C & A Modes

I used to love the Liverpool Branch of C&A. In local argot it was called "coats and ats". I shopped in there as a teenager until I went to work in the city libraries and acquired some friends who introduced me to the more classy George Henry Lee. My mother never went into the latter. She said it was only for posh people.

I dont recall any of the brand names from C&A but they did indeed have a bargain basement and a ground floor for the cheaper lines. The better quality stock was on the 2nd floor.

C&A is a Dutch shopping chain. Why they withdrew from the UK market, I do not know. When my parents lived on the Dutch/german border in my late teens, I bought a lot of clothes from them - and continued to do so when we moved back to the UK. I was really sorry when they closed.

I was sorry too; I bought ski wear in C&A in this country, it was excellent quality.

dragonfly46

Yes it is a Dutch company. I too love their clothes. There is a branch in Amsterdam if I remember rightly.

Yes there is a branch in Amsterdam. Also Eindhoven where we were based for a few days last summer. It was summer sale time and I bought several things! I do miss them in the UK too.

Mazgg

I can remember the Northumberland Street Store very well it was one of my favourite shops .
I bought my longed for fur collared coat there in the 1960s when I was 17 out of my saved up wages.It cost £10 a lot of money then it made me feel posh.My grandmother hit the roof when she found out the price.

I remember the Newcastle store from when I was a student in the city in the early 1960s.

I remember buying a short black box pleated skirt, a big white sweater and thick black tights and when I went home at Christmas, my mother wouldn't let me wear it at hom bcause it made me look like a student!!. I think she was thinking French and the Juliet Greco look.

I was a student in London and I well remember my father meeting me at the station, taking one look and saying “Get in the car quickly before anyone sees you!”. I thought I looked really good, and in those days think I knew the fashion range of every shop in Oxford Street. Years later saw me dressing far more conventionally but for years I toned down my ‘look’ before going back home.

Lexisgranny When DD was about 12, we were looking for a skirt for her and she pointed one out, saying 'I could wear that one when I visit grandma'. It was pretty and a bit longer than the skirts she usually wore. I dressed to please my mum, when we visited her until she died. A small accommodation for a much love mother.

Thank you all for your replies. Yes, the 'posh' line was sixth sense. I remember getting a dress from that range for a special occasion (paid for by my Mum). One of the other memories I have of C & A was buying a burgundy faux leather coat, ankle length, known as the Dr Zhivago look. I had a Saturday job there for a short time when hot pants came out and was asked to wear them in the shop to promote sales. They were bright orange and I was allowed to keep them. Caused quite a stir in the local pub that night when I took my coat off!

I loved the Clock House range use to think I was sooo cool wearing some of it

Coats’n’ats loved the store

I think the more expensive label was Sixth Sense. I loved C and A, and bought my first evening dress there, black tafetta , off the the shoulder. I was 17 when the New Look came in and C and A was my fav shop for the long swirly skirts and tight bodices.

There still are C&A stores in Spain. We visit each time we go. Clockhouse and Sixth Sense are still available. Took me ages to realise the Canda range actually spelt out C and A!

I bought my wedding dress from C&A back in the 80s, 3/4 length white lace. I remember Clockhouse being their label, fab store!

As children, my siblings and I were taken to C & A every winter for a new, best coat. I remember entering the huge store and getting on the escalator, which I used to be scared of, and making our way up to the children's department.

DH had a really nice black leather jacket bought in Oxford Street, he wore it for years until he got too fat.
I also remember they had great evening dresses, not something that most people wear these days.

Still pick up C&A stuff in Spain. Only disappeared in the UK.

Loved CANDA

Bellocchild

Still pick up C&A stuff in Spain. Only disappeared in the UK.

Yes, still active in 18 European countries. Only stopped in UK.

C & A still going strong in Stuttgart, Germany, their exclusiv range is called Sixth Sense. I loved it when I lived there, lovely stuff I still have jackets, trousers, tops and shoes! Quality hard to find today, classic styling good for mature ladies!!!!!! I left there 2009 so the quality speaks for itself.

C&A still very popular in Germany...the Heidelberg branch in the Fussgangerzone (pedestrianised area) is a great store...and yess I still have an orange/grey midi skirt with diagonal stripes which I bring out every summer as the elasticated waistband has grown with me magic!

I bought my first winter coat, a blue one, in C&A's I loved the shop and still miss them.

I loved C&As. I remember buying a dress with a white collar made of pin striped material when the Bonnie and Clyde film came out, part of a range inspired by the film.
And a great maxi coat with a fur collar and fur round the hem I wore it for years.

Should be commas in there- the dress was pinstriped material-not the collar!
Eats shoots and leaves!

I loved C&A back in the 60s. Not having much money my Mum always dressed me in my older sister’s hand-me-downs. I didn’t mind for ages until one ‘kind friend’ pointed this out to me and that evening Mum found me in tears in my bedroom as I had been made to feel so inferior. The next Saturday she took me to C&A (the one place she could afford) and told me I could pick 3 new dresses! WOW I was overjoyed! Those dresses I can still remember clearly - they gave me such a boost to my confidence and lasted ages. C&A became my go to place from then onwards once I was earning and the amazing thing is that their clothes always fit without any need to alter - unlike other retailers. A store sadly missed 😢