RETRO T-shirts, fabulous frocks and aged accessories will go on sale at a boutique opening today (Friday) in Chester.
The Vintage Shop in Watergate Street is the brainchild of sisters Emma and Buffy Swinnerton of Marford and will be the first dedicated classic clothes shop in Chester
Emma, 21, a former Queen’s School pupil, said: “I was studying at the London College of Fashion, where I gained a lot of experience, but I always wanted to come back to Chester.
“There’s nothing like us in Chester. We are taking the best of vintage wholesale and selling it in a small scale, specialised way. We are being different.”
It has taken Emma and her sister Buffy, 20, about three months to turn the idea into a reality and transform the former sewing machine shop.
Buffy said: “We wanted to run our own business. I have got experience in sales and management and Emma came up with the idea. We’ve got an entrepreneurial thing in the family, it’s in our blood.”
The pair were delighted with the premises in the city centre.
Emma said: “We wanted to be on Watergate Street, it’s getting a bit cooler and it’s an ideal place. We wanted somewhere with character.
“It’s about recycling and a different way of looking at clothes. We’re using recycled bags, which we had to source, and selling bags for life.”
Staff will be handing out goody bags and there will be a DJ and models in the shop to celebrate the opening day.
Buffy added: “To get the good stuff it has meant going to more individual places and getting the best clothes. It has all come from London, markets like Camden, we have got some good wholesalers.”
The Vintage Shop, opposite Fiesta Havana, is open from 9am-5pm. For more information, call 01244 323 622.
