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Strolling along a bustling high street, squished by every moving object imaginable and frozen to the core. You would’ve thought shorts would be left in last season’s outfits you thought wrong. Finally approaching Starbucks to see a friendly character that you’ve only read and heard about before now. A beaming voice echoes from her red lined mouth, framed by her dark blonde enviable long hair. Clutching her mug of caramel latte like it’s the last thing she will hold, “I love Christmas, but not the coldness”. “My daughter was telling me she was going to see this gig recently for Tinie Stryder”, her laughter bellows throughout the café.
Catherine Wright, the owner of Hepwrights, in Bedford place Southampton, one of only two vintage shops in this bustling city. A warm and inviting lady, which is calming considering the terrible weather outside. Wearing some 90’s styled denim dungarees which she exclaims: “they fit my large arse”, underneath she has a black silk shirt with some vibrant coloured diamond patterns upon it, a yellow neck scarf: “I was fucking freezing, excuse my language” she reveals. Finishing the outfit are some simple yet stylish cream heels. Just by looking at Catherine you can tell she’s a vibrant character and I couldn’t wait to have one of those gossip chats you have with one of your best friends, it feels as though I’ve known her for years rather than a few minutes.
To begin with she explained about her friend Donna having a key interest in Vintage and that’s where they slowly started to build their then business, though at the time it didn’t seem like that. Donna was selling items on EBay, which were the first items she had owned, and after a while they started to use this money to buy more stock to then carry on reselling. Having a sip of her latte, she notices a woman wearing an 80’s style cardigan and her eyes glisten like a diamond in this ice weather. Clothes began to slowly take over her back bedroom then spread too many of her friend’s bedrooms too, after a few years and groans from her generous friends she came to the realisation they needed more space. That’s when the basement of a bookshop in Brooksford for their stock was introduced. Though people slowly started to wonder downstairs and be so thrilled with her treasure chest they would ask why it wasn’t a shop, with her replying she had no time to fit it into her life back then.
Though when the bookshop asked her to move and Donna wanted to peruse her career in music, Catherine decided to continue with her ever-growing treasure trove on her own. Like many women the past had a big influence on her like Katherine Hepburn and The Hepcats, which we can see within the name ‘Hepwrights’. Although looking back she wishes she gave the shop a shorter name as: “it’s fucking hard to fit it into those tiny squares on Facebook, or in advertisements”, she revealed. Sometimes people mishear when Catherine says the name, and there is also a men’s boutique nearby called ‘Hepburns’. “My friends made a joke, explaining it sounds like Hepatitis C, the bitches”, we both start hysterically laughing. Me at the fact she said ‘bitches’ and Catherine on recalling such a funny memory for herself. When ‘Hepwrights’ first opened customers used to bombard in, screaming at the items she possessed as she only buys one of every item- as every item has a story and this is what attracts her to her ‘children’.
The major push Catherine had to give her the courage and belief within the shop was the devastating house fire she had three years ago, which feels like a lifetime ago for her. Understandably she rushes to explain what happened, as she hates recalling the details, her daughters duvet was leant on the lamp and it slowly started to heat up and that’s how the fire begun. A horrific event for anyone, having to watch that one place you called home and all your prized possessions be taken away by something so simple that caused such a big nightmare. Thankfully none of her two young children were hurt. From here she says that’s where she got her courage: ‘Fuck it we can do it’.
There are no high end boutiques in Southampton, which Catherine sees as a downside as it’s a beautiful city, and believes all the interesting and quirky people leave and expand elsewhere. Typically in every high street shop we see how the sizing of garments are vital, some shops only do up to a certain size to fit within society. ‘Hepwrights’ do the opposite, the shop is none for being a ‘normal shop’ with no sizing what so ever as its ridiculous and pointless, all people are different in their own beautiful ways.
Catherine has such an exciting atmosphere around her and this reflects to her customers. She loves being able to help customers out whether it’s helping them out with alterations which she loves, or simple helping them with a garment. The words: “Just try it”, she says to her customers when giving them an outfit and the immediate thrilled reaction they give is what she adores. Every garment Catherine has ever brought she has always brought or been given to from their original owner, with their intriguing tale of the garment they are adding to her forever growing collection.
December has fast approached us and this is a month of thinking for Catherine as it’s the break of lease for ‘Hepwrights’. She wants to have a long hard think at Christmas after she’s had a few sherry’s here and there, to decide which direction she wants to continue with when the festive season is over. Her undenying faith within her eye or her nose for vintage hasn’t done her wrong so far, hopefully ‘Hepwrights’ will go from one strength to another and still have that thriving atmosphere like its owner.