Manchester. You are one fashionable bunch, let me tell you. This week's edition of Steal Their Style is one of my favourite yet - not just for the stunning fits, but for the interesting and insightful conversations, too. It's so nice to be able to hit the streets for a natter about clothes, especially when people are so passionate about it.
Shoppers stopped in the street this week came not just from all over the country, but all over the world - as far flung as Canada!
Interestingly, too, a whopping 50 per cent of the people I spoke with this week worked in fashion in one way or another. One ran their own fashion store stocking independent female creators, while another was a design student making their own clothes. But the job that blew me away was a gent that got to dress people for TV and films, including Netflix productions.
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We've seen a great mix of brands, too, including vintage, independent and high street, from ASOS and Boohoo, to small businesses like Intentionally Blank and Stockport-based Roop.
With the weather getting colder, it's important to wrap up, so I've been a big fan of coats and scarves that people have been sporting in town. If you're still struggling with getting winter wardrobe ready, this week's Steal Their Style series might just be able to give you some inspiration, so let's get into it.
Elizabeth Morgan
Elizabeth Morgan is the owner of Northern Quarter retail shop The Norah Store, which sells clothing and accessories from a collection of independent female owned brands. That would explain why she caught my attention as she briskly walked back to the store on her lunch break. I joined the 27-year-old, from Chorlton, on her return to work to chat to her about her small business, and of course, her outfit.
She said: “I used to work in vintage and my background is in fashion. I just really wanted to start something with all these amazing independent female designers that I was finding on Instagram and on the web that I loved, and there was nowhere to buy all of these in one place in Manchester. We just opened here and will be set up here until Christmas and we’ll see what happens after that.”
Elizabeth wore a collection of clothes from The Norah Store, including a coat from Jakke, which is a vegan brand making luxury coats sustainably and ethically. She paired it with a Mundaka Studio cashmere knit, also available at The Norah Store, and accessorised with Intentionally Blank shoes, a hair bow from Stockport-based Roop and Sandralexandra earrings - all brands stocked at the High Street store.
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Elizabeth added: “My trousers are my housemates that she lent me this morning, I love swapping clothes with my friends. Then my polo is vintage from Pop Boutique when I used to work there.
“The absolute style Icon of my life is Chloe Sevigny. I love that she kind of throws things together and really has fun. She doesn't have one particular style and thrifts a lot. She’s probably my ultimate icon.
“I always like classic shapes with a 60s nod, but with a bit of a twist or personality.”
Alexander Edwards
Next up was 32-year-old Alexander Edwards, who lives in Salford, sporting a 70s style in one of Adidas’ new ‘Adicolour 70s’ tshirts which he’d bought the previous week for £38. Alongside a pair of pink Gazelles, it was easy to see what his favourite brand was.
Alexander said: “Adidas is probably the only ‘brand’ I buy, I particularly like this range they’ve been doing in the Adicolour 70s. I like this kind of colour palette too.”
He wore the tee with a jacket from Vinted, which had cost £50, as well as some River Island trousers. Alexander mentioned that he sometimes likes to wear fun-coloured socks and build outfits around that - and when quizzed on his sock choice on this particular day, they were none other than Harry Styles’ Love On Tour merch socks.
The 32-year-old added: “My mum let me do what I want from a young age so that probably helped me develop my style. Father John Misty is cool, I'm probably a bit influenced by the kind of music I listen to.”
Megan Shaw
Another funky coat was spotted in town now that the temperature is dipping, this time on 24-year-old medicine graduate Megan Shaw.
Megan talked me through her look, from her House of Sunny jeans to a Ragged Priest jumper, which cost £35. But the real bargain was her blue faux fur coat, from Boohoo.
She explained: “My housemate works at Boohoo so we get loads of free stuff from them. It’s definitely a perk, so I have a lot of coats - I have this one in purple, too.”
Megan made herself a New Year resolution to accessorise better, and has been getting more comfortable with her fashion sense in her 20s. She added: “I kind of have my own personal style, I tend to focus on colours and I love going through colour phases so all green or all orange or all blue.
“I think I’ve got more comfortable in my style over the years and a little more bold. It was a New Year resolution to accessorise better, so wear more hats and belts and jewellery to bring an outfit together which I’ve really enjoyed.”
Lauren Howard
Publishing editor Lauren Howard looked phenomenal in this coat from independent brand Kirin. The 27-year-old, from Bury, admitted to paying a ‘ridiculous’ amount for it, forking out £170 in the sale, down from £250.
“I wear it all the time, though,” she said. “I’m getting my money's worth!”
Lauren wore a plain black dress from ASOS with a turtleneck, Puma shoes and an Asos bag to complete the look.
She added: “I’ve always been quite bottom heavy so learning what works for your figure really helped me find my style. I used to shop vintage a lot because it was cheap but it’s not so cheap anymore. I feel like I'm moving into a different era in my life right now.
“With my career now, I dress a little more professional - I'm always dressing smart casual.”
Bethany Mayers
Fashion design student Bethany Mayers is currently studying at the University of Salford, and looked fab in her thrifted outfit.
The 20-year-old, who can make her own clothes, said: “My jacket is off Depop, I think it was £40, and the skirt was off Vinted and was £8.”
The student, who is from Liverpool, paired them with some boots she was given as a birthday gift. When it comes to her personal style, she loves anything 70s, and admires David Bowie’s look, but in her own creations she enjoys ‘silly things that don’t really make any sense.’
She added: “I’m not about serious tailoring. I love anything fun really - I like green and pink as contrasting colours and much prefer skirts over trousers.”
Keith Frost
Over from Vancouver visiting family, Keith Frost might just have the coolest job in the world - dressing people for TV. The 37-year-old Canadian was in Manchester to celebrate his nan’s 88th birthday, but back home, he works on TV sets and has even worked on Netflix hits.
He explained: “I dress people for a living so like on Netflix, The Flash, Superman and Lois, Alaska Daily with Hilary Swank. I dress everyone and make sure they’re all good for camera and make sure no one has a wardrobe malfunction. Hilary is probably the most famous person I’ve dressed.”
For his own outfit, Keith wore a Canadian branded jacket that cost $300, as well as some jeans from Brooklyn Clothing and a Burberry scarf gifted from his nan. He added: “I got these shoes at a set sale at work. They should have been around $100 but I got them for five bucks.”
Keith and I parted ways with a fist bump and a wave, but not before he imparted an important fashion motto to live by. He said: “I think everyone should dress comfortably and don't hold back, just wear what feels right.”
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