Amongst the madness at the ILoveHockley fashion show, we grabbed Robin, owner of Wild Clothing and Caroline, founder and designer of Pink & Lily, for a quick chat...
WILD CLOTHING
What should everyone love about Wild?
I really couldn't pinpoint what it is, but whatever it is, for 28 years people have been coming back. It's really by accident, not by design. I'm not trained in fashion or anything, I just decided one day to open a shop and it's just felt right for everyone, we've clothed 2 generations of Nottingham people. It just started off as a laugh and it's become my life.
So you source all the clothes, have you a favourite find?
Well, when we first opened the look was 50's. You know, it was the Smiths, Morrisey, quiffs. A bit like it is now with flannel shirts and jeans, that era of clothing was always my favourite. But I think at that time in the 80's, as a 25 year old I would look around at the modern clothing and really hate it because I was stuck in the 50's thing. But now, I can see the beauty of 80's clothing and it's taken 15 years for that to happen! 10 years ago, we were recycling the 70's and during the 70's nobody in Nottingham wore disco clothes, no body with credibility, you all wore 50's clothes. But then the 70's came along and was revived and you thought to yourself, "oh I wish I could have been a part of that it looks quite fun". But I'll tell you one of the favourite things I've ever found, it's really weird, but a customer came to the counter, and said "oh look I've just found a dead lizard in one of your cowboy boots!" And I've got it in the office, it's a little lizard that's all dried up and I thought, well that's the good thing about being in secondhand clothing isn't it?
Why do you love Hockley?
Well, it's been my home for 28 years. I've come here nearly every day. There aren't many days when I don't go to that shop, so I spend more time here than I do at home. It just feels right, and yes the City centre's alright but if I was to go to another town, I'd try to find the Hockley area, and most towns have got one. But because this one is our own, it just feels nice.
PINK & LILLY
Describe your shop in three words
Eclectic, inspirational, and girly.
Do you have a favourite outfit from tonight?
I think the sequin Mina dress is amazing we recently featured it in left lion a girl from This Is England wore it for a photo shoot. It's from Mina, which is one of the brands we sell.
Is there any thing new you like?
We've had quite a few new brands in, like the Australian brand Mink Pink, which is quite exclusive to us and it's had a lot of press at the moment. I think that's one of my new faves, there's lots of nice knitwear and tailoring. We do our own brand which is of course called Pink & Lilly. We can make corsets and dresses and we can make them to any measurement, colour or size. It costs not extra to have one made to fit either, so it's a good reason to come to Pink & Lilly!
Do you have any particularly memorable designs?
Yes actually, there was one corset which was made of panels of shirts and had a tie on the back and a collar. It was one of the most popular ones we've ever made. Because it was made from recycled materials, each one was a slightly different, it was definitely one of my favourites. It's edgy and girly.
You can shop online at www.pinkandlilly.co.uk
Take a look at the gorgeous dresses and irregular choice shoes, and remember there's student discount in store!
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