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Category Archives: Fashion and Clothing
Spotting Historic Shopfronts: Baldock
A plum spot on the Great North Road meant that the small market town of Baldock in Hertfordshire became an ideal staging post for people journeying north from London. From the 17th century onwards it was chock-a-block with coaching inns, … Continue reading
The Story of Dunn’s the Hatter
Introduction Dunn & Co. was the most recognisable chain of men’s hatters throughout the first three-quarters of the 20th century. By the late 1920s it was also a men’s outfitters. A failure to keep up with changing fashions – which … Continue reading
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The Story of Montague Burton – the Tailor of Taste
Introduction Montague Burton was not the first to establish a successful chain of tailor’s shops throughout Britain: Joseph Hepworth and his son Norris had opened their first shops in 1884. Nevertheless, between the 1920s and the 1960s, Burton was the … Continue reading
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Burton’s ‘Modern Temples of Commerce’
Montague Burton began to build new shops – ‘modern temples of commerce’ – around 1923, when he had amassed around 200 branches. The next year the company opened in a wing of Woolworth’s new superstore in Liverpool where Burton’s architect, Harry Wilson, … Continue reading
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A Spotter’s Guide to Montague Burton – the Tailor of Taste, Part 2
Art Deco Motifs Burton’s architect, Harry Wilson, had fully embraced art deco by 1930 and seems to have had great fun dressing façades in variants of this popular style. This involved the application of stylised geometric motifs, sometimes in profusion. By … Continue reading
Posted in Burton, Fashion and Clothing, Spotter's Guides
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A Spotter’s Guide to Montague Burton – the Tailor of Taste, Part 1
‘The Tailor of Taste’ When Montague Burton became a limited company in 1917, it was registered as ‘Montague Burton the Tailor of Taste Ltd’. The slogan, as part of Burton’s name, formed part of firm’s logo, appearing on fascias, parapets, … Continue reading
Posted in Burton, Fashion and Clothing, Spotter's Guides
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The Legacy of J. Hepworth & Son
For a full century, between 1884 and 1985, Hepworth’s was a thriving national chain of men’s tailoring shops, specialising in ready-made and made-to-measure suits. Rivals in the same field were Montague Burton, Henry Price The Fifty Shilling Tailor (later John … Continue reading
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The National Fur Company
The National Fur Company was established by Arron (or Arnold) Barder (1859-1914) in Sloane Street, London. In the early 20th century it moved to 193 Brompton Road, eventually expanding to fill 191-195, a site now occupied by Blom Bank. Barder’s father – … Continue reading
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Forgotten Fashions: Etam
Etam was one of several fashion or boutique chains which were popular with young women in the mid-20th century. Its main rivals through the 1960s and 1970s included Dorothy Perkins, Chelsea Girl (sigh!), Richard Shops, Wallis and Miss Selfridge. In later … Continue reading
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