For an entire generation of fashion-conscious young women it was the place where they shopped till they dropped.
The mere mention of ladies' clothing store Chelsea Girl is sure to spark pangs of nostalgia among Edinburgh women of a certain age. In the 1970s and '80s, the much-loved fashion chain, which had shops in Princes Street and the St James Centre, was very much the place to be and to be seen on a Saturday.
With a name that evoked visions of the boutiques of London's King's Road in the 1960s, Chelsea Girl - which was a forerunner to River Island - was known for its eclectic styles, eye-popping colours and patterns and new age attitudes to women's fashion.
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Chelsea Girl was the brainchild of English clothing retailer Bernard Lewis, who in the late 1940s opened up a string of fashion outlets called Lewis Separates. In the 1960s, Lewis rebranded the business as Chelsea Girl to reflect the new wave of ladies' styles that were being conjured up by leading designers such as Mary Quant.
Lewis's new chain of stores expanded into major cities nationwide, including Edinburgh. The first store here opened on Princes Street, with a second shop taking up a unit in the newly-built St James Centre in 1973.
In a post on the Lost Edinburgh group on Facebook, Edinburgh locals recalled the glory days of shopping for everything from the latest dresses and coats, to trendy handbags and other accessories, at the long lost fashion emporium.
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Gwynne Williams wrote: "Used go there every Friday after work. Got my pay in a brown pay packet and bought lots of clothes from Chelsea Girl."
"I was one of the original staff members when Chelsea Girl opened in St James Centre," recalled Louise Smith. "I worked in the handbag department and then was a window dresser.
"During the times of power cuts, we worked with gas lamps hanging from the interiors - wouldn't get away with that nowadays."
Rachel Stuart said: "I went to the one in St James Centre a lot with my wee Saturday job wages in the early 1970s."
Marion McNeil posted: "I worked in Chelsea Girl in St James Centre from July '73 when I left school till January '74 when I started nursing. I really enjoyed it."
While everyone had pleasant memories of shopping at Chelsea Girl, a couple of people mentioned a rumour that one of the shops had a lice or flea infestation, and that a "musty smell" often hung in the air.
Debbie Menelaws said: "Got my amazing Oxford Bags - up to my chest and really flattering. Around 1972 and I think they were £4. A lot of money then.
"I also remember the rumour that the shop got infested with fleas... I loved that place though!"
Eileen MacBride added: "I loved Chelsea Girl, I got a lot of my clothes from there, but I hated the smell in the shops, don’t know what it was as it was a really musty smell."
In 1982, Bernard Lewis added a menswear chain called Concept Man to his fashion empire, with a third brand, River Island, founded by the end of the decade. Both Chelsea Girl and Concept Man were eventually merged together to become part of River Island, which remains on the UK high street to this day.
Mary Ross Gilbert commented: "I loved Chelsea Girl. I was about 12/13 when I first discovered the shop in St James Centre when the original centre first opened.
"I remember it made me feel really grown up shopping there, we would go and hang out there in our school lunch hour. Fab stylish clothes of its time and affordable. End of an era when River Island bought them over."
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