C&A FASHION - OVERGATE

 

The photo at the top is a wee reminder of how C&A appeared back in the mid 70's - this being the upper level of the Overgate.

In the early 70's, C&A was not exactly a cool shop to go shopping compared to what they had in trendy boutiques. The gents clothing dept for instance sold rather standard stuff - safe, sensible and somewhat boring.

They then came up with a concept in the mid 70's to make them be more hip - "Man At C&A" was their slogan - but the look was still the same corny style stuff in the main.

In the 80's, they did manage to become a bit trendier, the guys had "Avante" and the gals had "Clockhouse", and these ideas did at least catch onto what was going on in street-style fashion.

The first advert is an example of the Man At C&A gear which dates from 1973.

The second is for Clockhouse and is dated 1984.

The third is for younger teenage lassies called Girls In Style, and is dated 1986.

Definitely an improvement on their 70's dreary-wear!

LILIAN'S BOUTIQUES - 1973

There were 2 of Lilian's boutiques in town in 1973 - the one in Panmure Street specializing in French perfume, and the other in Whitehall Crescent that stocked Mary Quant designs.

To give you a reminder of the kind of fashion that was on the go in 1973, below is a news item featuring the latest creations on show in Paris that year.

I'm not particularly impressed with what's on offer in the Paris collection mind you. Most of it looks a bit on the corny side to me.

Even the hot-pants don't look anything like the proper ones the girls on Top Of The Pops used to wear.

The Oxford Bags being about the only item on the footage I think that look ok.

RAG WEEK GLAMOUR - 1968

Adding a touch of glamour to Rag Week 1968 were these 6 finalists in the University beauty contest.
They are - Gillian Pairman - Jeannie Alexander - Muriel Harris - Eileen Walker - Ann Keillar and Robin Swanney.
Not sure if there was one eventual overall winner, or all 6 shared the limelight!

WOOLWORTH'S BABY DOLL ADS - LATE 60'S

 

This ad, which is in 2 parts, appeared in a pop magazine in August 1968.
It's for a range of cosmetics by Baby Doll, on sale at Woolies.
The 1st part of the ad is for their "Sun Shiny" range and features eye liner, lipstick and face shaders.
The fact that this was the age of psychedelia and flower power is reflected in the colourful graphics with the hippy girl in the dressing table mirror. However, because it is a Woolies ad, it would indicate that hippy culture had become more mainstream by then.
The 2nd part of the ad is for the "Moon Shiny" product and features sheeners, nail polish and mascara.
Not that I'm an expert in cosmetics, but I think it's plain to see that the Baby Doll range was aimed at the teenager rather than the sophisticated lady the likes of Coty were targeting in Draffens.
Dundee's main Woolworth store was in the Murraygate in the 60's and below is another wee reminder of this period. It's a radio commercial for Baby Doll which was transmitted in 1969.

Click the ads to enlarge if you want to read the details.