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Granny Takes a Trip: High Fashion and High Times at the Wildest Rock 'n' Roll Boutique
Granny Takes A Trip was more than just a shop and a fashion brand; it was the original rock and roll clothes boutique, the template for all that followed. What started as an odd retail venture/art installation in a depressed part of London known as World's End became an international byword for glam decadence in Manhattan and Hollywood, combining flamboyant style and all manner of countercultural activity to attract everyone from Pattie Boyd, Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg to Elton John, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, the Beatles, and Lou Reed.
Unfolding over a decade-and-a-half, this tumultuous story invokes a cast of often unique, sometimes entitled, unusually talented and troubled individuals on a collective mission to shake up austere, repressed, class-ridden Britain and white bread America. Some achieved this at great personal cost as darkness, addiction and tragedy stalked those behind the extraordinary shop facades.
Much mythologised but never told, this cautionary tale has now found its definitive chronicler in celebrated cultural historian Paul Gorman who has had access to first-hand accounts from all the principal figures, as well as notes for a memoir and a much-treasured scrapbook by Freddie Hornik, the tailoring entrepreneur who survived the death marches of central Europe after WW2 to acquire Granny Takes A Trip in the late 60s and transform into an unparalleled pop cultural force.
Beautifully illustrated with archival images of the shop, principal players and the clothes themselves, this book concludes with a never-seen-before 48-page tour through the Rolling Stones' wild wardrobe of sartorial delights tailored and sold in the original shop.
Unfolding over a decade-and-a-half, this tumultuous story invokes a cast of often unique, sometimes entitled, unusually talented and troubled individuals on a collective mission to shake up austere, repressed, class-ridden Britain and white bread America. Some achieved this at great personal cost as darkness, addiction and tragedy stalked those behind the extraordinary shop facades.
Much mythologised but never told, this cautionary tale has now found its definitive chronicler in celebrated cultural historian Paul Gorman who has had access to first-hand accounts from all the principal figures, as well as notes for a memoir and a much-treasured scrapbook by Freddie Hornik, the tailoring entrepreneur who survived the death marches of central Europe after WW2 to acquire Granny Takes A Trip in the late 60s and transform into an unparalleled pop cultural force.
Beautifully illustrated with archival images of the shop, principal players and the clothes themselves, this book concludes with a never-seen-before 48-page tour through the Rolling Stones' wild wardrobe of sartorial delights tailored and sold in the original shop.
- GenresArtNonfictionMusic
304 pages, Hardcover
Published September 30, 2025
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About the author
Paul Gorman
34 books23 followersPaul Gorman is a writer and filmmaker. His plays have appeared on stage in Seattle and his films at film festivals in North America and Europe. His award winning documentary film, "Ride the Sky", spent two years streaming on ROKU's DocsNow Plus channel. In addition to pursuing his creative side, he spent 35 years working in the tech industry as a designer and manager. He is a life-long resident of the Seattle area where he lives with his wife and dog. He enjoys traveling, hiking, cycling, brewing beer, and hanging out with his wife and three grandchildren.
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