The Original Designer: Jeanette Godfrey aka Jinty Martell

Liverpool born Jeanette Godfrey was the main designer employed for the launch of Samuel Sherman's Dollyrockers range while already working as the head designer at Sambo [1] for three years [2].  She covered the first two seasons - Autumn Winter 1963-4 and Spring Summer 1964.  The Royal College of Art graduate left Samuel Sherman in Easter of 1964 to start her own label but established the fun, girlish style that became it's bestselling look. [3]  Colin Glascoe who designed for Sambo before getting his own label at Samuel Sherman in early 1963 is also credited as helping with the initial designs for the new label [4], though he said himself that his own style aimed more towards "young executives wives".[5]

Jeanette's youthful style as well as her love of bright colours and tailored tweeds were already evident in her final year at college in 1957 when she won a scholarship provided by children's clothing manufacturers, Mark Lewis Ltd. She was determined that Britain's fashion industry needed to design something for teenage girls that was "bright and pretty", but knew they had to be well made out of good quality fabrics.[6]

Raised in Hoylake, her father Stanley had been chief engineer for Cunard on the Queen Elizabeth and moved the family down to Rye in Sussex during her first year at the Royal College of Art. [7] She had previously studied at West Kirby Grammar School for girls, the Wallasey School of Art and Liverpool School of Art where she gained her National Diploma of Dress Design. [8]  

Her scholarship gave her the chance to study the ready to wear children's clothes in Paris which she found to be beautifully designed and cut yet badly made.  "They have the most exquisite materials and are particularly clever in the use of dark fabrics with white trimmings", [8] a look which cropped up in the first seasons for Dollyrockers a few years later.  She also spent some time there visiting Balenciaga, Dior and Guy Laroche. [9]

In 1958 she won a further award from the Federation of British Industries Industrial Art Committee that allowed her to spend two months in the USA visiting buyers, designers and manufacturers in the garment trade. [10]

Before her three years at Samuel Sherman she spent 18 "ghastly" months designing children's clothes for Sally Pigtails and Marchette, then spent a year with Berketex and six months with Rhona Roy [2] [11] [12]. She finally launched her own label Jinty with her then husband Malcolm Martell in 1966. [13] Her second husband John Stephenson was a director of the Conran Design Group. [14]

Though her daughter, younger sister, friends and grandmother all enjoyed wearing items from her collections through the years, Jeanette herself rarely wore her own designs.  "There's very little in the collection I wear myself.  When I'm at my thinnest I'm a size 14 and I feel a bit young in them.  By the time we have one in stock I've seen it in the showroom for three months and I'm sick of it.  I'm a terrific St Laurent fan myself.  I think his cut is fantastic." [2] 

Jinty dress, 1966

Jeanette wearing Jinty, 1970 

[1] Whitcomb, N. (1963) 'These youngsters are turning our High Streets into fashion parades', The Daily Mirror, 5 November, p. 9.

[2] Menkes, S. (1970) 'Jane, Janice and Jinty', Evening Standard, 19 January, p. 18.

[3] Daily Telegraph (1964) 'Compromise is out for young dressing', Daily Telegraph, 8 June, p. 15.

[4] Latham, P. (1964) 'Taking pride in Britain's delightful off-peg clothes', The Birmingham Post, 12 March, p. 4.

[5] Chaundy, D. (1969) 'Maxi rocks Dollyrocker brigade', Evening Standard, 9 December, p. 6.

[6]Maisel, M. (1957) 'Jeanette designs for the younger generation', North Western Evening Mail, 27 December, p. 4

[7] Maisel, M. (1957) 'Liverpool girl champions new junior fashions', Liverpool Echo, 14 November, p. 14. 

[8] Campden, A. (1958) 'The London Line', The Kensington News and West London Times, 7 November, p. 9.

[9] Liverpool Echo (1957) 'In Fashion Show Hoylake-born Girl's Designs', Liverpool Echo, 1 November, p. 11.

[10] Kensington News (1958) 'Jeanette wins £100', The Kensington News and West London Times', 1 August, p. 7.

[11] Sinclair, S. (1966) 'Anti-freeze fashion', The Daily Telegraph, 26 September, p. 10.

[12] Sinclair, S. (1961) 'Cruising in winter sunshine', The Daily Telegraph, 9 January, p. 9.

[13] Liverpool Echo (1970) 'why Jinty had a thing about navy blue', Liverpool Echo, 6 February, p. 4.

[14] The Daily Telegraph (2001) 'John Stephenson', The Daily Telegraph, 17 October, p. 27.