Vintage Rose Old-fashioned Auckland's And Proud Of It

Rose Jackson (40) Loves Turning Back Time At Napier’s Art Deco Festival

- Hayley McLarin

“The epiphany came when I saw a man sweep up clothes that had been dropped on the floor in a fast-fashion store in London. They were being treated like rubbish, there was no value placed on them. It was horrible.

I had gone to London all gung-ho wanting to work in fashion and I left after five years so demoralised.

To me, getting dressed is the first lovely creative thing you can do in the morning. You can take on the world if you’re wearing a nice frock. My philosophy is you get to dress yourself for the day you are going to have. You may have a horrible meeting, but you can be wearing a fabulous dress that makes you feel so much better.

I love really beautiful fabrics. Your body can tell when it is wearing a synthetic fabric and you don’t feel comfortable. I love clothes that fit properly – anyone can look fantastic with the right darts and shaping. I’m a true vintage and art deco fanatic; I love that there was time taken when things were made – the quality is amazing and you can’t replicate that with today’s clothes. Which is how I got to be immersed in vintage fashion.

I come from a family of 14 aunties and uncles who were into making their own clothes. My grandmother had a haberdashery shop in Whangarei and my earliest memories are climbing around the back of her shop. My mother sewed clothes and sold them at the Avondale market to make extra money, and my aunty was a home economics sewing teacher.

My mum tells me when I was around two years old, I would insist on dressing myself – I would come out in layers and layers of clothing, and she just had to accept that as I wasn’t going to let her dress me.