Lamenting the loss of London’s Department Stores
An advert for D.H Evans – which disappeared from Oxford Street in 2001
Who doesn’t love a mooch around their favourite department store? When the pandemic restrictions lifted last year, I headed up to town for a hit of much-missed, immersive glamour. Nothing beats a slow glide up the escalators, sniffing French perfume on your wrist, past outrageous mannequins and oligarchs (Selfridges) – especially when you’ve been stuck at home for six months.
But 21st-century Oxford Street is a changed landscape. Once, department stores marched its entire length, and their names used to roll off the tongue: Marshall & Snelgrove, Bourne & Hollingsworth, Peter Robinson, Waring & Gillow, D. H. Evans (latterly House of Fraser). The ‘Golden Mile’ was famed for its dazzling shopping offer. Post-pandemic, just Selfridges and John Lewis have survived.
We’ve lost an astonishing 83% of our department stores over the past six years, from the big chains (Debenhams, Army & Navy, Beales) to cherished independents like Jenners of Edinburgh and Boswells of Oxford. ‘But Mum,’ says my 13-year-old daughter, rolling her eyes. ‘Department stores are so last century.’ Shopping has, as we know, moved on.
And yet…
Credit: Photo by Glenn Copus/ANL/Shutterstock. The Central Atrium Of London’s Dickins & Jones Department Store
I’ve spent the past two years immersed in the golden age of shopping, researching my book on London’s lost department stores. And, unexpectedly, it’s made me hugely nostalgic for this decorous retail model on the cusp of extinction. Right from the start, these ‘Halls of Temptation’ were designed to seduce. Stuffed full of extraordinary innovations – from the first children’s bicycle (Gamages, 1898), to the first vacuum cleaner (Gorringes, 1903) to the first Y-fronts (Simpsons, 1937). Santa’s Grotto was invented by the department store: J.R. Roberts of Stratford put Father Christmas in a darkened cavern lit by lanterns in 1888. Some 17,000 children visited.
While the West End’s emporia dazzled, some of the most go-getting businesses sprang up in the suburbs. Here, the big store was the community lynchpin, cossetting customers with goods and services (furniture repair, wedding cakes, coal delivery, clock winding), plus, the chance of a job for life. Most of us know someone who worked, however briefly, in a department store, and all of us have our own childhood memories of such places.
Croydon’s big ‘houses’ were particularly brilliant. There was Allders, with its sweeping, colonnaded front; Grants, famous for bespoke tailoring; and Kennards, ‘The store that entertained to sell, and sold to entertain’. Up on the roof or ‘Playground in the Sky’, you’d find Wild West shows, a zoo and Punch & Judy. Downstairs, Mademoiselle Veronica of the Folies Bergère, the World’s Highest Kicker, would be trying out the hosiery department’s range of silk stockings at 100 kicks a minute. Outside, two circus elephants could be blocking the street, publicising a ‘Jumbo Sale’.
Allders department store – established 1862 and closed 2012
These were phenomenal, surprising, emancipating places. Edwardian women could linger, un-chaperoned, all day (thank you Mr Selfridge for the first ladies’ lav, 1909). But if I could teleport back in time, where would I go? Lunch at the sumptuous, Art Deco Shinners of Sutton? A fashion show at Holdrons of Peckham, with its Moderne ‘Lenscrete’ vaulted ceilings (today Khan’s Bargains)? Or a shoplifting spree in the louche gloom of 70s Big Biba, on Kensington High Street, complete with Moorish roof garden and flamingos?
If you’re lucky enough to still live near a department store, go mooch around its vintage ecosystem. We can take none of these places for granted.
This book is for London-lovers, architecture buffs, history flâneurs, fashionistas, former loyal workers, Are You Being Served obsessives, and anyone who has ever loved riding the escalator up, up, up.
London’s Lost Department Stores: A Vanished World of Dazzle and Dreams (Safe Haven Press, £16.99) The publisher has kindly offered three books to give away to TNMA readers. If you’d like to win one, please comment below before 10 December 2022.
Tessa Boase wearing a gilet from Maku
Journalist and social historian Tessa Boase lives in Hastings with her family.
Discussion (128 Comments)
There was once a Galeries Lafayette in London, on Regent St (where Hamleys is today). It opened in 1920 and promised to bring Parisian ‘dazzle’ to the capital. New fashions were flown in from Paris every night! Even the wax mannequins were French.
It closed in 1972 – too many competing boutiques, and younger shoppers wanting a different experience. Like Big Biba…Stephanie. says:
I remember Galeries Lafayette on Regent Street. It was a sad day when it closed.
Mrs Tonia says:
Totally fascinating topic. Yes I would be happy to have a copy. My favourite London department stores are Liberty on Regent Street and Selfridges. They have changed since the 80s and merchandise is more expensive but are still treasure troves if one has money to spend especially in the sales. Some of my special pieces of clothing were bought in Selfridges sales. Like a Dries Van Noten striped lurex pullover. It’s still going strong.
I miss Debenhams where I bought boys and men’s clothing in its design collaborations like Jasper Conran and others. I bought John Rocha house items such as towels pillows duvet covers. These collaborations helped finance the designers and provided affordable bits of well-designed merchandise. Still using everything on a daily basis bought then.
Retail in these shops remains but I’m sure they are challenged by online and discount shopping.Sandra says:
It amazes me how ridiculously expensive places on Oxford Street London like Selfridges and even John Lewis survived and yet wonderful, more reasonably priced Debenham’s did not! Unbelievable!
Nadia says:
This is so sad. 83% is too high. Please try and visit the existing department stores so we can hang on to them. We don’t want that number going any higher.
Here in Canada, we have lost the magic once encountered at Eatons, Ogilvys, and Simpson Sears. The Bay survives. I love the idea of this book – especially the description of a Santa’s Village in all its forms. I remember the thrill of going to the toy department at Simpsons Sears and a visit to Santa ( yes a grotto like ice cave entrance) and then luncheon with my Mom and Grandma at the store’s cafeteria. It was definitely a dress up occasion! Thank you for reminding me of this wonderful time 🙂
Rosemary says:
I worked in Dickins & Jones for a few months in the late 60s. Highlights were the fashion shows – we underlings got to fetch and carry and help dress the models, and could watch the shows from backstage. Low point was being frisked by the security man when we were leaving work in case we’d nicked anything. Ah, happy days!
Jenny says:
I’d forgotten the humiliation of the end of day frisking. I worked in Allders of Croydon in the early 80’s and they did the same. Interestingly Harrods, when I worked there briefly in the 80’s treated staff with much more dignity and respect and lunch was free and delicious!
Carolyn Triance says:
Wonderful article, thank you. I can’t believe that all those department stores in Oxford Street have bitten the dust. It was such a childhood treat to take the train up to London with my mother and brother : the stores were a treat for her and then we would go to a film or even a show as OUR treat in the afternoon. Our nearest department store was in Welwyn Garden City and yes, it created a fine Santa’s grotto. Visiting Father Christmas there was the number one wish of every child in the neighbourhood in the run-up to Christmas. What a shame that so many of the department stores have disappeared.
EvieB says:
We’re lucky to still have Fenwick in Newcastle, a brilliant department store which is forever changing and moving with the times. Having said that, I’d love to go back in time and have one more look at their Cosmetics Hall and the French Salon pre 1970.
JaniceR says:
Oooo I agree EvieB, Fenwicks is a wonderful store. I remember shopping in the French Salon during the sales and husbands were tempted by the seats and newspapers while their wives shopped! Brilliant idea.
MaryM says:
EvieB and JaniceR, I’m another Newcastle Fenwicks fan too! It’s such a fabulous store. and retains lots of grandeur from the past. The plants and flowers displayed on the pavement, the extraordinary sea food restaurant, the lingerie department, the whole shop makes me feel happy. And yes, they are creative and innovative and keep up with the times. Long may they continue
Cindy says:
I travelled to London 4 years ago, and visited Harrod’s, Selfridges and Debenham’s. The onset of COVID, along with more people shopping on line brings challenges to these stores to keep their doors open. I also need to mention Marks and Spencer, where I found a pair of suede chelsea boots.
I liked the personal touch – having a sales person approach you and letting you know what was new in fashion, cosmetics, etc. On line shopping doesn’t provide that.
I hope to experience that similar personal experience the next time I’m in London.Janet W says:
Yes, I too live in Canada, but worked just off Bond Street in the 1980’s for the Canadian Government. I would regularly walk along Oxford Street marvelling at the selection, the shopping and the people. The entire pavement full of shoppers!!! I had never seen anything like it. I loved Liberty on Regent Street, John Lewis, and walking around Bond Street, just looking. (I think, as a young person, I treated it more like a museum experience.) I would love a copy of this book, it is wonderful reminder of days gone by.
And Alyson, wonderful site. I am a long time reader – for style inspiration!
Hi Janet – exactly so – and I was amazed to discover just how museum-like these great stores were in the golden era (1880s-1950s). In 1928 two West End stores, Waring & Gillow and Shoolbreds, both had ground-breaking exhibitions of modern art and furniture. It was where people went just to gawp at the latest thing, whether they could afford it or not. Maybe the giant Apple stores are their successors… Hmm!
Paula says:
Living in Vancouver the only department store left is Hudson’s Bay and I don’t think it is doing really well. We have lost Eaton’s, Woodwards, Army & Navy, Simpson Sears over the years. Unless you have a favourite boutique store, shopping in person is becoming harder. I love to try things on and feel what the fabric is like so online shopping can be a big miss. Would love to have this book. Thanks
Pat says:
I’d love to win a copy; my first job after finishing my A levels in 1976 was with Dickins and Jones in Oxford Street. It was loosely described as a management training programme and tbf we did get one day college day release to a college in Leicester Square, but most of the time we were buyers juniors- fresh flowers on the desk, carry his/her bag etc. I loved every minute of it! So many memories- being clerk to the clerk for the perfumery buyer, where I first smelt Paco Rabanne and Guerlain’s Mitsouko and took home huge sample bags from Clinique and Estee Lauder; learning how to cut fabric in the huge fabric hall, where newly oil rich Arabs, their wives and their entourages would take over the place and buy up everything that took their fancy; having my long hair cut into a ‘Purdy’ cut in the in store salon and feeling really modern. Great times, thanks for the post you can see it brought back fond memories.
Just read my post, Dickins and Jones in Regent Street not Oxford Street! Opposite Liberty and the back/staff door I seem to remember was opposite the entrance to the London Palladium in Argyll St.
Roger Sweet says:
I was pianist in many of these Harrods Bentalls D H Evans Dickens n Jones and Ritz Savoy hotels etc
Roof Gardens Derry n Tom’s Barkers Kensington
Hi Pat – I love your anecdotes. For so many, working in a department store was their first job, and the memories are vivid. Also – great scope for flirtations in the haberdashery department. One former shop assistant told me she was proposed to outside DH Evans’ main entrance in her lunch hour by Tony from electronics, before they both raced back inside to work.
Department store hair salons are another collective memory bank. What did a ‘Purdy’ hair cut look like?Hayley says:
A Purdy was named after Joanna Lumley’s character’s style in the New Avengers… I think. Girls of only 8 would get the cut in the 70s. My hair was too curly but my mum tried!
I would love this book too -, I adore the department stores, my favourite being Selfridges, Le Bon March on the left bank in Paris and Liberty.
Love Pat’s memories too. Thank you.
Hi Tessa, the Purdy or Purdey cut was a short cut with a deep fringe, it was the style worn by Joanna Lumley as the character Purdy (hence the name) in the ‘70s tv show The New Avengers. Not sure if it will work but here’s a link to a picture https://www.myweekly.co.uk/2018/08/07/17464/
aleida says:
On a side note: poor elephants and flamingo’s.
On topic: same over here in the Netherlands. Even the Bijenkorf, although probably more luxurious than ever with lots of designer labels and shop-in-shops, is not what it used to be and has lost its lustre (for me). We had a few lovely department stores in Amsterdam; Metz & Co (now Abercrombie & Fitch) and De Bonneterie (now the local flagship store for H&M). And Vroom & Dreesmann for all kinds of ordinary useful things, which was hollowed out financially by stakeholders and losing customers because of poor management. V&D is sadly missed in many Dutch towns.
Good to have known those stores, and good to be of an age where I don’t really want to shop much anyway.On another side note – animals should get a special mention. So many of these stores had zoos on their roofs or in their basements, plus pony rides through their arcades (Kennards of Croydon, anyone?). I’ve seen the archive photos… it wasn’t a great chapter in our animal welfare history. For Christmas 1933, Chiesman’s of Lewisham advertised ‘Vixen the Untameable Lioness’ – and was sued by a local journalist because the lion – on hire from a circus – was very old and sleepy. All great publicity, of course.
A special mention to Max and Moritz of Kennards, two chimps who roller-skated and walked a tightrope in morning dress and spats.Mary Gray says:
What a joy to be reminded of the wonder of the West End in London. A Christmas treat was to be taken up to town to see the stores’ Christmas windows, each trying to outdo its neighbour. The sparkle, the glitter, the magic! Whole windows of Father Christmas on his sleigh, complete with reindeers, or snow white and the dwarfs. Oxford street, without its department stores has certainly lost its allure! Oh yes, I would certainly love a copy of the book!
Julia says:
I was taken to the Bijenkorf by some Dutch family friends when I was maybe 13 back in the early 60’s. Oh my goodness, I have never forgotten it. We had some lovely stores in Manchester my nearest big town, but this seemed so very glamorous to a young Lancashire lass! Anyone remember Affleck & Brown in Manchester? On our very occasional foray into Manchester, as a big treat my Mum would take me to lunch there, where models would walk around the restaurant wearing the latest fashions whilst people ate their lunch. I bought a lot of fabrics there when I started dressmaking; I particularly miss fabric and haberdashery departments. It is so difficult to buy fabric on line! Like you though, I too do minimal shopping these days but am grateful for the memories.
Slightly off topic, but I recently read ‘The Ladies’ Paradise’ a fictional – but based on the rise of Bon Marché – story by Zola about the expansion of a department store in Paris and how it bankrupted many small shopkeepers. There is nothing new!
kb says:
Thank you for your research. Here in Los Angeles, we have lost Bullock’s, Bullock’s Wilshire, I. Magnin, Joseph Magnin, May Company, Robinson’s, Robinson’s-May, Ohrbach’s, Broadway, Buffum’s, Henshey’s, Hinshaw’s, and probably others. I miss all of them, and cherish the memories of shopping with my mother.
What great names your dear departed stores have. Buffum’s! A bit like our Bodgers. Names that once supported armies of workers, and really meant something locally. There’s a brilliant book on the rise of the American department store by William Leach called Land of Desire. You did it all first, bigger and better in the States. In Britain we just had expanding drapers’ stores (Harrods, Whiteleys, John Lewis, Peter Jones etc) – then Mr Selfridge turned up and showed us how it was done, 1909. The American way (including vast, theatrical window displays) then became the only way.
Selfridge forbade use of the label ‘shop girls’ as he thought it demeaning. Too right. From then on, they were ‘shop assistants’.Beryl Meiron says:
Thank you, kb, for posting the extensive list of names of the dearly departed department stores here in southern California. I miss all of these stores. Buffum’s was great to buy newborn gifts, especially fancy hats for little girls. Bullock’s Wilshire was an architectural wonder, now a law school, from the first glimpse of the Steuben glass display as you walked toward the bank of elevators to go up to the luncheon room and fashion show or browse the merchandise. The beautifully decorated ladies’ room, complete with perfumes to sample. I bought my prom dress at Ohrbach’s for $18 in the mid-60s. When I first visited London in 1968, on $5/day, I was dazzled and entertained by the department stores and food courts. Fast-forward to the early 2000s, I bought wedding gifts for colleagues at Debenham’s. We have evolved into a completely different consumer due to the rise of online shopping, the pandemic and social/economic necessities. Let’s see what the future holds for retail.
Beth says:
From across the pond, I share the same loss. In Minneapolis/Saint Paul, no department stores remain in downtown proper. One has to visit the horrific Mall of America to visit Nordstroms , which is about the only worthwhile department store left here. Raised near Chicago, I dearly miss the trips downtown to visit all the stores but especially Marshall Field’s. I am showing my age but I do so miss these institutions, their luxury and offered opportunity for escape.
TM says:
Oh yes! The Christmas windows on State Street in Chicago! Marshall Fields and Carson, Pirie Scott were the best. With tea at a big hotel afterwards!
I loved shopping with my mom at Lord & Taylor in Virginia. That was for special occasions—Sears was more our budget. The dressing rooms were huge, and lunch in the tearoom made me feel so grown up. It was such a treat.
Tessa is probably familiar from her research with the novel by Emile Zola of 1883 entitled Au Bonheur des Dames. This was written at the time of the opening of the Parisian grands magasins the first of the large splendid shopping emporia. They survive but have been refurbished. For example La Samaritaine and Le Bon Marche. The latter looking similar to the book’s cover.
Angela Blair says:
This post really hits home for me. I have treasured memories of shopping with my Mum in some of Glasgow’s finest: Lewis’s, Arnott’s, Trerons and even Woolworths-how I miss them all. I still love shopping in store, nothing matches the experience of seeing lots of gorgeous things beautifully arranged in front of you. Can’t understand why anyone would prefer to order things in plastic packaging with the aim of returning most of them. Save the department store !
Suze says:
We all know why they vanished, and I feel deeply nostalgic too.
Growing up in a suburb of Manchester ( Kendal Milne, Lewis’s ) I came to London aged 18 ; I was in a university hall near Marble Arch and revelled in walking by those stores . They used to close at 1 on Saturdays , which seems bizarre now.
Selfridges never did much for me , but I felt so at home in Dickins and Jones , love that photo!
I’m disappointed in the ( wholly understandable) way that Liberty’s has given over the ground floor to cosmetics , but like many I went there often to browse and only occasionally bought .
Now my browsing is done from the comfort of home .Deb Chowney says:
One of my first memories of a department store was Jones & Higgins, Peckham and many a South London child had a picture taken with Father Christmas, in the basement!
Katherine Hanley says:
Growing up in rural northern Pennsylvania I sadly never had the grand department store experience — the two-level J.J. Newberry store in Owego, NY, was the best we had! I intend to read this book, however, and let Ms Boase’s writing give me the vicarious enjoyment of the bygone splendor of those historical places!
This book sounds fascinating. I really miss our department stores here in Cardiff, especially David Morgan, with its fabulous haberdashery and beautiful Art Deco Ladies’ loos!
Sarah says:
I was in Paris last year and spent a day going from beautiful department store to beautiful department store. Not just clothes, but food, stationery, lovely little places to eat and drink. Amazing
Nicky Keep says:
I too would love to win a copy of this fascinating book. I also mourn Allders – they took over Medhursts in my home town of Bromley, on whose site HG Wells was born. There is still a plaque on the wall to commemorate this, but it is now a giant Primark – a department store of sorts, I suppose.
Fiona says:
I’d love to win a copy. My memories of trips to London are of the amazing Christmas window displays which, together with the lights, made Oxford Street a magical, glittering, jewel like experience. I still remember the military style coat bought in Oxford Street sometime in the 60’s. It was much admired in the playground at school and I wore it for years.
Eve McBride says:
I am writing this on a wave of nostalgia. A Christmas holiday treat for me was a trip “up West” on the number 8 bus, to visit the Christmas lights and buy a new pair of shoes for school in the sales.
First stop was Gamages in Holborn, for fish and chips in their restaurant. They had a wonderful gardening and household department in the basement which had a parrot that used to shout “what do you think you are doing?” at the customers at regular intervals. After Gamages, back on the bus up to Selfridges for an ice cream in their Soda Bar before the great shoe hunt. Happy days!Jenny says:
I agree. Nothing compares to a department store full of fabulous merchandise with plenty of happy and helpful staff.
I used to live in Norfolk and spent many hours in Jarrolds of Norwich. Wonderful store with the best scones for meeting friends.Madelaine Cooper says:
What a brilliant subject for a book Tessa. Department stores were/are not only marvellous collections of the desirable and the necessary but social institutions which in some senses gave women a freedom to exist in the towns and cities alone. As a fellow Hastings inhabitant, I’d love to know more about the department stores that used to exist in our seaside town…
Olivia says:
Such a trip down memory lane, I’d add Clearys and Browns to that list, fabulous stores in Dublin where my glamorous granny used to take me as a child. Where will I take my own granddaughter I wonder?
Becky shaw says:
This is such a brilliant topic for a book! I am really over the moon to see Sutton and Croydon given some focus and didn’t realise why the pub in Sutton is called “Shinner and Sudtone’
Diane Mcgiffen says:
I hope this loss can be reversed. The ultra high- end, expensive and designer labelled stores that seem to survive lack the mystery and random surprises of the department strokes in my nostalgic memories. I’d love a copy of the book.
Sally meighan says:
I can remember those Croydon department stores from my childhood. And I am going back 65 years or so here. My mother took me to them every school holiday as a treat and to buy my school uniform. We ate in one of the restaurants, always roast lamb with bottled mint sauce as a trio of ladies played music. A pianist, a cellist and a violinist. I am not sure which of the shops this was, possibly Grants. To me it was the height of sophistication. Memory plays tricks but I seem to remember one of the stores had a row of tiny Victorian shops in the entrance which absolutely fascinated me. A good department store is like a wonderful tin of chocolates wrapped in shiny paper but sadly so many of them lost their gloss as they all became identical with identical franchises selling identical goods. Such a shame.
Clare says:
This book sounds fascinating, I would love to win. I have very fond memories of Barkers of Kensington, Dickins & Jones Regent Street and Peter Jones Sloane Square. As a young (shell shocked) 1st time mother, new to London, I spent days upon days with my tiny newborn wondering around these safe havens, feeling cocooned in their warmth and somehow protected from the real London. They all had baby changing and cafes. The architectural details were fabulous and the springy carpets!!! – how much underlay one wonders? Lovely staff and I felt that by spraying on the perfume, some of the glamour came home with me too.
Francesca McGrath says:
In Edinburgh only John Lewis has survived, while in Glasgow, where I grew up, there is Frasers in Buchanan Street and John Lewis.
I had Saturday jobs in two of Glasgow’s department stores, in the shoe department of Watt Brothers, where we still used the pneumatic bill payment system in the mid 1970s, and later on in the Monet jewellery franchise in Fraser’s in their Sauchiehall Street store.
I miss being able to find almost anything in those stores, I bought the first continental quilt (duvet) in our family in Watt Brothers using my staff discount.
My other favourite stores in Glasgow were Goldbergs and Lewis’s (not to be confused with John Lewis) where I got my haircuts and then wandered round the food hall, with its broken biscuits
Miki B says:
Oh, the razzle dazzle of the old department stores! I remember Christmas time wasn’t complete without a day trip to London to look at the window dressings in Selfridges and Liberty and, if mother was feeling flush, a visit to Santa’s grotto and finally a quick black cab ride down Regent’s Street to see the lights before I fell asleep on the train home overwhelmed by exotic perfumes, chandeliers and sugar-plum fairy assistants. Thank goodness these two departments of wonder still exist so that my granddaughters can have the experience too. I love that this book has rekindled these memories but, of course, a department store isn’t just for christmas and we can only blame ourselves and our change in shopping habits for their unfortunate demise.
Chris says:
Way down the bottom of the world in New Zealand we’ve also lost our lovely department stores. Kirkaldie and Stained in Wellington shut after many years to be reopened as Australian import David Jones – it was never loved locally and shut in June this year having been seen off by the pandemic. In Auckland George Courts and Rendalls were my grandmother’s go tos. They didn’t survive the 90s. Smith and Caughey has adapted and survived. When I first visited in the 80s it still sold hats and had a wonderful fabric range. The ladies conveniences were and are still lovely. Farmers has survived but not as it was in it’s heyday with children’s play area and generally lovely things to buy. I still have the broderie anglaise frock I was gifted as a newborn. French seams! Ballyntines survives in Christchurch where most other buildings fell in the earthquake. Hartley’s where you’d watch the money fly back and forth above you as clerks sent payment and the cashier returned change is now a pub. They were places of magic and delight those beautiful shops that wrapped parcels in green or brown paper. So 70s so ecologically correct.
Bev says:
The demise of department stores could literally make me cry. How I loved the joy of pottering around the different departments, finding unexpected things, looking and lusting after different items in fashion concessions, having A Nice Cup of Tea in the often numerous cafes within, squirting fragrances, looking at multiple choices of Viners cutlery, devouring the costume jewellery section, testing lipstick swatches, swooping up the escalators or lifts…….. I could go on and on and then some more but even writing this makes me too nostalgic and sad.
Karen Hudson says:
Growing up in Sussex my second home was Hanningtons department store in Brighton, originally with my mum but then later it catered for every need including my first work clothes, party clothes etc..
Every year I get out the wooden angel Christmas decorations I bought there, they still smell of sandalwood probably 35-40 years after originally bought them and they bring back such warm memories.
Of course long gone physically but always in my heart.Sierra says:
Oooh Karen, I remember Hanningtons in Brighton. I loved the wooden floors and it felt like you were walking into or through lots of different rooms.
I miss Debenhams, BHS and good old Woolies, used to get my Christmas wrapping paper there. Oh and
Pick n Mix!
Joan Morrice says:
a most interesting and nostalgic article. How sad yet another of our great “institutions” is dying and disappearing into the great shopping mall in the sky. Growing up in Aberdeen i remember Esslemont and McIntosh – the height of sophistication and very posh but what a fantastic shop, full of tradition, class and style. I also remember Bournes in Oxford street – a great little emporium, regularly visited at lunchtime when i worked in Tottenham Court Road – lovely cafe in there too! Would love to have a wallow in this gorgeous book which would undoubtedly evoke fab memories.
Wendy Jupp says:
What a great article. Having spent a day in London this week, I too was nostalgic for the big, glamorous stores. As a teenager and young woman, I would travel up from the country to soak up the sophistication and scents of these shops, with their ultra glamorous assistants and floors of luxurious fabrics and goods. I can remember the smell of a Biba lipstick!
Lindsey Moore says:
My mum was working in John Lewis on Oxford St, when she was pregnant with me. In the plasticised fabric department – yes, it was the 1960s! So I feel a special affinity for this and all department stores. A really interesting post and the book looks wonderful, great cover.
Gisela Barrington says:
Department stores were my favourite places to visit….and I have visited a lot of them all over the world in my long life.
Now mobility issues only allow me dreaming of them, but what wonderful dreams they are, you would now need to visit museums to see the amazing beauty and variety of such desirable merchandise.
The internet is a practical substitute, but nothing can bring you the feel and smell of the real experience.Yvonne Lumley’s says:
I remember as a little girl, going to the big city of Nottingham (we were from a smaller town 50 miles away) for special days out with my Mum and Grandma. We made a bee-line for C&A and I still recall to this day many of the items we bought – a shiny black mac, a gorgeous rust double breasted maxi coat to name a couple. Lunch was always fish and chips in the C&A restaurant.
Jane says:
What a great article – and almost all readers on here will surely feel nostalgia and at least a little sadness at the loss of these stores. The thought of places like Cuffs (Woolwich, SE London – where I grew up) and Chiesmans (Lewisham, where I had my Saturday job – in Dolcis, RIP) make me think of my late mum, who adored a good department store.. for place mats, cushions, cut glass and so on. I remember queuing for cheese at British Home Stores (a dept store?) where big slabs of cheddar sat behind the counter and someone in a white grocer’s uniform used an enormous cheese wire to cut you a piece. These stores provided a safe and comforting place for a few hours’ refuge from life, even if you weren’t actually buying. They always had a nice tea room too.
I’ve been watching the poignant demolition of Debenhams on Oxford street and it’s revealed just how HUGE the site is.. it’s like a small town of diggers and piles of rubble. What will go up in its place?
The reference to Croydon’s once-thriving department store scene was sad. The town centre now is a shadow of its former self. Empty shops and half abandoned malls, where Westfield was promised but is almost certainly NOT going to open now.
I’m not much of a shopper, but do feel a little sad to think of these lost places. Even the lovely ones that remain in London (I’m thinking of Liberty’s) are not anywhere near as good as they were. Liberty’s now seems more like a tourist attraction and a place of pilgrimage for Insta peopleChiesmans Lewisham was my Mecca! I spent my childhood having tea and cakes in there, teenage years buying posh makeup that I couldn’t afford (Dior was SUCH a pretty pink!!) and getting my ears pierced and my early working years (Citibank Lewisham building – now derelict) spending my lunch hours in there with my new Access card (which later got me into financial dramas!!). Chiesmans sold fabulous hairpieces and wigs (!) – yes, I tried to emulate Joanna Lumley’s haircut in The Avengers and the tragic result ended up with me wearing a bl**dy wig until the disaster grew out! , costume jewellery to die for and they even had a very old fashioned secondhand but posh furniture section. The Co-Op department store was next door – not quite so up-market but great fun with an antiquated supermarket in the basement. Oh no – I could cry!
Gillian says:
I lived a 10 minute walk from Army & Navy in Westminster and used to go regularly to spend my pocket money. Being a bus ride from Oxford Street my dad used to take us to all the department stores to see Father Christmas and the window displays. So sad to see all those lovely stores have disappeared. I live in France now and lucky enough they still have department stores in the large towns and city’s. I would love a copy of this book and thanks for this article bringing back many good memories
Alysen says:
After Liberty (thank Heaven it remains, the last redoubt of Regent St) I mourn Dickins & Jones, where the Dior counter set me on the way to understanding that warm oranges are my face’s best friend. And thank you for highlighting Maku, Tessa: new slippers for my mum’s birthday.
Mary says:
What a wonderful piece of research you’ve done Tessa. Even this taster is tantalising!
Edinburgh was my nearest city growing up in a rural environment and the excitement of a twice yearly visit as a child and young teenager was immense. I later lived there and my first job on leaving uni was in PT’s (Patrick Thompson) department store on the Bridges. Later House of Fraser, and like Fraser’s and Jenner’s down the road on Princes Street, all now sadly gone. To go to swoon over Jenner’s central hall Christmas tree was almost pilgrimage for many folk as it soared up between the floors surrounded by glittering galleries. You’ve sparked wonderful memories Tessa.
margaret maclean says:
Before Covid forced retirement I used to travel extensively.for work. One of my favorite activities when in Tokyo annually was to pick a beautiful department store, go to the top floor and work my way down. From paper goods to kimono combs it was fascinating on every level. Dec 2019 was my last visit and department stores were still going strong in Japan. Another one I was partial to was KaDeWe on Berlin which I believe in still going strong.
JuneG says:
I’d love a copy of this book. I remember Rackham’s in Birmingham and just a little further up the road, Lewis’s. Not John Lewis but a stand alone Lewis’s. Both of them huge. I used to be taken there every Christmas by my grandmother for a new winter coat and to see Father Christmas (which I hated). Rackhams’s had a restaurant where models would slink between the tables, showing clothes that you could buy in the Ladies’ department. Happy days. I miss them.
Vivienne says:
I discovered only yesterday that Jenners of Princes Street, Edinburgh had closed down. It had been part of my entire life from the Toy department of my childhood, the makeup counters of my sophisticated twenties, the occasion wear of my thirties and forties to the last time l shopped there in my fifties thinking “can l still get away with heels that high”. The answer was probably not but l bought them! I feel as if a beloved family friend has died.
Pauline says:
I spent part of my childhood in Brixton south London and department store Morleys was a Saturday morning Mecca!
My mother worked in the West End – I remember joining her in the school holidays to absorb the creativity in the window displays of Dickens and Jones and Selfridges. Items in display where out of our budget but the ideas were free. My mother was very creative and ideas of ways to style a cushion or sideboard would would be re-invented at home.
If I’m in London a treat – especially at Christmas – is to lose myself in the wonder of the window displays of Selfridges. Not forgetting the white scape Narnia- esque Queen, at her de-constructed banquet!
When we lived in London, Heals at Christmas became a family ritual – calm, minimalist, curated. Thanks for this lovely article!
My mum was working in John Lewis on Oxford Street when she was pregnant with me. In the plasticised fabric department – yes, it was the sixties! So I have a special affinity with this and other department stores. Really enjoyed this very interesting post, the book looks great, love the cover.
Karen says:
Here in the U.S. we have lost many stores as well. I especially miss Dayton’s (Minnesota) and Meyer and Frank (Oregon). I treasure the Dillard’s that we have here in Nevada. This time of year, I especially miss the marvelous Christmas displays….
Kate says:
Hi Karen – where are you in Nevada? I’m in Reno. I’ve basically given up on shopping.
Alex says:
So many fond memories here! I’ll add mine from the US, where we’ve also lost many department stores, all across the price and style spectrum. The two that seem to have survived with the greatest vigor are Bloomingdale’s and Nordstrom. Both have a reputation for putting the customer first and making shopping fun. Like others who have commented here, I’ve experienced department stores from both sides of the counter. In the 1980s I worked at Bloomingdale’s in the Washington, DC, suburbs. In the run-up to Inauguration Day, we’d see the occasional Congressional spouse come in to buy a dress for one of the balls. And sometimes, we’d see them coming back to return the dress after the inaguration. Usually, they had simply regretted the spree purchase — members of Congress aren’t as well-paid as one might imagine– and made do by shopping their closet or borrowing from a friend. But, a few brought back dresses that had clearly been worn and with the tags pinned on in an attempt to make it look like the dress had never been used. When that happened, our managers — all New Yorkers with thick skins and wonderfully dry humor — instructed us not to fuss and just take the dress back, though we all loathed doing that. BTW, the scam returners came from both sides of the aisle.
Monica Parker says:
This all sounds so amazing. At the risk of sounding like sour grapes, the hard part for me is that folks of color were not allowed to have these experiences in the States. My mother tells stories of Jim Crow and “whites only” signs. Her mother could pass for white and would make incognito trips into the department stores. It certainly wouldn’t have been an opportunity available to my mother’s grandmothers. If only nostalgia was available for everyone. Please don’t hear this as a knock on what sounds like a fascinating book or anyone else’s experiences, which sound magical! The article just left me feeling wistful.
That doesn’t sound like sour grapes, at all. It’s an important reminder. Thank you for commenting, Monica.
Oh goodness that is beyond awful. It is far too easy to forget how racist the world was (and still can be). If I could transfer my nostalgia and memories into your consciousness I would.
I grew up in Manhattan and spent much of my childhood riding the escalators of beautiful department stores, looking at fashionable clothing and fashionable women meeting for lunch midst shopping. I’ve lived in the Midwest as an adult, though, and can only go to Von Mauer for a slightly similar experience. No restaurants or hair salons in the stores, but a feeling of quality nonetheless – and always a pianist playing on a grand piano, which is lovely. The book sounds fascinating!
Allison says:
I hadn’t thought about department stores being a women’s issue, but you are right! Freedom to spend a day browsing around, spending time with friends and being sheltered from the weather and outside dangers. It’s sad to think now many women now shop alone from their sofas without that social interaction. And the provision of the first female loo being an occasion! Sadly now being reversed with unisex loos that are never as clean or as safe. This book sounds fascinating from a social perspective.
Gill Dunton says:
When I first came to work in London I worked as a buyer in the London office of Eatons, so I was immersed in the world of department store shopping, and I spent my leisure time enjoying the many department stores around me in London. I remember shopping in Galleries Lafayette, which was close by my office, and I remember savouring the wonderful fragrance of wool, silks and hessian crafts in the Needlewoman, just along the street. Of course Liberty was the pinnacle of exotic shopping experience for a girl from a remote Yorkshire town.
Each store seemed to have it’s own speciality, style, atmosphere or attraction. Some had boutiques such as Miss Selfridge and the 4th floor of Harrods (can’t remember the name now). There was a bargain basement in Barkers of Kensington where we would buy wonderful fabrics with which to copy the dresses we saw in the shops. And a pet shop in Harrods where’d we could marvel at the designer pets. (even then it did seem cruel).
Happy days. we didn’t know then how lucky we were. You could pass many happy hours, alone or with company. It was a true sensory and social experience, and hard to compare with the sterility and lonely experience of current online shopping.
I will certainly buy this book. Well done for you research and effort.Sue Jewell says:
Good department stores have a special feel. It would be a real shame if they disappeared. The only way to ensure their survival is to get up and go and spend your money in one.
Ellie says:
Wow,I don’t think I’ve ever seen his many responses to a piece! My Grandad was senior electrician at Selfridges before WW2,so it was always ‘our’ family store-one year my uncle took my cousin and I to Father Christmes-remember collecting Uncle Holly badges anyone?-then he took us to Dickens and Jones too (greedy) and I got the same present from Father Christmas in both stores,and was absolutely mortified,especially since they were cotton reel dolly knitting sets,and not very exciting.This must have been around 1962. My saturday job through 6th form and Art School was in Biba,both Kensington High St shops,and that set up my sense of style for life! I too can remember the smell of the lippie,and also the thrill of the store shutting to allcomers so Bianca Jagger could shop in peace! I was in Oxford St yesterday,and it was just awful,even in John Lewis,which has lost its way.
Caroline says:
My mum worked in Peter Jones when she left school in 1950 and as a child we would go in there as a special treat. I still go there today and it’s full of memories – I would be so sad if it closed – it’s part of my story. Let’s keep the stores we have – there’s still something special about them, especially at Christmas.
Alas – department stores have turned into real estate leasing agents for big brands.
I used to love them but now they all sell the same stuff from money making brands. Liberty still has some personality but the others chose the east route of renting space. Look forward to reading your book.Teresa says:
Ooh, I’m going to read this book — and I’d love to enter for a copy. I was sorry when John Lewis on Oxford Street moved Haberdashery from the ground floor upstairs (possibly I need to get out more) — but at least John Lewis is still with us — and it’s where I’m going when the apocalypse alarm sounds because nothing very bad could ever happen there. ;-)) And, I’m very sad that the Whiteleys shopping centre in Bayswater/Queensway area (re-imagined from the Whiteleys department store — and retaining some of the old charm) didn’t make it — being replaced by luxury flats. Sigh.
Wendy Reynolds says:
A fascinating topic and I would love to receive a copy. Here in Suffolk, my closest good shopping centre is Norwich and luckily we still have John Lewis’s and Jarrolds. Lovely shops, especially at Christmas, with a great selection and nice staff. However, when working I was often in London and Dickens and Jones was one of the best along with Liberty which still has a great feel to it. Our high street’s are slowly just becoming somewhere for coffee and food stores. I’m sure we all miss mooching……
Jarrolds – yes! My grandparents lived in Cathedral Close, and a mooch around Jarrolds was the pinnacle of every Christmas holiday, especially for the sales. The shoe department (it being Norwich) was particularly wonderful. I remember the smell of leather, and getting brown Mary Janes with two buckles one year for school. What was my mother thinking of?
I went back to Jarrolds recently and was impressed by their furniture department. Sofas etc all made in-store. Long may it cling on.
Kate W says:
This wonderful article reminded me of a trip to Simpson’s in the 60s where I bought a dark brown sheepskin coat. I still have it! Such nostalgia for so many disappearing stores. I’d love a copy of the book.
Mary says:
Growing up in London, my mother and I regularly visited department stores on Oxford and Regents Streets. The Christmas window displays were never missed. Now living in the US, but still traveling to London regularly, I so miss places such as D.H. Evans and Dickens & Jones. Lunch at one or the other was a lovely treat…as was visiting the wool and fabric departments and selecting patterns and wool/fabric that my mother would turn into beautiful jumpers or cardis or lovely dresses made of fine material. When I visit London now, John Lewis (and Peter Jones) are my go-to department stores–the places where I find clothes for my grandchildren and small select items from housewares or haberdashery. But, I will admit that a walk through Selfridges to get an up-close look at creations by Alexander McQueen and other designers can be a fun excursion. And a shout out to Selfridges’ tech department salesman who didn’t have in stock a needed cord to sell me for my tablet (I was visiting on a trip and had lost mine), but he spent time rummaging through the department ‘junk’ drawer of a discarded cords and found one that he simply gave me–one that did the trick. I do miss that kind of service—anywhere.
Joan Cecile says:
I’m remembering the department stores of the 2960’s. Meier and Frank in Portland, Oregon; Macy’s, et al, in San Francisco; and gorgeous stores in Tokyo where young ladies in uniform cleaned the escalator handrails and bowed to each shopper. Amazing places, all. And my Anglophile boyfriend brought me a lovely scarf from Liberty in London. I still have the scarf, but I dont know what happened to the boyfriend. Thank you for an amazing jaunt through memory lane. I must find my veiled hat, gloves and heels and go lunch with the ladies!!
Jackie Cook says:
I am a Brit, living in Houston. Here in Texas we have Nordstroms (which to me is on the same level as John Lewis), Saks and Newman Marcus which are beautiful high end stores. Indeed, Neiman’s is affectionately nicknamed “Needless Markups”. I do enjoy walking around the perfume and beauty counters with a friend especially during the Christmas season.
Step says:
I spend many a Saturday afternoon with my dear friend Miss V wandering around John Lewis, Oxford Street. We always meet at the Bobbi Brown counter and head for the cafe on the 5th floor for tea and cakes on the outside terrace (only in the summer as V hates the cold) before working our way through the fashion, furnishing and homeware departments. We love being able to gossip and mooch together – pure happiness!
I have to speak up for Boston! (Massachusetts) — Filene’s, Jordan Marsh, R.H. Stearns, Crawfold Hollidge, Peck and Peck — they contituted a World. When I was in Boston for my four years of college, it was such a joy to shop and feel part of that world. Also, my mother worked at Filene’s pre-WWII, always wearing (I’m told) a correct black suit and white blouse. My wedding gown came from Stearns. Yes, I, too, still miss that kind of shopping.
Another note — many of the English department stores mentioned here feature in Barbara Pym’s novels- which I highly recommend! For anyone wanting a lovely, witty novel of English women’s lives (from 1930s- 60s), try Crampton Hodnet, Less Than Angels, or No Fond Return of Love.
FInally, I hope the book is available in the US – and that someone will write a similar one about American department stores!
Hi Sally – spot on.
Novelist Barbara Pym used to spend her lunch-hour mooching in Gamages, until it closed abruptly in 1972 to make room for a mirror-glass office tower. ‘Oh, unimaginable horror!’ she wrote in her diary. Hundreds of ‘lunchtime idlers and browsers’ like herself would, she predicted, be left ‘desolate’. And so they were.
She must have drawn much inspiration from Gamages and its ecosystem.
Eavan Murphy says:
I always loved Anderson and Macauley in Belfast, different stock to what was available in the republic. II bought a hat there in 1988 that still gets the occasional outing.
Susan McCabe says:
Yes, magical places and interesting. Shopping is so bland nowadays by comparison and is more of a chore than a pleasure. The staff were so knowledgable about their particular department. Sigh
Paula Smith says:
Such a nostalgic read, and that’s just this article! Brought back glittering memories of Christmas each year when my mum & dad would take us up to look at the Christmas windows in, firstly, Liberty’s with its wooden stairs and galleries, then Selfridges with its sumptuous, magical windows, finishing inside with the ubiquitous escalator ride and a hot chocolate once home. I still go up and marvel at the windows and sparkling Christmas street lights, but nothing replaces the childhood memories or the missing stores.
Wendy in York says:
Long before I found the wonders of London ( Oh Biba’s ! ) mum took us on the train to Leeds & the gigantic Lewis’s store . One of my strongest childhood memories is of being separated from my mum & sister at five years old & realizing I was a lost child . I walked up to a counter & asked where should I go as I was lost . Kind ladies whisked me upstairs into the normally unseen staff area & sat me down with a packet of sweets . I can still see the room – very plain with quite a ‘ medical ‘ feel , perhaps it was the first aid room ? Anyway , I felt perfectly safe & can’t recall any distress waiting for mum . How could I feel unsafe in Lewis’s ? I loved Lewis’s . The posh restaurant with the waitresses flitting around in their black frocks with white aprons & hats – better still the cheap basement self service cafe where you could get chips . Mum insisted on the restaurant every time . Christmas was the best with Father Christmas accompanied by muffin the mule . It was still a favourite years later when my husband-to-be joined me to choose bits & pieces for my ‘bottom drawer’ .
Long gone now , what a shame .Hi Wendy – funnily enough there’s just such a story line in a 1972 Rupert the Bear annual – ‘Rupert and the Winter Sale’. He goes with his mother to a department store (a great sea of female animals in hats and coats) and they get separated. I remember as a child being fascinated by the special room he’s taken to behind the scenes, and all the ‘back-facing’ staff propping the place up. Lucky you – what a brilliant memory.
Sara Goegeline says:
I can so relate to
everyone else’s comments. I hope there are plenty of pictures of all the department store we’ve lost in the US and that someone will create a similar record of the interiors and what the stores meant to the people and the communities. Even my suburban town in New Jersey had two department stores–with escalators and brass-fitted elevators! The Southern city where I was born had facing department stores. They were closed on Sunday but provided inspiring window shopping. And don’t forget the restaurants! And the tearooms! And the lunch counters!adrian says:
I remember the trio of stores on Kensington High Street. I was very proud as a child of a green pillowcase my Mum bought me in Pontings. Loved it when Biba took over Derry & Toms. We tried to persuade Mum to buy a Biba labelled baked bean tin as it seemed so beautiful. Have a lovely 1950s Swan & Edgar bag somewhere.
Sara says:
A great post; sometimes you really don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone (thank you, Joni Mitchell, never a truer word spoken, as usual). It made me quite nostalgic, for Dingles in Plymouth pre-House of Fraser, for Pophams also in Plymouth, an early casualty, for Kendal Milne in Manchester, also pre-House of Fraser and particularly its current incarnation, whose doors I do not darken on principle. Thank goodness for the magical, mesmerising, magnificent Galeries Lafayette, in Paris, probably my all-time favourite; architecture to match the fabulous goods. I wonder how many under 40s have felt a need to comment on these vanishing emporia? It is an age thing, I think, but I’m fine with that. I’m just hoping John Lewis doesn’t go the way of the rest, not what it once was, but still keeping the tradition going even though its legendary customer service seems to be vanishing like the white rabbit in Alice In Wonderland.
“London’s Lost Department Stores” would be such an interesting—though bittersweet—book to read. Please enter me in the drawing (if you ship over the pond). We have our own sad situation here in the States, with Macy’s gobbling up many of the old-time and local department stores . And Macy’s itself is but a shadow of its former self!
Jo says:
I grew up in the North of England and we used to love the department stores in Newcastle (upon Tyne) I loved Fenwick”s French Salon and bought many things there finally buying a designer suit as a going away outfit when I got married. I then moved to the South where the shopping was not so good Knight and Lee in Southsea filled a small gap between trips to London. Now I too live ion Canada (Vancouver Island) …… Talk about nostalgia!
Allison C. says:
Great post! I too lament the loss of department stores here in the U.S. I have fond memories of Filenes, Jordan Marsh, and Bonwit Teller – shopping with my mother and having lunch in the store.
Mustn’t forget Gamages in Holborn, London. Not glamorous, but lots of muddly, rickety aisles and loads of stock. An interesting store and long gone
Charlotte Browne says:
Liberty will always be my favourite. More fashion forward now but the 4th floor carpets and furniture are still glorious!
Mandy says:
We have two department stores here in Jersey Channel Islands Voisins and de Gruchy. I love looking at the photos of these stores back in the day of glamour. When in London l love Harvey Nicks and Self ridges. The windows at Christmas are always magic including Harrods
Jill Hartshorn says:
I remember being taken to Binn’s department store in Sunderland with it’s polished mahogany banisters and a uniformed concierge in the metal gated lift. After checking your destination he would open the lever and guide it and you to a floor of beautifully presented quality products. Binn’s is long gone but Fenwick’s still carries the torch! If you’ve never been, grab your bag and get going!
Many thanks for such a thought provoking article. Quite a facer to realise how many well known “haunts” had gone. They represent many happy hours! Best JS
Sanna says:
In Brixton, south London, we have Morley’s – family owned and run for over 100 years, which has just had a big refurb and hopefully will stick around as a pillar of the community and stalwart of the high street.
Maggie Dunn says:
I would love to win a copy of this lovely book. As a child I lived near Gamages and remember many trips there with my mother. I also remember being brought to see Santa in Selfridges – it was Ali Baba’s magic carpet – you sat in seats and they moved up and down and there were sliding pictures going by, one of my most magical childhood memories, I truly thought I was on a magic carpet.
That really is a magical memory, Maggie. Christmas seems to have triggered great ingenuity amongst the competing department stores, and as part of my research I really loved reading through the newspaper archives to find out what each year’s extraordinary offer was. The stakes got higher and higher, especially in the Thirties.
That’s a wonderful memory! Christmas was where all the ingenuity went, with film set designers hired to create fantasy environments from the 30s onwards.
Rona says:
How it all started in the 19th century.
A good read is Emile Zola (Au Bonheur des Dames) A Ladies’ Paradise.
Highly recommended!I was working in The Strand the day that Civil Service Stores burnt down. I was a teenager and very shocked.
That’s some memory. So many stores burned to the ground – then were rebuilt, even more lavishly. Arding & Hobbs was one; Barkers another. Eventually, fire escapes were made mandatory… and staff stopped living in the attics.
JulieA says:
Many fond memories of of shopping trips to Sheffield City Centre and it’s long lost Department Stores such as Rackhams, Schofields, House of Fraser, C&A, Debenhams and most recently our much missed John Lewis Department Store. Mooching around the shops will never be quite the same and online shopping is no replacement.
I can’t believe that – just four days after this blog was published – Fenwicks of Bond Street has fallen. Another Titan! Closing for good in 2024.
Jean says:
Growing up in SE London I have fond memories of Chiesmans and Cuffs – I remember the latter having cash carrier tubes instead of tills. I’d love to win a copy of this book.
Daisy Lawrence says:
Oh gosh! I remember Cheismans too, the hight of glamour if you came from Catford as I did.
Gilly Hanna says:
I’ve just heard that the iconic Fenwick department store on Bond Street is closing after 130 years. This is so sad and disappointing. I much prefer department stores to individual boutiques. They are more glamorous and less intimidating. I used to work near Dickens and Jones and would float around there in my lunch hour whenever I could. I would love to win this book and relive the magic and delights of the department store once more.
Susan D says:
How nostalgic it’s been reading this along with all the comments. 50 years ago in Leeds we had Marshall & Snelgrove, Schofields, Lewis’s and Mathias Robinson. Now we just have John Lewis, which was the last department store to open. The Schofields New Year sale was the best, how I looked forward to going with my mum every year after Christmas to spend my birthday money and get so much more for it. I still have handbags, scarves and gloves from that time. Such lovely memories.
Susan D50 years ago Leeds had several department stores- Marshall & Snelgrove, Mathias Robinson, Lewis’s and Schofields. Now it has one, John Lewis, which is the most recent addition. I remember as a child the joy of visiting the sales at Schofields with my mum to buy clothes and also to sketch dresses in the window which my mum would then make for me. I do miss these stores but am grateful that we still have John Lewis, a store that we in Leeds waited so patiently to get and hope that it manages to remain profitable enough to keep open.
Sudan – how brilliant that you sketched dresses in the window, for your mother then to make up for you! I can’t help wondering – did she keep the sketches… did you keep the dresses… and what profession did you end up in?
Yes yes yes !!! My first job aged 16 was in Swan and Edgar at Piccadilly Circus. I got up at an extremely early hour to make myself presentable and commute by train from South London to Charing Cross, then bus or walk depending on how late I was. I think I earned about £20 a week and felt SO grown up. Can’t wait to read this fab book
Rach with an E 
Martina 
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I once spent an entire day In Galeries Lafayette in Paris . A treasured travel memory .