Rita, a former ‘Yorkshire Woman of the Year’, put Barnsley on the fashion map with her internationally famous, cutting-edge, haute couture store, Pollyanna, which is known and respected from New York to Milan.
Rita Britton had left school at a young age of 15. She finished with 0 grades as the education board had failed her. She then began work at a paper mill. Rita became the first woman in Barnsley to be able to drive a car. Her mother was a cleaner and her father was a lorry driver. Rita had been given £500 to start her business up and running.
She was the first woman to own and have a shop outside of London which stocked not only one type of brand. Rita’s store ‘Pollyanna’ stocked garments by designers such as Ozzie Clark and Mary Quant. Mary Quant became famous for the creation of the ‘Miniskirt’. The miniskirt was a garment which had an empowerment towards women.
Through her career Rita has helped all-sorts of people progress and give them a helping hand. She has been a Governor at Northern College in Stainborough which she is very fond of, mainly because it encourages those who have missed out, to step back onto that educational ladder. And she’s also been on the Government Skills Task Force.
The Victoria and Albert Museum dubbed Pollyanna ‘one of the foremost shops in the world’, and it’s not hard to see why. Here you can buy (among others) Jill Sander, Yohji Yamamoto, Nina Ricci and Dries Van Noten. Or Rita’s own designs. Everyone from locals to Hollywood stars shop here. Married with three sons, Rita is passionate about Barnsley,
