Jacket is c. late 1960s. It’s labelled to interior “A George Best Special”.
The very first George Best Boutique opened in Sale, Manchester in March 1967. The second store opened later the same year in Cross Street, Manchester. The venture was a partnership between George Best and Manchester City’s footballer Mike Summerbee. The venture was a short lived one and by early 1970s both boutiques had closed.
The store’s opening was only announced in a small newspaper advert at the time. It didn’t matter as hundreds of football fans rushed to the doors on the opening day.
The Boutiques fashion collection was aimed towards ”the extrovert males”. It offered a variety of iconic items including furs, tweed jackets, purple and mustard trousers, fur caps and skinny ties.
Georgie spent every Saturday morning at the Boutique with the fans before heading to Old Trafford.
About Georgie
George Best was born in Belfast on 22nd of May in 1946. He was a Northern Irish professional footballer who played as a winger, spending most of his club career at Manchester United after club’s scout had spotted his talent at the age of 15, and sent a telegram to manager Matt Busby which read: “I think I’ve found you a genius”.
He was highly skillful dribbler and is still considered as one of the greatest players of all time. Best’s playing style combined pace, skill, amazing balance, feints, two-footedness, goalscoring and the ability to get past defenders.
After making his debut aged 17, he scored 179 goals from 470 appearances over 11 years and was the United’s top goal scorer in the league for five consecutive seasons. Best won two League titles and the European Cup with the club. He was named European Footballer of the Year in 1968 and came fifth in the FIFA Player of the Century vote.
In international football, Best was capped 37 times for Northern Ireland between 1964 and 1977.
Best became the first football superstar with his good looks, dark Beatle mop-top hair and playboy lifestyle. Media made him massive celebrity also outside the football pitch. Best got a nickname “o Beatle” by Portuguese press reporters after a stand-out performance for Manchester United in Lisbon in March 1966.
However, his extravagant lifestyle led to various personal problems, most notably alcoholism. Best himself said: “I spent a lot of money on booze, birds and fast cars – the rest I just squandered”. After his playing career, his financial and health problems continued into his retirement. Best died in 2005, aged 59, due to complications from the immunosuppressive drugs he needed to take after a liver transplant in 2002.
