94 Baker Street (former site of Apple boutique), London

Now, this was the Beatles鈥� first bold leap into the world of retail therapy鈥擜pple-style. As Paul McCartney so dreamily put it, the idea was to create 鈥渁 beautiful place where beautiful people can buy beautiful things.鈥� What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for starters: everything. Back in September 1967, the Fab Four handed a cool 拢100,000 to a psychedelic Dutch design collective known as The Fool鈥攚hich in hindsight feels... a little on the nose. Their mission was to design and stock the new Apple Boutique. Naturally, the team responded with a massive technicolor mural plastered across the building's fa莽ade鈥攔ainbows, swirls, pure hippie euphoria. Local shopkeepers, however, were less than groovy about it. Cue complaints, and soon the mural was whitewashed into oblivion鈥攖hough some say it still lurks beneath the paint like a ghost of fashion鈥檚 past.

The boutique opened in December 1967 with a star-studded bash. John and George showed up, wives in tow, joined by the likes of Eric Clapton, Cilla Black, and Kenneth Tynan. The drinks menu was strictly apple juice, because... no booze license. Which somehow made it feel even more surreal.

Inside, the racks were packed with psychedelic garments and trippy accessories, all aimed at London鈥檚 fashion-forward youth. Unfortunately, the boutique had one major design flaw: absolutely no one was paying. Shoplifting ran rampant鈥攂y both customers and staff. Yes, even the helpers helped themselves.

Just eight months later, the Beatles were done playing shop. Tired of the chaos, they shut it all down鈥攂ut not without a final flourish. On July 30, 1968, they opened the doors one last time and let the public raid the place for free. That鈥檚 right: one of the most exclusive boutiques in London ended its run with a clearance sale where everything was 100% off.

In the end, the Apple Boutique became less 鈥渂eautiful dream鈥� and more 鈥渇ree-for-all fashion meltdown.鈥� But hey鈥攊t was the 鈥�60s.

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Create Your Own Self-Guided Walk to Visit This Sight

Sight Name: 94 Baker Street (former site of Apple boutique)
Sight Location: London, England (See walking tours in London)
Sight Type: Attraction/Landmark
Guide(s) Containing This Sight:

Beatles London Walking Tour

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