Sixties British boutiques
see separate entries for
Biba / Bus Stop / Mary Quant’s Bazaar / Quorum (Ossie Clark)

I Was Lord Kitchener’s Valet

The Fulham Road Clothes Shop

Kleptomania

Clobber

John Stephen – God Father of Carnaby Street
Ray Davies sang of the dandies of Carnaby Street in “Dedicated Follower of Fashion” – the guy responsible for London guys getting into fashion was undoubtedly John Stephen, a grocer’s son from Glasgow. (He catered for dolly birds too though!).

John first worked in Vince’s Man’s Shop, considered the first boutique in London. He opened his first boutique in 1963 but end up with six shops on Carnaby Street including “Male West One” and “His Clothes”. John’s empire didn’t end in Carnaby Street, as well as owning several smaller shops across London, he also owned two stores in Brighton.

John Stephen’s had the ability to take classic styles and up date them for the sixties, such as ready made suits – in 1968 he advertised for sale “mohair, cashmere and wool worsted jackets and suits…cut with the flair of John Stephens designs – but gently”.

John’s shops were loud, vibrant, cool, friendly and casual, with a high turn around of stock. As well as the updated classics styles incorporated psychedelic, hippy, militarism (The Beatles Sargent Peppers album spurning the trend) and rich textured fabrics. (See sold item 290116681519 on Ebay for a recent sale I made of a really funky John Stephen’s dress).

John Stephen’s published a booklet dedicated to the boutiques of Carnaby Street called “Gear Guide” in 1967 which numbered twenty five stores!

Birdcage – cool gear flies the London nest
Janet Campbell started out working in a shop in Sloane Street smocking posh frocks before going back home to Nottingham and opening up a shop with her friend Paul Smith. It was an old tailor’s shop on Birdsmith Gate and was named Birdcage.

The shop was an instant success – it was something new exciting and different. At last, the hipsters of Nottingham no longer needed to make a weekly trip into London – or didn’t have to wait a week between fashion fixes, a little piece of swinging London was now right on their door step. Like the London boutiques, it was not just a place to buy clothes, but a place to meet like- minded souls and discuss music politics and fashion.

Like Biba the store claimed to be for everyone, rich and poor, but the sizes for women didn’t go beyond 12! The clothes defined the age - they were short and gave a freedom of movement their mothers only wished they’d had as teenagers.

The menswear department opened after a year in business, on the first floor, where previously the machinists had worked. Paul Smith ran it with aplomb, bringing in clothes from Mr Freedom, Chelsea Cobbler and Mulberry.

Whilst Paul Smith moved on, the shop has remained a presence in Nottingham and has been the starting place for many well-respected designers.

Granny Takes a Trip –
the essence of the revolutionary spirit of swinging London in the 60’s
The name Granny Takes A Trip was thought up by Nigel Waymouth, who together with Sheila Cohen, was offered a shop premises on the Kings Road (World’s End), the centre of Swinging London to house Sheila Cohen’s huge collection of antique clothing. They joined forces with Saville Row tailor John Pearce in the summer of 1965. Unlike Mary Quant or Barbara Hulanicki, these three were not designers but members of an underground culture keen on concepts and looks.

With £200 borrowed, the shop opened on a wet winter morning early in 1966, by the spring it had already achieved iconic status across the globe and was featured in the famous “Swinging London” edition of Time magazine. Their ethos inspired future boutique owners such as Mr Freedom, Let It Rock and Alkasura.

The young, rich and fabulous – the archetypal dandy -flocked to Granny Takes A Trip to browse through the latest, hippest and coolest fashions whilst listening to the hottest sounds and discussing counter-culture ideas.

Nigel Waymouth recalled “John Pearce was very much a mod, there was something about our clothes that were a little smarter, not seedy. We abhorred all that ‘I was Lord Kitchener’s Valet thing’”.

Inside the store it was a cross between a New Orleans bordello and a futuristic fantasy – lace curtains draped the entrance to the only changing room, whilst a beaded glass curtain hung over the entrance at the top of the steps – an art deco Wurlitzer blasted out appropriately cool tunes. It was not a friendly shop, and was considered highly intimidating.

Surely the most lasting impression of the Granny Takes A Trip store was it’s the façade? In particular the giant pop-art face of Jean Harlow – it was eventually replaced by a real 1947 Dodge saloon car which gave the appearance of crashing out from the window and into the forecourt (how many times has this idea been copied since?) – Chelsea Council were none too pleased.

By the end of 60’s the three way partnership began to strain, with Nigel Waymouth being increasingly involved in poster and album cover design work and John Pearse jetting out to Italy with The Living Theatre Group. The guys did not want to play shop and once Sheila’s original supply of clothing was sold the headache of getting hold of fresh clothing was tiresome, especially when orders were placed with East End suppliers who ran up vast quantities of the garments – selling the rest to other clothing stores!

Sheila was left to cope with the job of running one of London’s hottest stores alone – she couldn’t and in late 1960 the stores ownership switched to two New Yorkers, Gene Krell and Marty. They managed to keep the store going for just four more years.

Woodlands 21

Top Gear & Countdown

Annacat

Mr Freedom

Mr Fish

Hung On You

Other Hip London Boutiques:

City / You and I / Squire / Village Gate / Pallisades
Spice No.1 / Irvine Sellers / Boys / Alkasura / Pop
Mod Male / Domino Male / Blades / Lady Jane / Take 6
Let It Rock / Stirling Cooper / Mr Darren / David Silverman