Sgt Pepper's, Chelsea Girl and West One - the Sunderland shops which were all the fashion in the swinging 60s

And when the shops re-opened, which of these fashion favourites would have been the first you visited?

It was the era of drainpipe jeans and mini skirts, chunky knit sweaters and bell bottoms.

It was also the era of a changing shopping scene in Sunderland with boutiques offering a new variety of clothes at great prices.

Let’s take a closer look with the help of Philip Curtis of the Sunderland Antiquarian Society.

Who remembers West One in High Street West?

It was opened by Dave Docherty and was close to the Fire Station.

A feature of the shop was the latest Ben Sherman shirts and clothes that seemed to have come direct from Carnaby Street.

Its success saw the shop eventually relocate into premises in Holmeside, closer to the commercial centre of the town, and it was there until 2004 when it closed to be replaced by Van Mildert.

It was one of the wonderful Sunderland examples of the changing scene on Wearside.

Philip told us “In the 1960s, the way of buying and selling of clothes changed forever.

“At that time young people had more disposable income than ever before and were looking to buy colourful and inexpensive clothing - an era of fast-changing

fashion had arrived.

“This also provided opportunity and many young people with available finance opened their own boutiques - small shops which sold individual designs and fashion at reasonable prices.”

Attempts to emulate the success of West One saw other boutiques open on the periphery of the town centre.

In Crowtree Road, there was Chelsea Girl and Esquire.

St.Pepper’s, in Maritime Place was also very popular and carried on into the 1970s.

Philip said: “One of the most popular boutiques in the town was actually operated from a cellar in Frederick Street – The Petticoat Boutique.

“It was at that time that the pattern of buying all clothes ready-made finally became all but fixed for the vast majority of Wearsiders.

“As the twentieth century progressed so the market in women’s fashion changed from made-to measure to more choice of ready-to-wear selections which were being manufactured in larger quantities.

“This meant that the latest fashions could be bought and worn immediately – no lengthy waits and tedious hours of being measured and fitted – remember all those pins?”

Men, more conservative in their taste and expecting their clothes to last longer, still went to the tailors for a new suit but, even as early as the 1930s, off-the-peg suits could be bought.

Gradually it became more common for men to shop this way until, by the 1960s onwards, it was a symbol of luxury to order a made-to-measure shirt suit or jacket.

Post-war tailors in Sunderland included Jacksons, March The Tailor (dress you well, impress you well), John Collier (the window the watch).

Also in the town were Dunns, John Dean, Hepworths and Alexandra (all in Fawcett Street). Strand on the corner of High St West and Crowtree Road was also very popular.

Eventually the large Sunderland department stores began follow the independent shops and introduced boutique departments - examples were the Wallis Boutique in Binns and The Younger Set in Blacketts.

Philip praised the ‘sense of anticipation and excitement one felt when visiting those first small boutiques which began in Sunderland half a century ago’.

Our thanks go to Philip and Sunderland Antiquarian Society. To find out more, visit the society’s Facebook page or its website at http://www.sunderland-antiquarians.org/

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