Shrimpton Couture was born as a result of being an obsessive shopper.

From as far back as I can remember clothes have held a fascination for me. Innately I knew that given the right wardrobe a girl could lead the life she wanted. People always laugh when I tell them all the success I have had in my life was born out of the need to have a closet full of Prada and Gucci, sprinkled in amongst pristine Ossie Clark's and a row of beaded silk flapper dresses. They don't really believe me and assume I am saying it to amuse, but the truth is that the clothes are not just clothes. Clothes, and especially vintage clothing represent countless women who led extraordinary lives. When you pick up an exquisite bias cut silk floral chiffon gown from the 1930s, each of it's stitches painstakingly done by hand; one cannot wonder what girl once dreamed of her future life while wearing that dress.

Clothes are magic...they can transport you from an ordinary girl to the belle of the ball.

From an innocent girl to a femme fatale.

That is a powerful seduction.

Modern clothes are wonderful things and everyone who knows me knows I also buy from the vast selection our present designers, but vintage is different. Once you discover vintage it is actually quite hard to shop regular retail anymore. There is something about the cut, the fabrication, and the attention to detail. Modern clothing can offer this as well of course, but to truly get a comparable garment you are often restricted to the very upper echelons of the fashion hierarchy. Maybe vintage is so different because often each stitch on a garment was finished by hand, or that the fabrics just feel "truer". The cut on a vintage garment is different - more in line with the individual body rather then a mass-market pattern. But I am an open-minded girl - you need a bit of both really - old & new. To have a truly fabulous closet that will let you live a truly fabulous life, you need to fill it with clothes that tell the story of you, whether that means vintage or just off the runway.

And then wear it all with a dash of disdain and wit.

I am a shopper, through and through, and for the longest of times that is all it was about - shopping for my closet and me. Then one day I found a dress by a designer or two that I particularly liked and would pick up a piece here and a piece there, of their work. Then the day came when I came home with a dress that was not even in my size but that was OK cause I just-had-to-have-it. That is when you are officially a collector (which is a nice name for someone who has gone a bit overboard). What happens next is pretty easy to guess - once you have a room (or two-ish) full of vintage dresses in all sort of sizes and a few girlfriends who discover you have all these lovely dresses - well, its all over. I became "the girl to call if someone wanted a dress no one else would have" and ironically I found out that I was also the "girl who could match up a dress with a girl and it would be just right". I was suddenly the equivalent of the Goldilocks dress matchmaking service by default.

I adore vintage.

I can get lost in the beauty of a fabric and certain dresses will never, ever leave my closet because they belong there - whether they are wearable by me or not. When my burgeoning rooms filled to the bursting with my "collection" just got to be too much and I had total strangers suddenly calling me from referrals from friends to "please help them find them a dress"; when everyone I knew said to me "why don't you open a store?" ...that is when I decided to launch Shrimpton Couture.

I am really proud of where Shrimpton is going these days. This newly re-designed site feels like a breath of fresh air and I hope you love it too. It's still me, completely and totally, but it's all the fabulous girls out there who have bought their vintage frocks from the site since the beginning and gave me their ideas and suggestions to make the site what it is now. So yes, it is still me, but it now has a bit of all my gorgeous wonderful clients mixed in!

You will find the best of the best name and label-wise, side by side with unlabeled treasures. I am a snob when it comes to quality and cut, and after those two criteria are met - that is when the name on the label comes into play. I personally OK each garment that you will find on this site. Garments make the cut based on their beauty, relevance and whether they will still work now. Occasionally you will find a piece that is only offered on a collectible basis because it is just too good to let go of and quite frankly, sometimes garments that may not be wearable anymore deserve their place too. Very early pieces are almost like art and occasionally I will offer them up for the collector. The new site allows me to add tons of stock but I have enhanced the search options so it does not get overwhelming. I am a shopper too and I personally don't like having to go through pages and pages of mundane stock. My inventory will change constantly and only the best pieces will ever be offered.

Cleaned, pristine, as good as it gets, vintage pieces.

Check back at least once a week if you are an addict like me. If you don’t have time to check back often, follow me on twitter, read the blog or add yourselfd to the email list and I will email you when I do updates.

My goal is to have Shrimpton Couture be the BEST place you have ever shopped at

Period

Unless specifically noted in the description of each item, everything is sent under the Shrimpton Couture Standard of Excellence - meaning it has been professionally cleaned and pressed.

Pieces that are very old or very delicate are sent with as much care as I can personally give to them but may still require specialist cleaning. Future cleaning requirements are now noted in all of the garment descriptions. Some items may only be spot cleaned..

I only post items that are in pristine or close to pristine. Vintage does mean pre-worn and loved so you cannot expect items to be perfectly new, but my items get pretty close. If there are flaws that go outside of the normal part of aging, they are described. I give you my personal guarantee that what you see is what you get. It's clean, it's in great condition and its strong enough to wear. And you can send it back if you don't agree!