GONE are the days of the stigma of vintage clothing being only for the die-hard vintage lover or ’50s fans.
Vintage is directed towards all who love beautiful fabric designs, original one-off pieces and quality tailoring. It is non-age age specific or income specific.
After having tremendous retail success with their shops in Surry Hills, Sydney, and Fitzroy, Melbourne, Madeleine Thomson and Kelly Roberson thought the Miss Brown Perth pop-up store should be involved in one of Perth’s most sought-after areas.
“Northbridge is creating such a buzz with great urban, cultural, creative, cosmopolitan appeal, we had to be a part of it,” the girls said.
In the mid-’80s , Madeleine and Kelly were attracted to the styles of vintage fashions.
“It was fun to recreate a mod ’60s look with turtlenecks and tartan skirts, which we used to cut to mini proportions, or to be in a bohemian spirit wearing worn denim jeans and a cheesecloth tunic top,” they said.
“Or to glam it up with a pair of luscious vintage leather pants and a white feathered jacket, all to be found at our local thrift stores.”
Then about 20 years ago, Madeleine (the heartbeat and creator of Miss Brown) and Kelly moved to Sydney in their early 20s and started to sell vintage clothing at markets in Bondi and Glebe.
Several years later, Kelly moved to the US and Madeleine stayed in Sydney and turned her market business into a retail success.
The first Bondi store created so much popularity, the next move was to Surry Hills.
After the success of that store, another one opened.
And the evolution of Miss Brown began.