My Excellent European Adventure 60th Anniversary - Chapter 15: Swingin' London

 

Time magazine cover, April 15, 1966

Nearing the end of our European Adventure, we skipped a scheduled overnight on the Continent and spent it sleeping in our van in Canterbury (see previous post, "Chapter 14," below this post) so that we could have a full day in London before heading home.

Our primary objective for that extra day wasn't the British Museum, the National Gallery, or the V&A Museum.  It was someplace more compelling and top of mind for a group of American teenagers in the mid-1960s:  Carnaby Street.

On April 15, 1966, less than three months before we set out on our trip, Time magazine published its cover story on "London: The Swinging City" (see photo at the top of this post.)  Here are a couple of excerpts from the article:

In this century, every decade has had its city. . . . Today, it is London.  In a decade dominated by youth, London has burst into bloom.  It swings; it is the scene.

Perhaps nothing illustrates the new swinging London better than narrow, three-block-long Carnaby Street, which is crammed with a cluster of the "gear" boutiques where the girls and boys buy each other clothing. Nine of the shops for boys on Carnaby Street are owned by Designer John Stephen, 29, who last week took his tattersall shirts, Dutch boy caps, form-fitting pants and vinyl vests to Manhattan to put the fear of God into parents there. 

With hype like that, we had to go!

Carnaby Street looking NNW at the intersection with Ganton Street

Carnaby Street looking SSE toward the intersection with Ganton Street

When we were there in August of 1966, Carnaby Street was the epicenter of  British music and fashion that powered much of the cultural revolution of the 1960s.  The Beatles, The Stones, movie stars, models . . . all came to Carnaby Street and exported the Carnaby Street zeitgeist to the world.

Geographically, the Carnaby Street shopping district is only 3/10ths of a mile from Savile Row -- a 6-minute walk.  But culturally it was a world away from the ruling class custom menswear shop at  #1 Savile Row where I had bravely ventured in to buy a tie at the beginning of the trip five weeks earlier (see "Chapter 2" below).  I don't remember buying anything on Carnaby Street, nor did I see any rock stars, movie stars, or supermodels.  But I can say I was there when it was the cool place to be.

Next post:  Heading home . . . and what we saw at Heathrow.