History
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 1930s created the DAKS trouser with its patented self-supporting waistband. This was in an era where braces were commonly used to hold trousers up; the name is said to have been a contraction of "Dad's slacks". In Australia, DAKS trousers were extremely popular for some time, to the extent that, in Australian English, "daks" (or "dacks") remains a common vernacular term for trousers and underpants. The brand, somewhat ironically, has not been available in Australia for many years.
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 "tweedy 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?
The company's parent, DAKS Simpson Group plc, was acquired by the Japanese group Sankyo Seiko Co. Limited in 1991.
With around 150 staff employed by Simpson's at the time, the building was sold to the Waterstone's chain of bookshops in 1999. It is now their flagship store. On the top floor is a bar, 5th View Bar & Food, with a 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. DAKS is holder of Royal Warrants granted from three members of the Royal Family. The royal warrant by Queen Elizabeth II was given in 1962, that from the Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh in 1956 and from Charles, Prince of Wales in 1982.
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