1950s White Rare Tommy Steele Rock and Roll Novelty Print Full Skirt, by Teddy Tinling, 26in Waist

If collecting rare vintage is your thing, this has to be on your list! White 1950s cotton full skirt with a sketched portrait of Tommy Steele and his signature, peppered with little love hearts. Now you may ask, why is this so special.....well settle in for a story!

In the 1950s, Tommy Steele was the British Elvis, a big rock and roll heart throb for the teens who sang all the coolest songs. At the height if his fame he took a step down from the pedestal and the torch to Cliff Richard.

Now Teddy Tinling, who is mentioned on the label, had a fascinating past. He started life in tennis as a player and umpire, then served in WW2 (there is rumours he was a spy), and also was an author. But his most famous claim to fame was his design work......he designed outfits for female tennis players that were deemed too distracting and controversial in the late 40s, which led to him being banned for 33 years!

Now this is part of the range that Tinling designed for Tommy at the height of his fame in 1957, called 'Teen-Age Jive Fashions', and I have managed to find an image of the original fashion show which shows the skirt on the model, which as you can see did come with a matching body. I have never seen anything from this range on the internet so it is certainly very rare!

Shown with a small petticoat underneath, not included.

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