Sheila Burnett – We’d shop at Packs for special occasions

Sheila: Well you knew immediately that you would go there if you wanted something for a special occasion because Fowler’s by then had closed down and of course that had been quite a big store and that would have been what you’d call in the old days the real good store where you’ve got a bit of everything you know from materials and whatever as well as clothing and everything. We don’t sort of see those sorts of types of places anymore do we? Well not on the Island anyway. But you would go there anyway, Packs and all the stuff, some of the very well-known names of clothing in those days she would be stocking.

Simon: I guess that’s another important part is the person who’s doing the buying having the eye of what their customers will want.

Sheila: Yes, and then she wouldn’t buy too many of anything, so yes, you get the different sizes of something, but there wouldn’t be a tremendous number of … I mean I can’t really remember ever seeing … probably blouses for example, there might be 3 or 4 of the same style because they were all different sizes, but obviously evening dresses she wouldn’t have done that. They’d all be very individual, so although she got the different sizes and different group of evening dresses within the size, but you’d be lucky if you found more than two looking anything like …(laughs).