Simpsons of Piccadilly

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Simpsons of Piccadilly, now a branch of the Waterstone's chain of bookshops

Simpsons of Piccadilly was a large retail shop which traded at 203-206 Piccadilly in central London and was built as a quality clothing store specifically for men in 1935–36. Opening for business in April 1936, the store was actually called 'Simpson' (Piccadilly), but was commonly known as Simpsons or Simpsons of Piccadilly in the same way that J. Sainsbury stores became known as Sainsburys.

The architect of this multiple-floor Art Deco building was Joseph Emberton, and Simpson's was the first shop in Britain to have an uninterrupted curved-glass frontage. This new style was made possible by arc-welding a wide-span steel frame, rather than earlier techniques which involved using bulky bolted joints. The interior was designed with rooms conforming to domestic proportions arranged around an open staircase. Straddling two streets, the building has entrances in both Piccadilly and Jermyn Street.

The Simpson family — which gave the store its name — established their bespoke tailoring workshop in the East End of London in 1894. By 1929 they had moved it to North London and in the early 1930's created the DAKS trouser with its patented self-supporting waistband. This was in an era where braces were commonly used to hold trousers up, and the name was said to have been derived from the phrase 'Dad's slacks'.

The company ethos for Simpson of Piccadilly was to be a purveyor of "quality clothes for the well-heeled". Indeed, the store regularly attracted the 'tweed set' including Royals, MPs, dignitaries and country landowners. However, since 1991 (after a takeover), the store attempted to aim its sales and marketing efforts more towards the affluent, younger customer.

During the early 1950s, scriptwriter Jeremy Lloyd was employed as a junior assistant at Simpsons; he drew on his experiences to come-up with the idea for the highly-popular 1970s/ 80s television sitcom Are You Being Served? ^[1]

With around 150 staff employed by Simpson's at the time, the building was sold to the Waterstone's chain in 1999, ^[2] making it the largest bookshop in Europe. It is now their flagship store. On the top floor is a bar, 5th View Bar & Food, with a good southerly view over the rooftops towards the Houses of Parliament.

Although Simpsons is no longer trading as it was, the DAKS Simpson brand of menswear and womenswear continues and is sold in 'DAKS' stores, amongst other outlets. The DAKS flagship store is in Old Bond Street.