The story begins in summer 2019. I hadn’t long graduated with a first class BA Hons in Fashion Design and I had just left a retail job which had reinforced my hatred of the fast fashion world. I was about to embark on a PGCE teaching fashion and textiles, and although there were a few months before I started, I knew I had to escape that retail job.  I felt as though my skills were undervalued and I was constantly creatively drained. The minute I quit I began to look for a creative outlet, something to reignite my passion, and that's when I unearthed the troves of vintage I had collected over the years.

When I was around fifteen years old, I fell in LOVE with mod style. I was twiggy mad, and you’d catch me in St Doms catholic club on the dancefloor every 60s night. This was when I began picking up pieces of vintage from carboot sales and charity shops. It became a sort of hobby of mine to scour the whole of Northumberland for interesting pieces, and I built up an enormous collection. I remember sweet talking my dad into helping me host my own stall at Newcastle Theatre Royal, and although I may not have made big bucks, I knew then that the vintage hustle was absolutely for me.

I was still so young, and I wanted to live - to go out and explore new things. Sadly this meant my vintage career came to a halt. I went to university to study Fashion Design, and it really did bring out my most creative side - I remember the elated feeling of winning a Dr Martens award, especially considering how many pairs of Dr Martens came with me and my 60s dresses to hit dancefloors over the years. I just loved the idea of being able to elevate past designs and give them a contemporary twist - but at the same time, I learned a LOT about the actual fashion industry, which wasn’t really for me, and I knew I would never be one to go and work in a design house.

The Pansy Garden was actually the name of my final collection, which was based on the concept of 70s glam rock fashion mixed with dandy style and the icons (Bowie, Bolan, etc). I had created my Instagram handle and had been posting archive photos, and this is when I had my lightbulb moment. I decided to start posting photos of the garments in my stash on Instagram, and oh boy, they were an instant hit.

You all LOVED my frilly prairie dream dresses, and I spent that few months falling in love with vintage all over again - especially true vintage 70s style. Fast forward to now, here I am, thousands of dresses sourced and sold to all corners of the world, and over 65k instagram followers. It still blows my mind to think about it!

In summer ‘22 I finally did the thing I had been yearning to do all along and I created my own vintage-inspired made-to-order dress line. My designs are a true fragment of my imagination and personality, and it means I am able to create the most stunning vintage-inspired dresses to be shared further with my world. We all know vintage sizing is painfully limited.. and this way so many more beautiful people have joined my community and vision, and I will never look back! 

All dresses are made to order, with bespoke customisations, right here in my hometown, with minimum carbon emissions and virtually no wastage. The true definition of slow fashion!

My vintage drops and my personal designs have been sell-out hits since I launched, and from my humble beginnings of selling the dresses I had kept in bags for all of those years I have built a large and empowering community of vintage loving individuals, and a studio filled with so many beautiful things - all thanks to you. Be sure to check out our Instagram and subscribe to our mailing list for regular updates and previews. I can’t wait to keep sharing the vintage love with you all..

Pansy x