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posted on Monday, 28 January 2013 @ 08:22 by Unknown
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Lady Jojo's is a vintage inspired
boutique, selling 50's and 60's style dresses and accessories,
carrying labels as well as its own line and bespoke pieces. Just off
the trendy end of the Grassmarket on West Port, nestled between
Butterflies (perhaps Edinburgh's most famous Prom and Bridesmaids'
dressmakers) and Godiva Boutique, it is impossible to pass by the
window of Jojo's without stopping to gaze in awe at the striking
silhouettes created by the display. We caught up with Joanna, the
owner and driving force behind the brand, to talk about the shop, the
designs and her take on the Edinburgh fashion scene.
Tell us a little bit about the shop,
how it came to be, what made you start.
Well we opened in
April 2010...I think the reason – everyone always asks that, I'm
never really sure – it just sort of fell into place. I'd just
finished uni, and I ran away for a bit, travelling. Then I came back
and waitressed for ages, trying to find the right thing, applying for
graduate jobs. When I'd been travelling I'd seen lots of cool shops
in Sydney and L.A., quite like this style. When I came back a lot of
my friends were really getting into vintage and vintage inspired
styles. There was nothing here [in Edinburgh], or really in Scotland,
at the time. I was still young enough to get some help from the
Princes Trust, who can give you quite cheap loans if you're under 26.
I just loved the style and everything. I was managing cafes and
things, so I was in a position where I thought I could manage a small
business. If I can do it for someone else, then surely I can transfer
the skills and do it for something I love. It's hard work, but if
you're doing something you love it's worth it.
What or who is your fashion
inspiration?
I did Film Studies
at uni, so I watched a lot of old films; Hitchcock and stuff,
drooling over the fashions, so a lot of it is really from classic
movies... There are no particular celebrities that I'm really
enamoured by. That old glamour. What we do is not exactly the same
thing. It doesn't transfer completely, but we try to attract people
with some kind of relevance. Just trying to capture that elegance.
You see these young girls who go out and wear nothing. You can be
classy and sexy and still wear a long skirt, or sleeves. A lot of
people when we first opened were really happy that we were catering
to women in their 20s and 30s. There's Topshop, and really young
shops, then... ah...'old women' shops, and nothing really in the
middle.
Who are your
main clients?
When we opened, we thought it would be quite a young-alternative
clientèle, but I'd say it's really 30-40 year old women who want a
dress for a party, a lot of people come here if they're going to a
wedding. Mid 20's to mid 40's career women, but you do get some 16
year olds who are going to prom, or we've had some women in their
80's who are still rocking the style – I love that!
We heard you actually make some of
the stuff here in the shop?
I don't do it myself, because I don't have a design background, but
we had a girl called Caroline, who started in October last year
(2011), she got it up and running, then left to go to Australia, so
we got a new girl called Samantha. There are a couple of other girls
who are trained, they studied fashion, they do the construction of it
while I faff around with ideas, and they tell me what I can do and
what I can't do. I get to mess around with materials, and do the fun
stuff.
And now you've branched out into
Bridalwear..?
That started in
April (2012). People had been asking about converting the design, but
it wasn't something we'd done before. Then the Vintage Wedding Show
got in touch and asked if we wanted a stand, because we were vintage
inspired, so we did a few display dresses, thinking we'll just see
what happens, and it was really popular. We're trying to convert
upstairs into a proper custom Bridal section, so there's a proper
structure, rather than having the dresses mixed in with all the
others. We'd never even planned to make dresses, so now we're doing
bridalwear as well...it's just brilliant.
Do you think in the future you'll
open more shops and branches around the country?
Whenever
I think about the future of the brand, I sort of model my thoughts on
shops like What Katie Did
and
Vivienne of
Holloway – they
both have flagship stores in London, and until recently that was it,
besides other shops which stocked their designs, and a really strong
internet presence, so I think that's the model I would try and
follow, because retail is really expensive. My dream is to follow
What Katie Did
and have a boutique on Melrose Avenue. I don't think I'd like to have
lots
of boutiques, because if you have lots it becomes less of a boutique
and more of a chain; it's less personal.
In
2011, for my 21st
Birthday bash, I bought a Jojo's dress after having seen it in the
window and falling head over heels in love with it. It was the first
dress I'd tried on, and I remember my flatmate, who had come shopping
with me to offer advice, saying “I don't think there's any point
even looking anywhere else... and I don't say that very often – you
know how much I love shopping, any excuse!” So we didn't. I bought
the dress there and then, donned some 50's style killer heels, and my
outfit was the talk of the party! I even received a compliment from
an Assistant Buyer from Debenhams!
Besides myself, other celebrity customers include America Ferrera
(Ugly Betty!) and BAFTA award winner Rosie Marshall.
Jojo's is certainly one to watch, not just on the Edinburgh style
scene, but on an international scale.
You
can shop online via the
website (they have a sale on just now!).
Labels: fashion, places, shops
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