AS the direct impacts of COVID-19 have reduced, the hairdressing side of High Street Beauty Gallery in Eaglehawk has come to an end and made way for a collection of slow-fashion items to attract the eyes of clients.<\/p>\n
Along with on-selling clothing by what she said are sustainable fashion labels, business owner Fleur O\u2019Dwyer came up with the idea to transform old blankets into fashionable, everyday garments.<\/p>\n
\u201cI started this last winter, I just sort of had a design that I liked and wore all the time, just with tracksuit pants, with runners, with jeans, with boots,\u201d said Ms O\u2019Dwyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI sort of thought I wanted to make it out of vintage woollen blankets, so that was my first prototype.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a very talented seamstress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms O\u2019Dwyer said her family has been in the garment business for generations and starting to sell clothes seemed natural.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been in the clothing trade because of the family, but my background\u2019s spa and beauty so that\u2019s what I do as well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never really got heaps at one time because they just sort of sell. It\u2019s just really starting to take off now.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the blankets coming from across the region such as The Mill in Castlemaine as well as being dropped into her store Ms O\u2019Dwyer said she goes \u201cexploring\u201d for materials.<\/p>\n
The end result is a bespoke coat with warmth at its centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe coast are a little bit custom made, but if people come out and they\u2019re here to sell, well it\u2019s a bit like Cinderella\u2019s slipper,\u201d she said. \u201cIf it fits, and you like it, well, you take it home.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the ongoing success of the effort, Ms O\u2019Dwyer is now considering making the offering more permanent with a Made in Eaglehawk brand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was selling them last winter, but they didn\u2019t have a label. I didn\u2019t know what to call myself, so I thought I can\u2019t keep making these coats for them not to have a label,\u201d said Ms O\u2019Dwyer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not really into fast fashion, I think it\u2019s nice to be unique and mix the old with the new and get something more authentic that way, but I would like to expand, definitely.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there could be a calling for this sort of thing because the blankets are very nostalgic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AS the direct impacts of COVID-19 have reduced, the hairdressing side of High Street Beauty Gallery in Eaglehawk has come to an end and made way for a collection of slow-fashion items to attract the eyes of clients. Along with on-selling clothing by what she said are sustainable fashion labels, business owner Fleur O\u2019Dwyer came […]<\/p>\n