Something Wholesale

Something Wholesale chronicles Eric Newby's experiences in London's fashion trade during the 1950s. After returning from World War II service, Newby joins his family's struggling clothing and wholesaling business, Lane & Newby. The memoir follows his navigation of the garment industry's complexities, from fabric selection to manufacturing to sales. Newby details his encounters with suppliers, seamstresses, rival merchants, and the evolution of post-war British fashion retail. Through precise observations and dry humor, Newby captures both the day-to-day operations and the broader transformation of London's wholesale clothing trade in the mid-20th century. His insider perspective documents a pivotal period in British commercial and social history. Beyond its historical value, the book examines themes of family obligation, generational change, and adaptation in a rapidly shifting economic landscape. The work stands as both a personal memoir and a record of a vanished commercial world.

Readers appreciate Newby's witty storytelling about his time in the London fashion industry, with many highlighting his self-deprecating humor and sharp observations of post-war British society. The book's portrayal of his family's clothing business resonates with those who worked in similar trades. Many reviews note the book offers less adventure than Newby's other works, focusing instead on business and family dynamics. Some readers found the fashion industry details tedious and the pacing slow in parts. Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (32 ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (11 ratings) Review quotes: "His wit makes even the most mundane business meetings entertaining" - Amazon reader "Not as engaging as his travel books, but still captures his trademark humor" - Goodreads review "The fashion industry bits put me to sleep" - LibraryThing user Reviews are limited compared to Newby's more popular works like A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush.

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🔸 Eric Newby wrote this humorous memoir about his time in his family's London fashion house during the 1950s after returning from World War II, where he had been a prisoner of war in Italy. 🔸 The book offers a unique glimpse into the post-war British garment industry, including the complex politics of fabric rationing that continued well after the war ended. 🔸 Though Newby is best known for his travel writing (especially "A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush"), this early work demonstrates his characteristic wit while documenting a very different kind of adventure. 🔸 The fashion house described in the book, Lane and Newby, was founded in 1850 and specialized in women's fashion wholesale, including the then-revolutionary concept of ready-to-wear clothing. 🔸 Many of the book's most amusing moments come from Newby's attempts to modernize the family business while dealing with his eccentric father's old-fashioned business practices and superstitions.