Who remembers Even Stevens?

Who remembers Even Steven's? Even Steven's was a three story retail clothing store on Capel St, back in the late '60s and early '70s. Jimmy Saville, the late Top of the Pops dj, drew headlines when he shopped there in 1968. But for many other people, Even Stevens was an eyesore.


With its floor to roof, colourful psychedelic mural, Even Stevens said 'THE '60S' in a way that was unmatched by any other store in Dublin. As a result, it was a mecca for Ireland's youth, seeking hipsters, kipper ties, velvet jackets and loud, paisley shirts. Walking through the doors of Even Stevens for the first time, was like walking into Aladdin's Cave. London had its Biba; we had Even Stevens.


Every place has its time and Even Stevens closed. There's a shop like Even Stevens in everyone's life. But that doesn't guarantee them longevity. Many of the shops of my youth have disappeared. Few people can remember there was not just one, but three department stores on Sth Gt George's St alone. There was another on the Quays. They were so monolithic, they looked like they'd never go away.


Peats was one of those shops that was always there. In this case, Peats was the place to go if you had a problem with your stereo or your radio or you wanted to upgrade to sound surround, a smart tv and whatever else the growing world of telecommunications could offer you, in a commercial package, for, of course, the domestic market. Now it's closed. Few people registered its departure; just a simple notice posted in the window of the three generation, family firm's Parnell and Dame St shops. Fifty years of being part of the city scape and psyche, gone in a trice and, no doubt, a shed full of debt. So it goes.

A friend of mine was shocked when I told him. He'd just shelled out €2,500 for a state of the art smart tv. He wasn't happy with it. Now he's stuck with it.