An iconic clothing shop chain that has now vanished from our high streets was once THE place in Manchester to meet friends or a date.
In the days before online shopping, high street store Chelsea Girl was the trendiest place to pick up the latest fashions. Founded in 1965, it was the UK's first fashion boutique chain and quickly became the stuff of teenage girls' and young women's dreams.
In the swinging '60s, women's fashions developed a new identity. Miniskirts, A-line dresses and floral jump-suits were the sartorial statements young women were looking for and Chelsea Girl aimed to offer cutting edge fashion at prices everyone could afford.
Read More: The 90s Northern Quarter classics where Mancunians loved to eat and drink
Read More: 12 of Manchester's favourite pubs from the 80s and 90s that are no longer around
With eye-popping colours, patterns and new age attitudes towards women's clothing conjured up by leading designers such as Mary Quant, boutiques soon popped up across the UK. In Greater Manchester, there were several stores including in Bury and Oldham, but no doubt the most recognisable was the shop that opened in Manchester's Piccadilly.
Close to Debenhams, the shop stood out with its boldly designed frontage reflecting the cutting edge clothes themselves, dynamically showcased by the posed mannequins in its highly polished windows. So recognisable was Piccadilly's Chelsea Girl store, it soon became THE place for young people to meet in the city.
Recently, when photos of the shop were posted to popular Facebook groups including our own Greater Manchester history, memories and people, the comments were filled with memories of the iconic store. Many of the comments revealed what a landmark the Piccadilly store was when it came to meeting friends or a date in Manchester.
Love Greater Manchester's past? Sign up to our new nostalgia newsletter and never miss a thing.
One person said: "If you were meeting a girl in town for a night out, it would always be outside Chelsea Girl."
Another agreed, posting: "Yes, and always met my dates outside there in the evening."
Another commented: "Loved that shop. When going out we always used to meet at Chelsea Girl. Happy days."
Others spoke about the experience of shopping in store itself. One person said: "Had a good few things from that Chelsea Girl. [I] remember the shop that was all white like a cave. My mum hated it as the music was always blaring."
Another said: "Chelsea Girl - every Friday when I got paid."
While another person posted: "Loved Chelsea Girl. Used to get paid weekly and got straight on the train after work and straight into Chelsea Girl for an outfit for the weekend."
The Chelsea Girl brand continued to evolve through the '70s and into the '80s. In the 1980s the shop became synonymous with the new youth fashions of leg warmers, batwing tops and cropped t-shirts.
Does Chelsea Girl awaken any memories for you? Let us know in the comments section below.
In 1983, Chelsea Girl had 160 shops in Britain with dozens more planned. But by 1988, Chelsea Girl and its male fashion counterpart, Concept Man, were merged together to become part of River Island, and by 1991 all Chelsea Girl shops were rebranded.
In 2011, the Chelsea Girl name was reinvented with a special capsule collection by River Island. These days, the building that the landmark shop once occupied is home to a branch of Halifax bank.
Read Next:
Life on the warehouse floor of Manchester's lost 'Amazon of its day' shopping giant
- "What a waste": Greater Manchester snooker hall abandoned and left to rot
- Relive epic night out at lost Greater Manchester nightclub in fabulous photos from 2005
- Wide-eyed Sainsbury's shoppers on opening day of now lost Manchester supermarket
- Greater Manchester town's lost days - its streets, shops and teenage bedrooms
