Vintage Dressing for Goodwood Revival.

I’m excited to be heading to the Goodwood Revival again this year where vintage dressing is at its best and is one of my favourite end of summer events. As I’ve discovered over the last few years, the event is not all about the cars; it’s also chock-full of fabulous vintage dressing. If you haven’t been before it’s the most amazing immersive experience – as soon as you park up and make your way to the race ground you join a happy throng of beautifully dressed people all on their way to enjoy this festival which celebrates the halcyon days of past eras. Nearly every one of them has got the memo and will be sporting the vintage dress code from top to toe. Whether you opt for a uniform from the war years, a paired back 40’s look, a frivolous 50’s vibe or a psychedelic 60’s feel you certainly won’t feel out of place.

Not being a vintage dressing aficionado, over the past few years I’ve sought help with outfit choices – read up on my revival retro outfit the first year here. This time around however I’ve teamed up with the divine Suzi Grant – who lives her life with a vintage dressing mantra firmly in place, and the fabulous Cecily from The Emperor’s Old Clothes in Brighton.

We hatched a plan to create a new dress for Suzi to wear during Goodwood Revival which is made bespoke using vintage reclaimed fabric. The Emperor’s Old Clothes is nestled in the Brighton lanes in clothing collective store Flock. Here you can browse the rails of dresses which have already been designed or have your own dress made up using the fabric of your choice from Cecily’s stock which is all vintage and sourced via vintage markets, collectors and during her travels.

There are three dress styles to choose from in the bespoke design process. The Amy… a full-skirted dress.

The Catherine.. a pencil dress.

The Susa… a tea dress, which is the one Suzi opted for using a gorgeous floral blue and adding some clever pink accents for that added pop of typical Suzi chutzpah.

Once measurements have been taken and fabric choices agreed upon, Cecily’s typical processing time is 1-3 weeks from the time the order is placed (depending on the time of year, but deadlines can often be met if a speedy turn around is required). If customers happen to be local, then fittings are also scheduled within the time frame to ensure the end product fits perfectly.

So for the finished product – keep an eye out on Instagram @notesbyastylist on Friday for coverage of Goodwood Revival and Suzi sporting the dress on the day.

Goodwood Revival runs from Friday 7th September through to Sunday 9th September, and you can still nab tickets here.

You can follow Suzi’s colourful vintage life on Insta @alternativeageing

With huge thanks to Cecily and her team for collaborating with us on this project – we can’t wait to snap some pics at Goodwood to show off the gorgeous finished article.

The Emperor’s Old Clothes is at 46 Sydney Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 4EP. Tel: +4474 9595 6220

Catch them on Insta @emperorscloth, also on Facebook here.