Finding that shop in Bury .... and a bit on youth culture ..... fashion .... and big clothes

This is the story of Chatleys of Bury with as usual a sideways reflection on all things history.

The shop, 2025

So, first Chatleys, Big Menswear Superstore.

And the giveaway is the reference to big which aptly fits me. 

After a bout of series ill health, and a tendency to overeat I have become someone who prowls the internet for clothes to suit a man of very generous proportions but who still wants clothes of style and quality.

I had all but given up and then we found Chatleys.

The staff at Chatleys

The shop is light, large and welcoming, the staff know their stock and assessed my girth, against what I wanted, and the upshot was we came away with two pairs of trousers, two shirts, a tie, a jumper along with socks and underwear.

And most importantly they made me feel at ease, reminding me of that old fashioned approach to retail where the customer has confidence in the staff, and trusts their knowledge and judgement.

The business was established in 1974, and I have a vague memory of visiting their shop in Strangeways, perhaps a decade ago.

All of which set me thinking of when did fashion get limited to clothes of a certain size?

It’s coupled with those other questions to do with why advertising executives, clothe designers and film makers advance youth, and slimness in everything they do.

Dressing like dad, aged 10, 1885

Now, I know that the preoccupation with youth, and the perfect body isn’t new, and are topics which have been discussed for years.

I also know that there has since the 1950s been a lot of money to be made from young people. 

They after all are setting out exploring who they are, and many have an earning capacity as yet freed up from paying a mortgage, buying nappies, finding affordable childcare, and juggling the cost of living, with setting money aside for the future.

Equally the image of an overweight crinkly 70-year-old may not be the perfect match for a romantic film or the face to sell a range of cosmetics, or even a new electric car.

Sadly, we are often relegated in advertising to funeral plans, moving stair chairs and footbaths.

The historian in me is reminded that down the centuries obesity has been limited to a very few, compared with today, and youth culture is but a new preoccupation.

Dressing like mum, aged 13, 1885

Go back to 1900 and while there were adverts aimed at looking young there was less of a market for specifically teenage fashions or clothes that marked you off as different from your mum and dad.  Most of us back then just aspired to wear clothes that looked pretty similar.

And while all through history there have been youth rebellions from Ancient Rome, through to the Middle Ages and onto the Scuttler’s in late 19th century Manchester who wore distinctive clothes and hairstyles, I doubt they were seen as the norm by everyone else.

I could be wrong, and I await Eric of Whalley Range to correct me, but in the meantime I shall close with knowing that my oversized body has somewhere to shop in Bury.

To which I can add that the shop is not far from the tram stop, affording me that other bonus that visits to Chatleys will encompas an adventure by Timmy Tram from Chorlton via Victoria to Bury.

But on the off chance that I choose to stay at home the store has an online alternative. 

Location; Bury

Pictures; A day at Chatleys, 2025, from the collection of Andrew Simpson, and dressing like mum and dad, 1885, courtesy of the Together Trust

Chatleys, Big Menswear Superstore,1A Market Parade, Bury, BL9 0QE, 0161 764 3331- 0161 762 1113, sales@chatleys.co.uk and https://www.chatleys.co.uk/

Happy Birthday Trafford Centre ……... well almost

The Trafford Centre opened its doors in September 1994, making it almost its birthday, and almost marking a quarter of a century of retail fun.

A wall of wool, 2023

My Wikipedia tells me that “it is a large indoor shopping centre and entertainment complex in Urmston, Greater Manchester, England. It opened in 1998 and is third largest in the United Kingdom by retail space.

Clourful and enticing, 2023

Originally developed by the Peel Group, the Trafford Centre was sold to Capital Shopping Centres, later to become Intu, in 2011 for £1.65 billion setting a record as the costliest single property sale in British history.

The battle to obtain permission to build the centre was amongst the longest and most expensive in United Kingdom planning history. As of 2011 the Trafford Centre had Europe's largest food court and the UK's busiest cinema”.*

Adverts and shadows, 2023

So, there you are.

On any one day it will have heaps of people drawn from across the region.

Yellow day at Trafford Centre, 2023

Some have just popped in for one item, taking advantage of the free car parking, while others make a day of it.

I prefer the city centre, but then I am not a great fan of shopping as a recreation and prefer to wander the city with a camera.

But on a wet day and factoring in car parking charges I can see the attraction of the centre.

We were there on an indifferent Saturday when the rain threatened, and the sun struggled to break through the grey clouds.

Tina and her mum shopped, and I sat and took pictures.

A fair exchange.

Conversations among the potted plants, 2003

Location; Trafford Centre

Odd shapes, 2023

Pictures; shopping and people watching, 2023,A wall of wool, and Odd shapes in John Lewis, all  from the collection of Andrew Simpson

The Long View, 2023

*Trafford Centre, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafford_Centre

Shops in the time of Tier Three ....... whisky....walking sticks .... and piles more

So, with Tier Three about to imposed on us, and with essential journeys stripped back to the minimum, here for the next few weeks are shops I have visited or wished I had visited.

All will be from far away places which soon will be but a distant memory, for at least a while.

And this one comes from Barabrella who write, “It was a shop in Crieff. I only took a picture of the whisky section but it was a proper grocery. Had cheese at the back, tinned food, fresh bread and crackers. The grocer was wearing a brown robe on top of his clothes and he was quite old. And, there were walking sticks on sale as well, outside”.

Crieff is a Scottish market town in Perth and Kinross. It lies on the A85 road between Perth and Crianlarich, and the A822 between Greenloaning and Aberfeldy. 

"It has become a hub for tourism, famous for its whisky and history of cattle droving. Attractions include the Caithness Glass Visitor Centre and Glenturret Distillery. 

The nearby Innerpeffray Library (founded about 1680), is Scotland's oldest lending library. 

St Mary's Chapel, adjacent to the library, dates from 1508. Both are open to the public: the library is run by a charitable trust, while the chapel is in the care of Historic Scotland".*

Picture; the shop in Crieff, 2019, from the collection of Barbarella Bonvento

*Crieff, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crieff