1960s Model Girl

An examination of the life writing which surrounds the 'model girl' in post-war Britain, including autobiography, memoir, and advice literature.

Examining histories of post-war Britain, fashion, modelling, photography and popular culture, 1960s Model Girl: Narrative Identities in Fashion, Time and History explores model girl narratives found throughout media, fashion magazines, advice literature, auto/biographies and fashion exhibits.

Introducing theories of history, life-writing and narrative identity, 1960s Model Girl demonstrates how these can be applied to the study of fashion and shows how fashion studies open new pathways to understanding identity and emergent British femininities. Drawing on a wealth of archival research, case studies include teen fashion magazines Petticoat and Model Girl; advice writing of model agent Lucie Clayton and fashion journalist Suzy Menkes; autobiographies of fashion models Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy; and the Mary Quant exhibition, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2019-2020).

This book provides an intricate study of a varied and manifold figure whose impact and influence spreads further afield than a particular time, place and professional context. Closely attending to a range of model girl narratives, 1960s Model Girl illuminates the cultural past and, in turn, sheds light on our own historical present.