An iconic clothing store chain that has now disappeared from our high streets was once THE place in Manchester to meet friends or a date.
In the days before online shopping, the Chelsea Girl store was the trendiest place to shop for the latest fashions. Founded in 1965, it was the UK’s first chain of fashion boutiques and quickly became the object of dreams for teenage girls and young women.
In the hectic 1960s, women’s fashion developed a new identity. Miniskirts, A-line dresses and floral jumpsuits were the sartorial statements young women were looking for and Chelsea Girl aimed to offer fashion-forward fashion at affordable prices for everyone.
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With bold colours, patterns and new-age attitudes towards womenswear conjured up by leading designers like Mary Quant, boutiques were soon popping up across the UK. In Greater Manchester, there were a number of stores, including in Bury and Oldham, but by far the most recognizable was the store that opened on Piccadilly in Manchester.
Close to Debenhams, the store stood out with its boldly designed facade reflecting cutting-edge clothing, dynamically displayed by the mannequins perched in its highly polished windows. The Chelsea Girl store in Piccadilly was so recognizable that it soon became THE hangout for the youngsters of the city.
Recently, when photos of the store were posted to popular Facebook groups, including our own history, memories and people from Greater Manchester, the comments were flooded with memories of the iconic store. Many of the comments revealed how important the Piccadilly store was when it came to meeting friends or a date in Manchester.
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One person said: “If you were to meet a girl in town for a night out, it would always be out of Chelsea Girl.”
Another agreed, posting: “Yeah, and I always meet my dates outside at night.”
Another commented: “I loved that store. When we went out we always met at Chelsea Girl. Happy days.”
Others spoke about the experience of shopping in the store itself. One person said: “It had some good Chelsea Girl stuff. (I) remember the store being all white as a cave. My mum hated it because the music was always blaring.”
Another said: “Chelsea Girl, every Friday when I get paid.”
While another person posted: “Loved Chelsea Girl. I got paid weekly and would jump right on the train after work and straight to Chelsea Girl for a weekend outfit.”
The Chelsea Girl brand continued to evolve through the 1970s and 1980s. In the 1980s, the store became synonymous with the new youth fashion of leg warmers, batwing-sleeve tops, and cropped T-shirts.
Does Chelsea Girl spark any memories in you? Let us know in the comments section.
By 1983, Chelsea Girl had 160 stores in Britain and planned dozens more. But in 1988, Chelsea Girl and its menswear counterpart, Concept Man, merged to become part of River Island, and in 1991 all Chelsea Girl stores changed names.
In 2011, the Chelsea Girl name was reinvented with a special River Island capsule collection. These days, the building once occupied by the iconic store houses a branch of the Halifax bank.
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