Who’s Tailor sat at Elizabeth St? “My Tailor”

Taken in 1954 by photographer Ben Haigh, this image highlights the western side of Elizabeth St between the Bourke Street Mall and Little Bourke St opposite the GPO.

Taken from the Bourke St and Elizabeth St intersection, the left-hand corner of the frame features the tallest building of this block, Cromwell Buildings, home of many businesses.

The first of the smaller businesses next to the Cromwell is the long-running newsagents McGills, which closed its doors a little further up the block in 2009 after 149 years of service.

Further up the street, is the Commercial Banking Co. of Sydney Building, and near the Little Bourke St corner is the novelty store that entertained many a child (or a child-at-heart) for nearly 80 years: Bernard’s Magic shop.

However, this article is about the tall and narrow building in the middle, its side boldly declaring “My Tailor” to all of Melbourne: Wardrop’s.

Although they were not the only tailors in the CBD, Wardrop’s was a long-running institution in Victoria, lasting close to a century of providing generations of men with the trendy suit needed for a job interview, or a formal occasion.

The store in the photo (at 197-199 Elizabeth St) was not the only Wardrop’s in the same street, as a second three-storey store also ran at 52 Elizabeth St a few blocks southward.

The man behind the store, George Gavin Wardrop, was born to Scottish parents in Collingwood in 1860 (Argus, April 10, 1935). He started as a bricklayers’ labourer when he was 13, and one of his first jobs was on a warehouse for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company in Yarraville.

Every morning, he would walk from his Cromwell St home to Spencer Street Station, take the train to Footscray and walk the rest of the way. Whether it was because of the tiring pre-work journey, the labour that followed, or just the pubescent whims of the young George, within a few months he switched to an apprentice job for tailor J.L. Jones in Smith St, Fitzroy.

By 17 he was working as a commercial traveller for the firm, a literal walking advertisement as he promoted the store’s wares throughout the goldfields. By 19 he had entered into a partnership with Jones, the store running as Jones and Wardrop for a few years.

In 1885 George broke out on his own, establishing his own tailor business at 348 Smith St, Collingwood. The early days were hard, as he and his family lived frugally, living in a couple of rooms at the back of the store, with the workroom converted to a living room between work hours.

After more than a decade of perseverance George bought a house in 1898, and his store moved across Johnston St to first take up the 334 Smith St address in the late 1890s, before occupying the Smith-Johnston St corner by 1906.

According to George, advertising was a significant factor the stores success, explaining that “I have always ascribed its growth to continuous advertising” (The Argus, August 10, 1935).

The famous “My Tailor” slogan originated when he and a friend attended a meeting at Parliament House. When the discussions turned silent, his friend joked that George should opportunistically shout “Wardrop, My Tailor”. George refrained, but instead made stickers of that slogan and sticking it across any building he could find during his walks.

The business expanded with Wardrop purchasing Brandt Brothers’ lamp store at 197 Elizabeth St in 1913 for a purchase price of £8500 (The Herald, December 4, 1913), and replacing it with the five-storey Wardrop’s Building, which opened in July 1914. All the while, George would make multiple visits to England to engage with other clothiers and buy materials to help with his business. 

George passed away in 1932, but the business would continue healthily for another four decades, especially after the 52 Elizabeth St store opened in 1935.

During World War Two, they offered to make custom-made suits for officers, and by the 1950s the store’s advertisements were promoting trousers, raincoats, dinner suits, sports shirts and ties, with shops everywhere from the Royal Arcade, Geelong, Ballarat and Benalla.

However, the 1960s were the beginning of the end, with the Wardrop’s Building store closing by 1966, and the other by 1967. Wardrop’s moved to the old Sands and McDougall stationery shop building at 128-132 Elizabeth St where it remained into the mid-1970s, along with the Smith St business (now a picture frame store). The remains of the business were taken over by the now defunct Roger David in 1977 (Canberra Times, June 15, 1977).

Today, the Wardrop Building still stands, albeit as a convenience store and apartment building and minus its bold advertising. However, in a world where many businesses are impacted by the rise of online shopping, the tower remains a monument to a time where shopping was an experience: the trip to the storefront, the exploration of the many styles and types of menswear, and having one fitted with the staff.

For more information: historyvictoria.org.au