A Voyage of Vintage Discovery In Hull (3/3) By Jo Allison

(1/3), (2/3). (3/3).

Deborah is a perfect front of house for this little designer boutique, her sense of flair and style reflected in the clothes for sale, half the stock is new, and they are French labels, I must just be drawn to French styling. The other pieces are vintage, sourced from Amsterdam and America. Nothing is newer than the 70's, and those pieces are reworked and altered by girls that work for her.

The clothes rails are a sumptuous collection of silks, cottons, sequins, lace and chiffons, shimmering and tactile, just begging to be tried on. So guess what? I did! A beautiful black and blue silk baby-doll styled dress, with floating sleeves and a nipped in waist. It had to be mine. And now it is. Bekki, my fashion journo friend also tried on a lovely bird print cotton summer dress, she's just waiting on her student loan....

The vintage dresses in Bed 14 are actually their best sellers, along with jeans, selling to mainly stylish women who have children, but have more cash, we also get a few fashion and art students, Bed 14 could be seen as slightly more up market and expensive than the other vintage-type shops in Hull, but it is situated in a prime location; Newland Avenue and Princes avenue are the most cosmopolitan streets in Hull, and you get a lot of professional people, a different breed. The dresses are not outlandishly priced, and belts and jewelry pieces are reasonable too.

Deborah also has big plans for the store name, and is setting up a textile company reproducing textile prints, and also has an outlet in Ledbury in London. Bed 14 is about daring to be different, and not about copying everybody else. Deborah explains, I've never shopped in Hull which is a real shame, I always wanted to look different, and this is what the shop is about.

The shop is doing amazingly well, with coverage in local papers, and numerous photo shoots expanding the shops profile, but Deborah explains; its just passing trade, we've not had to do any paid articles because to be honest, this fabulous little fashion boutique sells itself. Bed 14 was the final stage to my section of this fashion forage, and now I pass the buck to Bekki, as she investigates further ...

Photographs courtsey and Copyright ©  Michelle Dee 2006

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