Friar Street in Worcester UK is centuries old and is a long medieval
street now full of cafes, restaurants, appealing clothing, jewellery and objet d'art shops.
If you walk the length of this interesting street you are sure to chance upon
one of my favourite fashion clothing shops in
Worcester UK - the fashion boutique called Lynne Craig.
Location below.
The founder of this local independent fashion shop was originally Lynne Craig,
but in April 2007 Lynne retired. The new owner is Becky Sutcliffe a former
fashion buyer at Simpsons of Piccadilly, Austin Reed and a national
retailer. She plans to continue with the existing brands and expanding into
new lines. Rachel, Sally, Jo and Annabel are the assistants now
working at the shop.
Whenever I visit the shop for a quick browse I have sleepless
nights immediately after thinking how I must get back for another 'proper shopping'
visit very soon! Believe me each shop in Friar Street will tempt you
to stop. When you are there, you can also check out Emporio Armani,
Mark A Linley Jeweller and Anja Potze Jeweller all great shops within 50
metres of each other.
The stock at Lynne Craig is likely to best suit 'the snappy, but
relaxed dresser,' with clothes 'for any occasion to
jeans.'
I
think the clothes at Lynne Craig have a continental feel and are
without doubt for the discerning, well travelled woman who is seeking
something different, fashionable and which makes her feel special.
That woman will find versatile items that always
get compliments whether the items selected are for everyday wear, a summer
barbecue, an important social function such as a wedding, a Christmas or New
Year party, or for Ascot.
The typical customer may like, for example, designs with a Mediterranean
touch.
A visit to Lynne Craig is always something of a surprise, because not only do
the clothes selected always have a quirky, but fashionable edge, but the
stock moves rapidly. The fashion choices always have an
unpredictability that instantly captures your attention and wows you at the
same time.
The slip dress shown left has a fascinating shaped bulbous hemline and
the spaghetti straps making it an outfit that would work on several levels
for evening, or it could easily be dressed down for daytime with this
natural looking knit.
I think it's fair to say that
the shop Lynne Craig specialises in unusual, individual fashion pieces for
relaxed dressing. Outfits can easily be dressed up or
down by adding or subtracting the other fashion pieces or
accessories on offer. The handbags are from
Orla Kiely, hats by Sarah Crozier,
Quill & Capeline.
In
the shop you will find that materials ooze quality and
have a beautiful handle so this in itself makes what at first glance might
seem a relaxed piece feel
and look extra special to those who know their materials.
Without doubt the quality of a wool knit, silk jacket or linen item will
speak for itself. I know from personal experience that the linen items
like the summer range lily green casual jacket top and trousers shown left will wash
easily and be suitable for many occasions.
The gorgeous red taffeta skirt shown right was a perfect example of fuller skirt styles and it attracted many positive comments from
customers who came into the shop.
The
labels at Lynne Craig engender instant respect and these clothes quite
simply feel good when you wear them. Choose from fashion collection
lines by Marc Cain, Paddy Campbell, Oska,
Backstage, Sarah Pacini, Krines, Sylvia Heise, Crea, Gabi Lauton, Annette
Gortz, She's So, NYDJ, Ghost, Fenn Wright Manson, Lezley George, Jovani and
Privatesachen. Specialist knits such as merino tops are by She's So
and other knitwear is by Karen Cole. Trussardi Jeans offer a
great fit with a fine gradation of 1 inch difference between sizes.
This
2006 front window display shown left highlighted a beautiful silk faced
designer coat and dress by Paddy Campbell. This Paddy Campbell dream of a coat had a New Look feel to it
and was perfect for a very special event. There was also a semi
fitted jacket option and you can see the lovely cut of the back view of the
coat on the right.
The contrast of the more relaxed casual outfits
beside it show the variety of garment items normally available in the shop.
The zig zag casual cardigan jacket on the far left is by Marc Cain and has a
real Missoni feel to the pattern of the intricate knit design.
The emphasis is on being able to choose from clothes lines that
flatter the female form and make the person feel good in a relaxed, but
cutting edge way of dressing. I particularly like the figure
flattering cut of the Marc Cain trousers with cashmere and the Krines jackets.
For autumn winter 2007/8 carefully selected trousers, skirts and tops
are
all in top autumn fashion colours. I noticed these were mostly from the
Pantone autumn 2007 colour range, a sure sign of high regard for the current
colour mood.
Limited
numbers of each style are purchased so bumping into yourself is much less likely than when you
buy at a department
store. Tell Becky or her staff what you seek and if you need advice
they will guide you to items that will dress up, or dress down your selection,
ensuring you find that special outfit whatever your requirements.
These lovely shimmering richly dyed silk scarves right add a luxurious
finishing touch to simple items.
The
added bonus of shopping in a smaller shop like this, is that when you are
half dressed an assistant who knows her stock, who is nearby not miles away,
and who is happy about serving you, will try to find a style or size that
might just be the item with which you walk out of the shop.
All the garments at Lynne Craig are contemporary, but often with an unusual kooky twist
that catches your attention. This knit top shown right is an example of
the unusual items stocked. Sizes range from size 8 to 18, but a few of the looser cut garments (which I have noticed sometimes
have a Japanese feel) are capacious and on occasion would fit a size 20.
Like Becky Sutcliff, the assistants at Lynne Craig are
experts in their field and easily able to instantly style one piece with another
and show you how versatile a few pieces can be. Teamwork ensures a balanced choice of designer collections,
all something different than the mainstay fashion ranges found in
many department stores.
One last piece of information that may interest you is that the shop
Lynne Craig is on the London Fashion Week & Evening Standard list of Where to
Buy British
Designers Outside of London.
Becky Sutcliffe is the owner now of the Lynne Craig clothes shop above.
It is still trading under the long established name of Lynne Craig and is very easy to find in Friar Street
Worcester UK. This is a Worcester city-centre location with a car park
very close by and a Vue multi screen cinema about 80 yards away. The
location is just around the corner from the Shambles back
entrance of Marks and Spencers and the lengthy Friar Street is parallel to
the Shambles area. The Lynne Craig shop is also about 300 yards from
Worcester Cathedral and the latter is close to the Royal Worcester Factory.
The shop is also about 600 yards or so from Worcester Foregate Street Rail station.
Friar Street is the same street that hosts the annual
Worcester Christmas Fayre.
If you are visiting Worcester Cathedral, home to the tomb of King John of
Magna Carta fame, you may soon afterward find yourself very easily wandering
toward Friar Street so take this opportunity to browse the lovely stock and
make your day out even more special.
See Marks and Spencer New Spring Collections online
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