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Pat Dawson, of Patricia Dawson Clothing, Thirsk tells us about her passion for fashion and how it started.
I was brought up in Leeds in the 60’s - a great place to be if you were interested in fashion design and manufacture and I was. Although trained as a Legal Secretary I began training again in fashion and design and started producing a collection of skirts which I sold through a fashion agent to retail outlets. That was back in 1977 and we are still here, no longer selling to other outlets, purely direct to our customers.
I founded Patricia Dawson Clothes in 1981 soon after we moved to Harrogate and we opened our first shop on Cheltenham Parade in Harrogate in 1986, I am happy to say we still have customers from those days.
It was at this time, during Yorkshire Show week, when Harrogate was very quiet, that we decided to go where everyone else was and took a trade stand at the next year’s Show. This set us off on another track, that of the Show circuit and since then we have had trade stands at most of the major Agricultural and Flower shows throughout the country, including Hampton Court Flower Show and the Royal Highland Show in Edinburgh.
Five years ago we decided that we should head into the 21st century and have a website built. We have found this to be a great way of reaching our customers all over the country without us having to travel so much.
We now only have the one
shop in Thirsk which is
managed by Bernice with the
help of Sales Consultant
Mandy and they are both very
knowledgeable about what is
available and they will always
give advice on colour and
style when asked.
Our shop can be found at 45 Market Place,
Thirsk, North Yorkshire Y07 1HA
Tel. 01845 574413 Mon. - Sat 9a.m - 5 p.mwhere our experienced staff are always ready
to help and advise.
Each garment we make, either a stock item or one specially made for someone, is individually made by one of our team of highly skilled Seamstresses, who have all been with us for a long time, Penny my workroom manageress has been with me for 20 years this year.
With this history and the fact that we are all getting older, we understand the more mature figure and know that we cannot rely on high street fashion for a good fit, but we still want to be well dressed and fashionable. We also want comfort but not at the cost of style.
Each season I am inspired by new fabrics and colours and create individual garments. Sometimes a fabric will inspire a completely new collection. However I always retain some of the old ones, so that anyone wanting a style they have had before can still have it several years later. It is amazing how many of our classic styles are firm favourites.
Our collections now appeal to the over 45 age group who not only want
everyday wear but also want something a bit different for special events but
without being too extreme.
We are now seeing so many ladies who cannot seem to find larger sizes that we are creating a ‘Bigger Girls’ collection, specifically for the size 18 and over. We hope to go up to a 28 by the Autumn.
Although we now no longer attend the major shows, we do hold our own one day hotel shows in Edinburgh, London and in Harrogate at the Old Swan at regular intervals, more information is available on the 'Calendar' page.
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