Over 60 years ago, Glasgow’s shopping scene looked a little different. The fashions of the 1950s and 1960s were a huge defining part of that era, and looks such as Mod and punk became legendary, even echoing through multiple generations to inspire what we wear today.

The Mods, punks, rockers, skinheads and more sought their style in a humble little shop on the Trongate, which is still trading today.

If you've walked down that city centre street, you'll have seen a window full of vintage-style clothes with neon price stickers dotted around the display, below thick, retro red lettering. 

Dees of Trongate is the name above the door, but the family-run brand began life in a store in Cambuslang in 1951. Its doors opened at a crucial time in Britain’s cultural history, when music and fashion went hand in hand.

Glasgow Times:

Teddy boys in their sharp-tailored suits emerged with the surge in popularity of artists like Elvis Presley, while Mods donned their Parkas and enjoyed rock groups like The Who.

No matter your tastes, Dees had something to suit you.

David and Tilly Dee opened the Trongate shop in 1963 with the aim of providing Glasgow and the surrounding areas with the ‘must-haves in fashion’.

Glasgow Times:

As demand for the fashion prevailed, Dees began competing with the likes of Cash City Tailors and Dandy and expanded to open shops in Springburn, Partick, and Clydebank.

As the years went on, and the business was passed down the generations of the Dee family, it became difficult for independent retailers to survive amid big high street chains, and all the shops closed – except one.

The Trongate store is still standing all these years later, and is showing no signs of slowing down.

Glasgow Times:

Dees celebrates the fashions of bygone eras that are still worn and loved by those who lived through it, remember it or wish they could travel back to it. Long gone are the days of splurging excessive amounts of cash on flash suits and big designer labels; Dees aims to stock the best brands at the most affordable prices so that everyone can be united in their love of the fashion and wear what they want to wear.

Fighting against the currents of retail chains, online shopping and a declining high street, Dees is also contending with the physical decline of its surroundings.

As we told last summer in our Spotlight series, the upper floors of the Trongate building in which Dees sits is deemed at risk after years of neglect – however, the ground floor is not.

Glasgow Times:

While only one store remains in Glasgow, the team found that they were experiencing demand from across the globe and that customers were ‘literally crossing oceans’ to browse their range of Parkas, creepers and more.

With that in mind, they expanded their offerings to include an online website, and have shipped orders to happy customers as far as China, Uganda, and Hong Kong.

“Over the years we have seen Glasgow change but one thing that has stayed the same is our excellent service and attention to detail,” Dees says.

“As the oldest family-run clothing store in Glasgow, we are proud to still offer something you will not find elsewhere in Scotland. Whether you’re a Mod, a punk, into ska music or simply like to dress well, you’ll find something to suit at Dees.”