For Sarah Henry, one of the joys of pre-loved fashion is its hidden history – imagining the glamorous parties that frocks might have danced the night away at, or the grand occasion where only Sunday best would do.
“The thing I love about vintage clothing is that it has a story, but it’s one we will never know,” she says.
Sarah runs The Pretty Parlour, styling and selling vintage and recycled clothing. Her favourite fashion eras are the Georgian and Edwardian periods.
She started out hiring hats, then specialised in vintage wedding gowns and now covers all areas of vintage fashion – clothing, hats, jewellery and accessories.
If you want to stand out from the crowd, shopping pre-loved is the way to go – second-hand shops and markets are a treasure trove of one-off pieces. You're also doing your bit for the environment too.
And that is the message of the Rock That Style charity show.
On Sunday, Sarah and a host of vintage and pre-loved businesses from Norfolk are coming together at Eaton Community Centre in Norwich.
The event will be packed with clever styling ideas and tips for those of us who are trying to shop more sustainably and mindfully.
“The idea for the show came to me whilst at work,” says Sarah.
“I've been involved in fashion shows before and I just thought it would be great to organise one after the horrific two years we have had with Covid 19 and put something back into the community whilst raising money for charity.”
One of the good causes the event is raising money for is the stillbirth and neonatal death charity Sands.
As Sarah explains, it is a charity that is especially close to her heart and some of the models taking part.
“When someone loses a baby, it is devastating, life-changing and isolating,” she says.
“Being a parent myself I cannot imagine anything worse. We suddenly lost a friend and colleague Emily O’Dell and baby Finley six years ago,” she continues. “Sands is a charity that quietly sits in the background, but does an amazing job, supporting bereaved parents, families and friends.
"I am a great believer that we should never forget our lost loved ones and whatever I can do to support charities I will.”
Sarah began assembling a team, with friends and family stepping up to help organise the show.
“I approached the two people that always support me whatever I throw at them – Jeahan Liz Tuddenham, a professional hair and make-up artist and tutor at Norwich School of Beauty, and photographer Alan Lyall,” she says.
“They were both on board, so I started to get organising. I decided that the catwalk models would be family and friends, as this then makes clothes accessible to everyone.”
As many of us are now realising, throwaway fast fashion can come with hidden costs, from the working conditions of the people employed in textile factories to the environmental impact of the production process and the garments which are cast off and sent to landfill.
“I wanted to show that vintage, upcycled, recycled and sustainable clothes can be styled and re-used,” says Sarah.
“According to statistics we throw away up to 70lbs each of clothing a year, which equates to 235 million items of clothing going into our landfill sites. Roughly 140 million of those items could be recycled.
“Clothing has the fourth biggest impact on the environment, causing 10% of all global emissions. This is frightening, so I decided that the show would be based on reusing and recycling.”
There will be 21 models taking part for Jeahan and her hair and make-up team to get ready for the show and Alan will be taking photographs.
The vintage business appearing are:
Morwenna Farrell Illustrations
Morwenna buys pieces of vintage clothing and screen prints them with her own designs.
Fashion From Vintage
Cat makes bespoke items of clothing by using everything from tablecloths to sheets.
Lady B Loves
Jenny specialises in vintage inspired clothing from dresses, knitwear through to accessories, at her shop in the Royal Arcade, Norwich.
The Pretty Parlour
Sarah styles and sells all aspects of vintage and recycled clothing from wedding gowns to jewellery.
Wake Up Little Susie
Susie is a specialist collector and seller of vintage nightwear and holds regular pop-up shops, including at Lady B Loves.
Big C Bridal
Cancer charity Big C’s bridal boutique in Timberhill, Norwich, sells pre-loved wedding gowns, bridesmaid’s dresses and accessories.
Re.creart
Deborah Allan hand-makes gorgeous earrings out of bottle tops and other recycled items.
Sarah says that she is grateful to the hair and make-up team of Jeahan (@jeahantuddenhamhair on Instagram), Kathy (@kathyhairandwellbeing), Lea (@ladyloveleahair), Laura (@Little_star_beauty_co), Lina (@Linahallbergmakeup), Courtney (@courtneyyywarddbeautyy), Charlie (@charlie_day_beauty) and Jade (@lumibeautyjade), who will be getting the team of models ready for the show, photographer Alan, D&H entertainment and all the models.
“I have the privilege of working with many great professional people who help me style my ideas,” she says.
The Rock That Style fashion show is being held on Sunday, June 12, at Eaton Community Centre, South Park Avenue, Norwich.
Doors open at 5.30pm and the show starts at 7pm.
Tickets cost £5 and are available from Eventbrite, Lady B Loves in the Royal Arcade, Norwich, Big C Bridal in Timberhill, Norwich, B&Q Boundary Road, Norwich and on the door.
Sarah’s tips for buying vintage
Charity shops are one of the best places to source vintage and second-hand clothing as you can see what you are buying and whether it will fit.
There are also many great vintage clothing shops in and around Norwich, including on Norwich Market.
Websites like eBay, Vinted, Preloved and Etsy are other great ways to source second-hand and vintage, but make sure you get all the measurements you need. True vintage clothes can be much smaller than current day clothing, so make sure you do your homework before buying.
Fashion goes round in circles, so it will never be out of date. You can mix new with old, textures and colours to help the environment.
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