Changing lifestyles

My first job from school was at Knight & Lee department store, menswear, situated opposite Telephone House on Elm Grove due to war bombing.

The ’50s shopping scenario was so different. Southsea was dominated by Knight & Lee and the even grander and more expensive Handleys opposite.

Commercial Road, even bigger, the centre dominated by the huge Alders department store – a mecca for all on Saturdays. I think it was then titled

Landport Drapery Bazaar?

The shopping centre was (oddly) also dominated by menswear chains offering ‘made to measure’ suits. ‘Fifty Shilling Tailors’, later to become ‘John Collier the window to watch.’

‘Weaver to Wearer’ claimed to be the cheapest in a price war and at sale time offered a ‘made to measure suit for a fiver!’

The quartet of men’s tailors was completed by the mighty Burtons. A made to measure suit was a must for the Friday/Saturday assault on the Savoy/Pier/Empress Dance halls of the ‘bopping era.’

Two other giants standout – C&A in Commercial Road made huge impact on womenswear, not forgetting the vast Co-Op in Fratton Road, a must-visit destination for the so called ‘working classes’ of Pompey.

All of the above are just a memory. Shops, dancehalls and cinemas have bitten the commercial dust as TV and internet influence our habits and mindsets.

New businesses have thrived in recent decades, albeit slowed due to Covid. Bistros and bars as opposed to pubs; takeaways, estate agents and tattooists – an odd mixture, and due to the sheer numbers obviously profitable, but the proliferation of these businesses show the change in our lifestyles. The desire to move home frequently, enjoyment of eating out and apparent pleasure in decorating our bodies –all expensive pastimes despite the hard times!

Jon Cole Blount Road, Portsmouth