Tallulah & Eve
Hebridean fabulousness, darlings...
The Lewis glitterati have been all a-flutter over the last few weeks, as news about a chic new vintage boutique on Cromwell Street reaches the ears of sartorially starved fashionistas across the Isles.
The word on the street is that amazingly, astoundingly, at last, there’s a shop in Stornoway catering to the fiercely fashion conscious, the retro-lovers, the eclectic, the independently-minded, and every woman who’s looking for that one-of-a-kind find.
Initial investigations have confirmed that the word seems to be accurate. A quick browse around Tallulah and Eve has validated the news that clothes bearing the labels Monsoon, Coast, Per Una, Next, Miso, and Asos – ranging from sizes eight to 24 - are now available in town.
Some of these items are new, and some are pre-loved (or at least pre-bought and unworn!) The boutique is also a ‘dress agency’, so anyone who brings in their own new or nearly new clothes makes a commission on the sale.
Perhaps more interesting, though, are the original items: there are cute, kitschy bags and funky, eccentric t-shirts by Guildford’s Kate Garey; and there are a few hip, girly offerings from the Sheffield-based Alice Takes a Trip.
Rosie Wiscombe, who lives locally, also has a few original designs on offer – as well as a few expertly amended and fantastically revived once-loved items.
This kind of re-designing is a big hit with Tallulah and Eve owners Catherine Ann MacDonald and Lynsey Hutchison, who have commissioned Rosie to make a few ‘very special’ one-of-a-kind items. It’s the kind of stuff your granny might have worn, with some good old-fashioned early 20th-century styling – brought up to date with a bit of Rosie’s flair.
As the boutique’s owners see it, Tallulah and Eve is providing something for everyone, and it’s not the same something. Every single item is only there once, available only as it is and in one size – which, at very least, should cut down on some of those same-outfit scenarios. If you buy a dress for your friend’s wedding at Tallulah and Eve, you can be reasonably certain that you won’t end up in the same outfit as the groom’s cousin.
“I love buying things that are a bit different,” says Catherine Ann. “I do like to play it safe sometimes! But if something’s quirky, and if I know that I’m the only one wearing it, I’m always more likely to buy it.”
It’s clear that Lynsey, too, likes to make a statement with what she wears; she confesses to being a former goth – although ‘former’ might not be accurate. “I’m still wearing black,” she points out. “When my kids were younger, it was like a competition between them – ‘let’s see if we can get mum not to wear black today!’
One of Lynsey’s four children is daughter Beth, 17, who’s had a lot of input into the shop. “Initially, our target market was really 30- to 50-year-old women, but Beth thought we should have more stuff for younger people,” explained Lynsey. “I’m really glad we’ve gone that way – there are so many teens and twentysomethings who we can cater to, as well.”
Catherine Ann adds that Tallulah and Eve would also like to become the place where unworn items can begin new, more exciting lives.
Every woman has a few items in her wardrobe which have gone unworn. It could be a dress bought for a party at which you saw absolutely everyone you know, and can’t really get away with wearing again; or something that you love, but your other half isn’t so keen on. A top that’s never really fit you properly, or something you long to wear in a parallel universe, but which is just a bit too revealing for your life in the here and now. Or – and we all have a few of these – something bought on impulse before you came to your senses, and is hanging in your wardrobe, neglected, with the tags still on!
Catherine Ann and Lynsey want to see these much-maligned items fulfil their potential, and become vibrant, useful members of clothing society. They deserve to be loved, say the ladies. Stop hiding them away.
“Our aim is to encourage women to take all those great things in their wardrobe and do something with them,” says Catherine Ann. “The things you’ve got might not suit you, but they will be perfect for someone else – and they could make you a bit of money!
The only conditions are that the clothes are in pristine condition, of high quality and design, and that they fit it with the style which Tallulah and Eve is aiming for. Drop-off forms can be found online at www.tallulahandeve.co.uk, of you can pop into the shop between 10am and 5pm any day but Wednesday or Sunday.
In order to help the Hebridean Celtic Festival to be as glamorous as it is successful, Tallulah and Eve will be open late on Thursday, Friday and Saturday of Festival Week – that’s July 15 to 17.
Contact
Tallulah & Eve, 89-93 Cromwell Street, Stornoway HS1 2DG
Tel: 01851 701622 Email: info@tallulahandeve.co.uk
