I'm going to serve you till your dying day

Jun 5

"I won't be a rock star. I will be a legend."

Freddie Mercury: Queen at Milton Keynes, June 5, 1982

Unsure how many queen fans there are on tumblr but Brian and Roger have a veryyyy very special place in my heart and they are both so easy to draw

If you’ve seen any photos of the early 70s Queen, you’ve seen this top. Freddie wore it, Roger and John wore it, and possibly the only reason why Brian didn’t get his turn is because it was too small for him. The top had a matching jacket with the same little tree motifs (photos):

This is a set, and originally a 20s or 30s ladies lounge pyjama. Compare Freddie’s pieces to these vintage pieces for sale on Etsy:

Source

Source

See that heart pocket? The general shape and cut of the top? Look at the first photo in this post. Identical. I actually found a couple of other sets even more similar, this blue set in the V&A Museum collection in London:

And this black one which looks like another variation of the same piece:

Freddie also had another set like this in white (photos):

I’ve spent the best part of this morning staring at the photos of this top Roger wore to Queen’s interview with the Japanese Music Life magazine in 1974. I’ve also scoured the net for something similar (didn’t really find anything) and came up with a theory.

To me, it looks like a vintage piece. Vintage in the 70s, that is. And he DID have a vintage clothes stall with Freddie, so it’s plausible. The embroidery looks like Chinese style floral emproidery (though a bit on the clunky side). Chinese embroidery is big on the hyperrealistic florals and gradient colour changes, all done in that satin stitch. Take a look at this vintage Chinese embroidered piece, for example:

The fabric of Roger’s top looks like silk, or at least silk blend or art silk of some kind, it has that fluid fall. It also looks like the top has a little pocket at waist level on the front. It’s just about visible in this photo on the left side (his right) peeking from under the edge of his blazer (that blazer is from Granny Takes a Trip, btw):

Now, the neckline of this top is where it gets weird. I’ve stared at it, trying to wrap my head around how it would work and this is what I came up with. The embroidery is Chinese, at least in style. The fabric is silk (or very close). What if the neckline is actually a variation of a traditional Chinese qipao/cheongsam neckline and Roger has left it unbuttoned as a fashion statement or because the fit was a bit off? It looks like there is a little bit of tightness around the chest for Rog with this top so that would check out. Roger’s top doesn’t appear to have that high mandarin collar, though. Here are a couple of pics of how that style of a neckline works:

I’m sold on this theory, at least :) In fact, I did a bit more digging and I’m almost convinced that this top is a 20s or 30s ladies lounge pyjama top; it certainly matches the style! Look at these vintage pieces for example:

and for all of yall that are still figuring it out or aren't getting the support you deserve:

New interview with Brian (restored but unfortunately upscaled).

𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: June 6, 1977

𝗖𝗶𝘁𝘆: London, UK