Join History Curator Vicky Garrington to explore the stories behind a Mary Quant blouse recently donated to the dress history collection at Museums & Galleries Edinburgh.
Take a look at this stunning blouse. Made of semi-synthetic satin material, it drapes beautifully and shimmers in the light. The heavy draping of the collar brings drama, while the full-length zip down the back gives it a slinky feel. It was made by the Mary Quant Ginger Group label and bought in Edinburgh in 1965.
British fashion designer Mary Quant was an icon of the Swinging Sixties. She popularised black and white dressing, blunt-cut bob hairstyles and the daisy motif. She also claimed to be the inventor of the mini skirt, while acknowledging the influence of the fashionable girls she saw on the streets of London. Quant produced designer fashion, but in 1963 she introduced the Ginger Group label, which offered more affordable ready-to-wear styles through stores around Britain.
This Ginger Group blouse was sold by Goldbergs department store in Tollcross, Edinburgh. Goldbergs’ five storey mid-century showstopper of a store dominated the High Riggs area of Tollcross from its opening in the early 1960s until its demise in 1990. It is remembered by many in Edinburgh for its ahead-of-the-times features such as escalators, roof-top dining and an aviary with exotic birds. Goldbergs was demolished after it closed in the face of increasing retail competition in the city from the likes of the St James Centre, and flats now stand in its place.
The donor of the blouse remembers buying it at Goldbergs on a shopping trip with friends while a student. She and her friends enjoyed visiting the store in person, although it also did a fine trade in mail order shopping. The blouse was worn for over 20 years until the late 1980s, which just goes to show that good design never grows old. We’re delighted to have the blouse in our collection to represent an important fashion designer and an icon of Edinburgh department store shopping.
You can find out more about Goldbergs and other Edinburgh shops on Our Town Stories here