Two piece dress, black moss crêpe, designed by Ossie Clark for Radley, London, 1969

Blouse and skirt of black moss crêpe. Midriff crop-top with short puff sleeves, which ties in front. Button-through skirt also ties at the waist, with a small peep-hole just below the midriff.

Given by Pauline Doddington

This very early Ossie Clark for Radley ensemble, with its tied crop-top and buttonthrough skirt with tie at waist, is an early version of a key design called "Tarts". The "Tarts" dress is usually seen with the bodice and skirt attached, with the bodice made in a printed moss crepe (typically Celia Birtwell's "Floating Daisy" print, although other prints have been seen) and the skirt in a solid colour. In this example, the skirt and bodice are separate.

As a one-piece dress, "Tarts" was to prove a best-seller for Radley. It was produced for several years between 1969 and 1973, in red and blue prints with black, cream or red plain moss crepe skirts, sometimes with contrasting buttons, sometimes with only the bodice tied rather than both bodice and skirt waist.

- Daniel Milford-Cottam

Registered File number 1995/65.

Label is of a format only used for a few months in 1969.

T.172, 173-1995