Tartan Gift Shop c1960 catalogue

[OC Richard]

As you all know I'm a collector of vintage Highland Dress catalogues. I've posted nearly the full Anderson 1936 catalogue and bits of others.

Here is something much more recent, The Tartan Gift Shop, 96 & 96A, Princes Street, Edinburgh 2

There's no date but those hair styles suggest, what, the early 1960s? Maybe one of you can pinpoint the time period.

It's a bit different from the catalogues I have from the 1920s and 1930s in that this catalogue sells, in addition to women's clothing and men's Highland Dress, a large number of touristy gift items such as tartan-clad dolls, keyrings, framed scenic photos of iconic Scottish views, ceramic Scottie dogs, and even a Viewmaster with "reels" of colour slides of Scottish scenes.(That should suggest a date, I would think.)

I was too lazy to scan the pages so here are a couple fuzzy photos snapped with my I-pod. Maybe later I'll do proper scans and replace these.

Here are "Highland Days" with nice Day Dress. Note the brown brogues!





And Evening Dress. Note the long hair sporrans rather than the usual Evening Dress sporrans, and the Prince Charlie worn with a red waistcoat (and Oatmeal hose!)





Here's a fuzzy closeup of the sporrans illustrated

[Chas]

Very interesting Richard - Looking forward to the scans.

The man on the left. Is that the capbadge of a Glengarry we are seeing?

I have black and brown brogues and black and brown Oxfords and rotate all four. Interesting about the oatmeal hose.

Regards

Chas

[MacThomas]

I worked there for summer time back in 1983 as the boss was keen on French culture and that's where I bought my first outfit (I think this shop has been resold to the Hector Russell Group since) !

[Lime]

I note that Fairisle jumper: I love a bit of Fairisle.

[creagdhubh]

I note that Fairisle jumper: I love a bit of Fairisle.

Me too! Especially in the brown and tan pattern as shown, and made famous by a very young Duke of Windsor. I have one very similar and never thought about wearing it with the kilt, but I think it works splendidly!

Cheers,

[creagdhubh]

I love these old catalogues, Richard. They definitely expand upon initial thoughts and ideas, and serve as a fantastic visual resource. Thanks for posting.

Cheers,

[Glen]

And Evening Dress. Note the long hair sporrans rather than the usual Evening Dress sporrans, and the Prince Charlie worn with a red waistcoat (and Oatmeal hose!)

I am thinking I need to get a red PC vest, now...

[Tobus]

It could be just the effects of taking a photo of a printed item, but the colours look very bright and unnatural. Almost as if this was originally a black-and-white photo which had been colourised. OC Richard, since you can inspect the original, do you think this is the case? That might help narrow down the time frame. Colour photography was readily available by the 1950s and 1960s, but many photos were still taken in black-and-white because it was cheaper.

Other than that, based on the hair styles and such, around 1960 (plus or minus a few years) would be my guess as well. Could even hark back to the late 1940s, though. (?)

[sailortats]

I think I would place it in the early to mid 50s. My reasoning is the "viewmaster" ad. These pretty well went out of style by the mid 50s, at least here in the colonies.

[Chas]

I note that Fairisle jumper: I love a bit of Fairisle.

Me too! Especially in the brown and tan pattern as shown, and made famous by a very young Duke of Windsor. I have one very similar and never thought about wearing it with the kilt, but I think it works splendidly!

Cheers,

Funny how times change. Fairisle is seen as very old fashioned now-a-days. It had a bit of resurgence when the Weasleys wore it in the Harry Potter films. Definitely an adult garment. The amount of work that goes into one precludes letting a child wear it. I would be very surprised if you could get a properly made one for less than £250.

Regards

Chas