If you've visited, called, emailed, written, carrier pigeoned our beloved boutique in the past 5 years the chances are you've been in touch with our lovely Lottie. Known for her incredible customer service and extensive knowledge of the retro/vintage world, she is the cornerstone of our team. But that's not all she can do!
Lottie has been vital to the creation of our Own Range collection. Every item we've released so far has been tweaked to perfection with the help of Lottie's former skills as a dressmaker and we're excited to announce that she's been busy working on some new pieces.
By the time Lottie left Herriot Watt University in Galashiels in Textiles and Fashion Design for Industry, she knew she actually did not want to pursue a career in the fashion industry. Her passion lay with vintage clothing, which was something she shared with the rest of her family. Growing-up, her parents dressed and decorated their home in vintage, inspired by their other love: rock n roll. It was therefore of no surprise to anyone that this was the path she chose.
After some time creating and selling retro style clothing from vintage fabrics at craft fairs, Lottie opened her own dressmaking shop in Glasgow's West End. Whilst she thoroughly enjoyed dressmaking, running a business at the same time had its challenges. When the opportunity to move to London came up, Lottie packed it all in and the rest is history!
(Baby Lottie with her super stylish parents)
During her time at Revival Retro, Lottie has always been the go-to for advice on tailoring an outfit. (A service you don't often get in high street shops today!) In 2018 this went a step further when she started making made to measure pencil skirts in the boutique. At the time the idea of Revival having an extensive own range seemed like a far off dream as the minimum cost of fabric is so expensive.
However, over the last few years Rowena and Lottie have managed to find ways to make our own in-house collection without having to sacrifice quality or ethics. In fact being careful about how much we produce prevents us from creating more waste. To find out more about our considered approach please see this page on sustainability on our website.
The direction for Revival's Own Range was based upon many years' worth of customer feedback. Our clothes needed to be practical - durable, machine washable, unrestrictive - as well as have something special about their look. Whilst all the pieces are inspired by classic styles, patterns and illustrations from past eras, they also have a contemporary feel and can be worn by those who are just looking for something a bit more unique. Sizing and cut was also very important, especially when it came to making space for boobs!
They then brought on professional pattern-cutter Fran to realise the templates for production. In these early stages Lottie acted as a conduit for Rowena's ideas, collaborating and perfecting the designs with Fran.
The first foray was a collaboration with Bettesworth prints. These skirts were based on a number of original 1950s skirts Lottie owned combined with Rowena's love for vintage travel posters artwork.
After that Revival focused more on our Autumn/Winter capsule wardrobes and wool separates.
2020 was the first year Revival Retro launched a full Summer range, primarily featuring skirts and dresses made from GOTS-certified cotton. Inspired by the 1950s - her favourite era - Lottie took ownership of a number of designs including the Blackpool shirt dress. You can find out more about her process of creating this dress in her blog post here.
These past few months Lottie has been dabbling in some of her own patterns and working with the rest of the team curating future collections. Here is one such exclusive piece, the Riviera Jacket:
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A lot of what we design and bring back is based upon your feedback. So if you have a piece of our Own Range that you love or would like to see in other colours please let us know! We also welcome any ideas about what might be missing from our Revival Retro wardrobe.