Rainshowers No Problem at Whiteaway Laidlaw
Posted: May 11th, 2010 | 1 Comment »Better squeeze in this ad from 1937 before the early summer showers end in Shanghai and the humidity kicks in. Raincoats from the great department store of Whiteaway, Laidlaw & Co (known as ‘right away and paid for’), established in 1913 on Nanking Road.Whiteaway Laidlaw had branches all over in Calcutta, Bombay, Simla, Rangoon, the Malay Straits Settlement and Colombo too.
Very reasonable prices, a great selection and essential for not getting caught in those summer showers when dashing about the International Settlement. Still, arguing that they will sell you a raincoat that will keep you dry seems like a bit of a daft slogan – who’d buy a raincoat that allowed you to get soaked?
Rode my first escalator in Shanghai 1946; had my first real suit, although with short pants, bought there, and still have a fine walking stick purchased by my father there sometime post-war, after we got out of the internment camp.
Went there in 1978 on my first visit to China since 1951, but by then it was the Peoples’ Department Store #2. Escalator was still there but no longer operating.