Avril's fashion is fit for royalty

A THRIFT shop in Witham that sells bespoke items has gained national interest after featuring in an article about Kate Middleton's wardrobe.

Avril Beattie, 64, owns The Dressing Room in Maldon Road.

Having worked there for eight years, she bought the shop in 2009 and set it up as a dress agency.

Recently the fashionable grandmother-of-four received a call from The Sun, who wanted to feature her in a story to do with Kate Middleton's trendy outfits bought from similar shops.

Since appearing in the paper, Mrs Beattie has received calls from Look magazine, as well as various other publications.

She has also been approached by buyers from London who are looking to take a trip to Witham just to take a look at her designer goods.

Mrs Beattie said: "They phoned me recently and said they were going to do this article on Kate and had chosen a number of shops to feature. Mine was one of them. I expected a one-liner but they used a picture and put in all the details."

The concept behind a dress agency is that all the products are new or nearly new but can be found at a percentage of the original price due to them being out of season or secondhand.

But Mrs Beattie, who has always worked in the fashion industry, is keen to emphasise the quality of her products.

She said: "I don't do anything less than high street or designer.

"Everything has to come in on the hanger, pressed, and nothing is over three years old."

Some of her favourite pieces include Anoushka G dresses and a range of designer handbags.

"Our biggest seller is bags – we do Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Mulberry and quite a bit of LK Bennett," she said.