981 when the late, great Howard Marks, former Oxford undergraduate and international cannabis smuggler, stated in his autobiography that he had planned to use AnnaBelinda as a front for his work with MI6. He also claimed to have funded the move from small premises on Park End Street to 6 Gloucester Street to provide a respectable front for the wealth gained from his drug dealing. I was lucky enough to attend several audiences with Howard Marks over the years, he was a fascinating character and Mr Nice is well worth a read if you haven't already (HERE).
Here's just a few of the beauties I found online.....oh, for a magic money tree!
I feel terrible for neglecting mine for three years!
Have you got any AnnaBelinda lurking in your wardrobe?
Hi Vix, I think I'm about to hyperventilate !!! Annabelinda gorgeousness for £3.00!!!!!!! Of all the very many great British clothing brands from the 70s Annabelinda just speaks so much to me. The clever mix of Liberty fabric-that second example you post of the pinafore dress with ' Ianthe' Liberty ( my favourite design of theirs that I have in 2 different coloured shirts) with sumptuous glowing velvet. Yes please! I love the reference to Howard Mark's too. A very interesting Welshman! Your fabulous suede boots. These are the clothes that I want to wear. Many thanks for bringing us such inspiring and thoughtful pieces.
ReplyDeleteHello, Alysia! Hyperventilate is the right word, that sums up how I felt when I stumbled across that pinafore dress in a charity shop! Their clothes were so beautiful, those velvet coloured buttons and the timeless Liberty fabric and don't get me started on that mustard velvet Ianthe dress, I could have wept when I saw it on Etsy! I'm rather envious of your Ianthe shirts, its my favourite pattern, too!
DeleteThose vintage boots are ridiculously comfy as well as being gorgeous to look at - I have to limit their outfings in case I ruin them.
Howard Marks was such a fascinating charater and so witty on the occasions I saw him live, I've yet to see the film based on Mr Nice but with Rhys Ifans playng him it's got to be good! xxx
Such amazing dresses. I love this outfit of yours. So wonderful to read your content on this designer and her work. Thank you so much. I hope you are staying cozy and gorgeous as always. Thanks again for the beautiful post 💛💙❤️🎀❤️💙💛
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Ellie! I had great fun researching that label - and finding dresses to dream about! xxx
DeleteHello Vix, I agree with you that a day without dressing up is a day wasted. Dressing appropriately is not only for women but also for men
ReplyDeleteHello, Asep! Great to hear from you and yes, both men and women should dress well, something we rarely see in this ever more casual age! xxx
DeleteThat was a fascinating read Vix. Thank you for taking the time to research it and pass it on. I’ve never heard of the brand. Think I need to take a look at that book now
ReplyDeleteMuch love from us both xxx
Hello L&P, its always fabulous to hear from you. I wondered if I might find more AnnaBelinda dresses if I visited Oxfordshire charity shops on a regular basis but I think they were so expensive most women probably held on to them (or passed them on to the next generation). xxx
DeleteWhat a beautiful AnnaBelinda dress.
ReplyDeleteIt is fantastic you got it for 3 pounds.
With your fashion knowledge and a keen eye, you always find the best stuff.
It is not only luck, it's skill and experience as well.
I love how you styled this gorgeous dress.
You look stunning.
I also enjoyed reading about the history of AnnaBelinda brand. The fact that the first AnnaBelinda shop was a converted public toiled that became the symbol of luxury and quality clothes is fabulous in so many ways
Thanks, Ivana! I've come across quite a few dress shops converted from public toilets, such was the money and skills invested in Victorian municipal buildings that even those with mundane uses (like toilets) were beautiful enough to live on in other incarnations.
DeleteThose dresses would have been very expensive but reading the comment from Happy Introvert below, it just goes to prove that they were worth every penny! xxx
Absolutely! Quality made garments are worth every penny.
DeleteI had one of the dresses, gifted to me by older cousin who was studying at Oxford. She had it for her 21st birthday party and I then wore it seven years later for mine. I passed it on to my niece, who then passed it on to her daughter. It's now safely stored until the currently 4 year old only girl in that generation will be old enough to wear it. Such a beautiful part of our family history.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful, Happy Introvert, not only inheriting your AnnaBelinda from a cousin but passing it on to your neice and, in turn, to her daughter. That dress would have been expensive but obviously worth the investment with four women from the same family enjoying it for generations. xxx
DeleteThe research you have done is brilliant, you could make a film of the designers' story from all that intel. Surprising that you have had your dress 3 years and not worn it - your wardrobe must be like Narnia! like stepping into a whole new world! I like your pinafore, and the boots are beautiful and a perfect match. Betty
ReplyDeleteThanks, Betty! Its sad when these labels disappear, I fell down a bit of a rabbit hole looking for pictures of more of their designs yesterday afternoon. I try and keep the wardrobe (s!) relatively tidy but there's always something that falls off the rail and gets trapped at the back - like this poor dress! xxx
DeleteYou wear that dress very nicely, the accessories make it even more beautiful.
ReplyDeleteNow that I've read your post, I'd also love an apron dress from AnnaBelinds. Or maybe the brown two-piece with the top and skirt.
Thanks, Andrea! I think the mustard velvet dress is my favourite, too. That Ianthe pattern is so beautiful. xxx
DeleteWhat absolutely gorgeous dresses, including yours. It's perfect for this weather.
ReplyDeleteI love to hear the histories of these amazing brands.
Love the hat and boots too.
Thanks, Annie! It was deliciously warm to wear yesterday, I feel quite guilty that I'd forgotten all about it! The link to Howad Marks makes it all the more special, I was such a fan! xxx
DeleteI do remember when you first introduced us to the Annabelinda pinafore dress, as I fell in love with it on the spot! Imagine that it was languishing in your wardrobe and that you'd forgotten all about it. That said, it has happened to me as well :-)
ReplyDeleteIt looks absolutely fabulous paired with that gorgeous aubergine blouse.
Thank you for sharing their history and the photos of their drool-worthy creations! xxx
I feel terrible for letting it slip to the back of the wardrobe and nelecting her for three years! Isn't that mustard velvet one divine? Maybe the charity shop goddesses will send me one eventually!! xxx
DeleteAnnaBelinda dress have this kind of charm from the past - I like it - they are so artistic in my opinion.
ReplyDeleteThey're lovely, aren't they? xxx
DeleteI definitely haven’t but my heart skipped a beat at that gold velvet maxi. So beautiful xxx
ReplyDeleteThat gold velvet one makes me go weak at the knees, it's stunning! xxx
DeleteI had never heard of her before so thanks for sharing. Fascinating to learn that Benazir Bhutto was such a fan.
ReplyDeleteBenazir Bhutto was such an icon, I was in a backpackers hostel in Kerala when I heard she died and it reduced me to tears. xxx
DeleteI do remember you buying that dress and being super excited so it's nice to see it's been appreciated again in this outfit. I found the history part fascinating so thank you for imparting that knowledge!
ReplyDeleteIt goes really well with the purple blouse! Hope you are well! Xx
Thanks, Kezzie! I'm glad I rediscovered it, its so unlike me to forget clothes, I've got a memory like an elephant! xxx
DeleteI had never heard of the brand, but my Mum made me a couple of smock style tops and a dress in that very style from a dressmaking pattern. So obviously they were extremely fashionable in the early to mid 70s.
ReplyDeleteI bet the clothes your Mum made for you were gorgeous, they sounded it! xxx
DeleteNever heard of this brand before, but now it's on my radar - there has to be someone in Victoria who visited London in the 70s and bought one! I love the sumptuous velvets, swoon! Your outfit is gorgeous, Vix! The boots are perfect.
ReplyDeleteThat AB location reminds me of the cover of the Beastie Boys' "Paul's Boutique"!
If there's any AnnaBelinda to have reached Canada then you're the woman to find it, Sheila! I never expected to find it around here! xxx
DeleteThat's a new name to me. I can see why you were so pleased to rediscover your dress. What a lovely thing to have had happen. Arilx
ReplyDeleteThanks, Aril! You may not know the boutique but I bet you've heard of Howard Marks, what a fascinating man! xxx
DeleteHi Vix,
ReplyDeleteI loved your vintage look with an incredible story behind it, and I loved the boots too!
This small boutique achieved what many businesses fail to do, but in the end, it couldn't resist fast fashion either!
Have a wonderful day!
The dreaded fast fashion - a cheap fix that causes so much damage! hope you're well, Marisa! xxx
DeleteHello Vix,
ReplyDeleteApologies for missing so mnay of your posts due to computer issues.
I hadn't herad of AnnaBelinda but am now wondering if I did see the boutique in Oxford back in 1975. I did enjoy your research, the garments are amazing. Glad you found this one again - too good not to be seen - looks so good with those boots and blouse.
Lovely to hear from you, Jill! xxx
DeleteAnnaBelinda was still a thing when I moved to Oxfordshire in 1989, I went i there a few times as a student but it was way out of my budget. I am intrigued to know where the public toilet was on Park End Steet (the street I work on!) I'm guessing they would have been near the old train station. I must try and find some old pictures.
ReplyDelete