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Located at 94 Baker Street, the Apple Boutique was conceived as a haven where, in Paul McCartney’s words, “beautiful people can buy beautiful things.” While it was initially intended to stock a broad range of fashion, furniture, and art, it swiftly evolved into a fashion hotspot – the garments and accessories brought to life by The Fool, a Dutch art collective renowned for their eye-popping psychedelic designs.
The Fool – comprised of Simon Posthuma, Marijke Koger, and Josje Leeger – had already worked closely with the Beatles, famously painting George Harrison’s Mini and creating customised instruments for John and Paul. Their swirling mural on the Boutique’s exterior transformed the building into a visual landmark – until the local council, unimpressed by such vivid self-expression, ordered its removal. George Harrison later reflected on the mural’s erasure as the beginning of the end for the dream.
Despite the Beatles' star power, the boutique struggled. Plagued by spiralling losses, rampant shoplifting, and the band’s generosity with freebies to friends and fans, it closed on 31 July 1968 – just eight months after opening – with reported losses exceeding £200,000. On its final day, the Beatles threw open the doors and gave away the remaining stock to the delighted crowds, who flocked to claim a piece of pop history.
These Granny Smith pants are a surviving treasure from that final giveaway. Music journalist Stuart Penney, in a 2024 recollection, described visiting the Boutique towards the end: “The smell of incense hung heavy in the air and the staff appeared aloof and impossibly cool… On the day before the big giveaway, a friend returned with an armful of goodies… Without warning, he threw a cellophane packet in my direction, quipping, ‘These look like your size.’ Inside was a pair of Apple briefs, resplendent with a giant Granny Smith on the front.”
While Penney’s pair was eventually lost, this surviving example is a testament to the Beatles’ vision of style, art, and rebellion. With Ringo Starr later saying the Boutique was a chance to “dress everyone like us” and George lamenting the mural’s removal as emblematic of the era’s resistance to change, these pants are more than a fashion statement – they are a cultural artefact.