A "classy" Liverpool shop that welcomed generations was a popular destination for customers to get "all their shoes" from.
For decades, shoppers will remember heading to their local Dolcis to buy everything from their first pair of heels to must have school shoes. According to The National Archives, Dolcis was the brainchild of Mr John Upson who began trading from a barrow in Woolwich Market in 1836.
A shoe shop in Woolwich soon followed and by 1920, when it became a public company, Upsons had about 150 shops. The name of Dolcis, a Swiss name, was first used for the Oxford Street store - but the company traded under the name Dolcis, Barron and Company, the London Boot Company and High Life Shoe Company until 1956, when it officially became Dolcis Limited.
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The firm specialised in ladies fashion footwear, although the men's market was also catered for. Advertisements in the Liverpool ECHO archives date back to the 1950s, with one ad for the Church Street branch stating Dolcis was where "style and value meet."
Over the years, Dolcis shops were a familiar fixture on high streets across the UK. In Merseyside, you could find Dolcis in the likes of Liverpool, Southport, Birkenhead and St Helens.
When looking for school shoes, girls were found visiting either Ravel or Dolcis, with the two brands having stores close to each other in St Johns Shopping Centre at one point. It was also the place to get a sensible pair of shoes for work or some sparkly strappy heels for a night out.
Do you remember Dolcis? Let us know in the comments section below.
The brand was enjoying the height of success back in 2007, when it had 65 stores across the country and more than 150 concessions. But the following year, Dolcis was placed into administration as efforts were made to try and rescue the chain, including six Merseyside stores.
Brian Green, Allan Graham and Howard Smith from KPMG’s restructuring practice were appointed joint administrators. At the time, Mr Green said: "Dolcis is a well recognised, long established High Street brand, so we are hopeful of finding a buyer for it."
He said the chain was a victim of tightened consumer spending and that footwear sales fell for the third consecutive month in December. Mr Green added: "There are a significant number of positive factors about this business to make it an attractive acquisition.”
At the time, the chain has two sites in Liverpool and other stores in Southport, Birkenhead, Warrington and St Helens. In February 2008, the ECHO reported how the Birkenhead store of Dolcis was saved in a buy-out by Yorkshire’s Stylo Barratts Shoes, but the Liverpool Church Street store was still to close.
Fans of Dolcis can still shop the brand online - but it has now closed its high street stores. But many still have fond memories of the brand, from working at Dolcis to visiting regularly - or even still having pairs of shoes from the physical shops bought years ago.
On our Liverpool memories and History Facebook group, we asked group members to share their memories of Dolcis. And here are a few from our readers.
Sue Dave Tague said: "My fave shoe shop in town. Always got the most amazing shoes from there."
Elaine Lyon commented: "Loved Dolcis. had to save for couple of weeks to get a pair though." Cerri Gallagher said: " Dolcis , Ravel and Saxone , loved all of their shoes."
Laura Mcevoy New wrote: "I use to get all my shoes from Dolcis." Phyllis Bent posted: "I was head cashier for eight years in this shop, great memories of great staff, loved it there."
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Andrew Jennings wrote: "I worked there in the early 70s, classy footwear, classy store, we had a lot of famous customers too." Sheila Lupton posted: "Still got my wedding shoes bought from Dolcis, 62 years ago!"
And Lynda Sergeant commented: "Loved Dolcis shoes and bags."
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