Julie Cooper, founder and owner of Cardiff vintage emporium Big Girls Blouse, tells us how and why she started her business, and gives us advice about Cardiff’s hotspots and the best retro and rockabilly festivals around the UK:
Qype: Tell us about how you fell in love with retro and vintage fashion?
JC: I started by making hair flower clips for myself and after some persuasion began to sell to other women who wanted the right colour or type of flower to match an outfit.
I have been having a love affair with all things 1940s and 50s since I was 12-13 yrs old, this came from an exposure to the music of this time through my curiosity when I found and subsequently played my Dad’s records on his shiny new stereo system when he was not around.
My love of 1950s music and then films led to a fascination with the beautiful women who starred in them, stars like Jane Mansfield, Jane Russell, Elizabeth Taylor etc. The clothing of that era was just so feminine and sexy, a time when women looked like women and men paid attention!
Qype: And so how did Big Girls Blouse get started?
JC: As a result of making the hair flowers I had my first stall at a 1950s-themed festival in dec 2007. This proved to be far more successful than I hoped and led me to apply to other festivals for a trading space. I was offered a space at a few more including the one that has been our most successful to date, at Hemsby near Great Yarmouth.
The stall grew so big in size that we subsequently opened our shop in November 2009. We still take the stall to events and now sell vintage and retro handbags, vintage jewellery, shoes and clothing. We’re also hoping to launch our own brand of plus-size pin-up clothing made with vintage patterns but to modern sizes. Being a size 22 myself I can be sure they will suit and fit curvier ladies and will be road testing them myself.
Qype: And what other options are there in Cardiff for fashionistas?
JC: Cardiff has grown a lot in the last 10 years so much so there are parts now that I am unfamiliar with but, despite the growth and bigger choice in fashion retailers I feel there is still a distinct lack of anything vintage and different. High street fashion appears to be lots of variation on a theme, so for those of us who would look for something outside of mainstream fashion, Cardiff is sadly very slow to catch on.
This was and still remains the biggest reason appart from our ever growing collection of the vintage, retro and burlesque stock we have for opening our shop. Cardiff does have a hand full of vintage stores but not specifically 1940s and 50s vintage like ours.
Most of the others have an eclectic mix of 60s,70s, 80s and 90s vintage and retro.For fans of burlesque and those ladies who perform in burlesqe shows we stock elbow length gloves, parasols, fans, tutus, vintage lingerie, corsets, hair accessories, some of which I custom-make myself.
Qype: Who are your customers and what designers and styles are they into?
JC: The vintage, retro and burlesque scenes cross over and the clothing is popular with ladies of all ages and sizes. What little there is available is scattered around different shops, we stock What Katie Did reproduction lingerie and fully-fashioned stockings etc, these are popular with both lovers of vintage and burlesque.
Qype: Which events and online shops would you recommend for lovers of vintage and retro fashion?
JC: There is far more to tempt lovers of vintage on line than on your average high street. Also, for those in the know, the 1950s, rock’n'roll and rockabilly festivals have pleanty to offer. This has been many vintage lovers preffered way to shop for quite some time, however ” I love being able to walk in to your shop and try things on” is the comment I hear the most.
There are pleanty of other good designers with online shops, such as What Katie Did, Vivien of Holloway, Dead Men’s Spex and Pin Up Girl Clothing, but not all under one roof. Big Girls Blouse is the sole stockist in Wales for a number of the aforementioned companies which makes us unique.
Qype: Apart from Big Girls Blouse, where else in Cardiff is worth a visit?
JC: My favourite Cardiff restaurant is the Zio Pin Italian, and you can’t go wrong with the Balti Empire if you like an Indian take away.
In Cardiff we are close to the coast and there are a few beaches which are nice to walk along, Barry Island where Gavin & Stacey was filmed is much improved and now quite nice to visit.
Penarth which is just outside Cardiff is a good place with it’s own pier to stroll along, and my absolute favourite is the huge pumping station, where you can find a couple of hours worth of browsing everything vintage, from furniture to clothing and model Dinky cars. Outside of Cardiff, I love the Gower Peninsula for its beauty and beaches and the parts of the country where the weekend festivals are held.
So for those of you who like me are living in a town or city which is still catching up, my advice is to visit one of the weekend festival such as The Rockabilly Rave, The Rhythm Riot or The Shakedown. Here you can shop for that vintage or retro-inspired outfit and collect other accessories to revamp your wardrobe.
For more handy hints and advice, you can add Julie as a Qype contact, or have a nosey at Big Girls Blouse.
