Jane Caldow – Choosing the stock

Simon: How do you choose what [stock] to get?

Jane: Used to go up to London on buying trips and things. Occasionally as a youngster I would go with my mother for the day. I remember, I think it was one of the … it was either Charnos or Jacqmar the scarf people. They had a lift and I would have been maybe 10 or 11. It was a big treat to go to London for the day because you didn’t have the exotic holidays abroad that everybody has today did you?

And going up to London and going round and just seeing her buying different things and one of these Companies had this beautiful lift, and it was all beautiful inside and I remember thinking it was just like Cinderella’s carriage, so I was quite young, maybe 9 or 10 and this beautiful lift.

And I think it was either Jacqmar the scarf company or it was Charnos who did all the lingerie. It was one the companies, but all the businesses were all round W1, as it had always been the fashion area.

And then you used to have the Travellers who came to you with all their stock, and in later years they would still come to my aunt, the Travellers, yes, came in and you would look at all the ranges in the business and say, “Well I’ll have two of this in this colour and that size” and everything else so yes, you had the Commercial Travellers who went round.

They’d always been in this country, selling not just clothes but everything else, but yes they would certainly come down to the Island. I think the Lotus chap used to come down to the Island to mummy. Occasionally she went up to London to buy the Lotus shoes and I’m sure they would come down to her as well.