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SHIRLEY Clarke has filled her Isabella Street shop with colour for the past 12 years.
A trained florist, Shirley provided locals with floral bouquets before trading dahlias for dresses in December 2011 and her popular fashion boutique, Dress Up has grown into a wonderland for women of all tastes.
“This is my sunny side of the street,” she enthuses.
“It’s where people can come to shine.”
Since May 2016 Shirley has been fortunate enough to share her space behind the counter with daughter Alana.
Alana comes from a background in hairdressing but like her mother, has had a lifelong passion for fashion.
“We work so well together,” said Shirley.
“We have a lot of fun.”
It’s all about colour at Dress Up with a large selection of social and formal wear including jewellery, shoes and fascinators as well as everyday options. There is also an extensive range of bridal and mother of the bride wear.
Customers don’t just walk into another dress shop when they enter Dress Up. They walk into an experience waiting to happen. As they climb the steps they enter a world where customer interaction is encouraged and fun is a given. As a mother of the bride seeks the ideal dress Shirley pulls everyone in the shop over to offer their most honest opinion.
“I love to get customers involved,” she admits.
“It is important that customers walk away feeling good.”
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Shirley’s initial vision was to have a shop that sells something for everyone, every size and every occasion. Shirley certainly fulfilled her dream and also found her niche.
The shop continues to expand and is now a formal wear specialist selling dresses to customers as far away as Western Australia.
“I’m quite blown away where customers have come from,” admits Shirley.
“Most of our business comes from out of town.”
Customers regularly travel from Coffs Harbour, Sydney and even Orange for the Dress Up experience.
The experience is virtual too with Shirley and Alana keeping active on the store’s Facebook page. Customer’s are encouraged to ‘like’ and follow’ the page to keep up with the latest looks arriving in store.
Custom orders are welcomed and at any one time Shirley has about five customers with special requests. Keeping her eye open for her own stock as well as customer’s individual needs doesn’t seem to daunt Shirley.
“I love shopping and this way I get to shop without spending my own money!” she laughs. Shirley also has an innate sense of style that helps her dress her customers - this she believes is in her genes.
“My mother had very good style so I feel like it was handed down,” she admits.