I Met Them!

— Jackie Walker

Regenstein’s was a specialty store on the corner of Cane and Peachtree in Atlanta, Georgia. In the 60s the store featured upscale clothing and accessories for women. I was enamored with my first position as an Assistant Buyer. From the moment customers entered the majestic front doors, shoppers experienced a fountain that sprayed the “Scent of the Week,” usually something from Estee Lauder, and the scent enveloped them. Entering the second set of doors they were ready to shop.

The fashion coordinator in charge of all special events had become very fond of me since the first day we met. She always included me in the most exciting projects. I was yet to discover the very best one.

One morning she came to me and said, “The Beatles are coming to Atlanta!”

“The Beatles are coming? The real Beatles?”

“Yes, my dear, and you’re going to be in the middle of it all.”

This event would take place a couple of weeks ahead in the middle of August, 1965. Our store had been selected to do a Teen Board fashion presentation as one of the pre-acts in a day-long marathon, getting the crowds ready for the big show. We were asked to feature the teen styles of the day: white boots, vinyl raincoats, miniskirts and short dresses with colorful tights. Very Mod and Twiggy. I was asked to be the chaperone for teen girls from different high schools in Atlanta who would model the fashions. I was barely out of my teens myself, and I jumped at the chance. The Beatles!

The day arrived and we boarded a bus early in the morning. I had a big responsibility because no parents were involved. We were transporting forty outfits for a forty-five-minute fashion show. Ten teen models would have four changes of outfits each. We were guided by security guards into a dressing room below the Atlanta Stadium. Above us we could already hear the crowds rushing in to grab seats.

We had a lot of down time because we weren’t going onstage until 11 am. The girls helped me get the clothes ready. We and all of Atlanta were excited about this big show. Suddenly the door opened and in walked two men from the BBC, the British Broadcasting Company, traveling with the Beatles. They had the most engaging British accents. We were enthralled.

The BBC reporter and photographer had a list of the pre-acts and we were the only teen female group. They said they wanted to interview the ‘Birds,’ an English term for young girls. I answered the reporter’s questions and he went off to interview other acts, leaving the photographer to take our pictures. We had fun posing before the camera in some of our outfits. The photographer mentioned that the reporter was going to pick some of the acts to meet the Beatles in person.

I remember the girls and I looked at each other. I was bold enough to ask, “Can we meet the Beatles?”

He said, “Let me check with my partner and see if we can make that happen.”

I doubted that he would check for us. I told the girls not to get their hopes up. He overhead what I said, turned to me, and I will never forget his words, “When a Britisher makes a statement, he never lies!” Then it happened! The two came back and told us that our group was going to meet the Beatles in person. The Beatles!

I was first in line, with the girls tight behind me, excited as they were. But I turned around and told them to behave, no screaming! We could hear that going on above us in the stands.

It seemed like we were led through door after door until the last one opened to reveal a large roomful of important people. I noticed the tables full of food and beverages, including liquor. An English man identified himself as Brian Epstein, the Beatles’ manager. He said we could only stay a few moments because this was an adult gathering.

We were led to a line of chairs and seated. My heart was pounding as Paul, George and John approached us. They actually smiled and said hello to us. They immediately stood behind us for a quick photo op.

All of a sudden, I realized one Beatle was missing.

I can’t believe I said, “Where’s Ringo?”

Directly in front of me, a door opened and there Ringo was. What an entrance!

Ringo joined the other Beatles behind us and the flash cameras started popping.

We were all so quiet I think we were in shock. Suddenly two girls with their parents’ Polaroid cameras stood up and asked the photographers to take our pictures. They were copying my boldness. These cameras instantly produced a photo. We were quickly ushered back to our dressing room. It was all a blur.

We took the stage finally and our fashion show was flawless. We would have hours to wait before the actual Beatles performance at 8 pm. Food and soft drinks were brought into our original room. We had to prepare the clothes to go back to the store. We told stories, some of the girls had boyfriends, we talked about where they wanted to go to college. I told them how I had come to Atlanta to fulfill my dream to be a buyer and I had.

We were told that, as part of the pre-acts, we would get honored seats for the show right up front close to the stage. Around 7:15 pm a security guard came and led us to our seats outside on the grass football field.

Of course, the show was amazing, but the better show was in the stands. We all kept turning around to see hundreds of first aid workers everywhere assisting screaming girls who were fainting. This was summertime in hot Atlanta and they were going down like flies.

At the conclusion of the performance, four limos entered the field and one Beetle got into each car. The loudspeakers blared, “The Beatles have left the building!” We were given police escorts to our bus, and told that the Beatles were actually still secured inside the stadium until all the crowds dispersed. The two girls who had the Polaroid photos were bragging and waving them wildly. The police insisted they hide their photos or we would be mobbed and trampled.

It was a very long day. When I finally got home, I was a little sad. I called my mom in Jacksonville who I phoned every day. I wanted to relay all the details of my experience. She knew me so well and could hear the bit of sadness in my voice.

“Then why do you sound so sad?

“With all the cameras going off and photographs being taken, I don’t have one of my own.”

Mom said, “You will always have that memory. It will always be yours.”

Somewhere out in this world there are two middle-aged women who have that picture of me with the Beatles.

Jackie Walker begain her career in the retail industry in postions ranging from a couture clothing buyer to a Human Resource Director for Federated Department Stores. In 1988 she left corporate life and started Option Dressing, a unique personal image consulting service focusing on the options in people’s closets that create inner and outer confidence for their personal choices. At this point “Closetology” was created and Jackie was branded Dr. of Closetology, a consultant on the psychology of clothing, with workshops and training seminars for clients and the public. Her bestselling book, I Don’t Have a Thing to Wear, The Psychology of Your Closet, now in the 8th printing with Simon and Schuster has been translated and released internationally. Her second book Expressionista, How To Express Your True Self Through (And Despite) Fashion was published by Simon and Schuster in 2013. She has appeared on many national and local television and radio shows and contributed to magazines across the country. Jackie teaches a course in Closetology for OLLI in July. Visit here at OLLI-USF online to register.