One of Georgia Fowler’s creations will be taking centre stage at the White House in Washington this month.
The Chester dressmaker runs Viola Vintage making clothes using patterns from years gone by. She set up the internet business 12 months ago and now has customers worldwide.
One customer, from Seattle, asked her to produce an outfit for her to wear to an awards ceremony at the White House.
“She chose a 1950s dress and cape in wool,” said Georgia. “It’s very elegant and it’s lovely to think that something I have made will be worn on such an important occasion.”
Georgia, who lives in Marlston Avenue, was taught to sew by her mother as a young child. “We were brought up in Wales and had no television. My mother did lots of craftwork and she taught me and my sister various crafts,” she said. “I have made clothes all my life.”
In turn, Georgia has passed on her skills to daughters, Candace, 17, and Lara, 15.
The family lived in the US until a year ago and Georgia had a business making and selling children’s clothes in stores in Florida.
Her latest business was inspired by a comment made by her daughter, Lara, that people love the look of vintage clothes but don’t necessarily want items that other people have worn.
She trawled the internet for dressmaking patterns dating back as far as the 1940s and bought others at vintage fairs. She now has a collection of around 100 patterns, which she makes up in various sizes.
“I have to alter them to suit today’s figures,” she said. “Sizings are very different today,” she explains. “The waistlines on many vintage patterns are tiny.”
Georgia now has customers from the US, Australia, Singapore and Denmark as well as the UK, and her business is growing all the time. “I think people simply like to have something that is a real one-off,” she says. “I even source vintage buttons so every item is individual.”
She makes daywear as well as clothes for formal occasions such as balls and proms and finds that patterns from the 1940s and 50s are extremely popular.
“I think that people like the way women dressed then,” she said. “The clothes were very fitted and very elegant. They can be worn by a wide range of age groups and people like them for special occasions.”
Georgia herself has a liking for boho hippy clothes from the 1970s including floaty maxi dresses. “There was something very free about the styles then,” she says.
Georgia likes to work with natural fabrics like cotton and wool and is currently working on a new project to make clothes from recycled jumpers. “I have been making them into coats. They are very warm and I will be starting to sell them very soon,” she says.
To see a range of Georgia’s creations visit the website: www.violavintage.etsy.com
