IPSWICH: Escape to the elegance of a bygone era and discover the treasures lurking up the stairs at a newly-opened Ipswich store.

The town’s first vintage shop has opened, realising a dream held for a decade by talented seamstress Kelly Fairweather.

Bearing the 26-year-old’s name, the shop offers style-conscious customers a unique experience, selling one-off, handpicked items which can be altered to fit in store.

Fairweather Vintage is bursting with bags, jewellery, shoes and clothes, as well as brimming with history and a sense of style.

Nestled upstairs in St Stephen’s Lane, above Merc, next door to the Buttermarket Shopping Centre, it offers a breath of fresh air for women of all ages. There is “something for everyone,” claims Kelly.

The former Holbrook High School pupil said: “I have wanted my own shop for about ten years.

“Friends used to come round to mine and wonder why I had so many mannequins and things all over my house. People used to ask why? I always knew one day I would use it all.”

Having studied an art foundation course at the London College of Fashion, Kelly has worked in Ipswich for the last four years, altering clothes and honing her skills.

“My passion is vintage,” she added. “It feels amazing to open, but it also feels very natural.

“Everyone said it must feel really different but this was just the next step.

“Every time I have started a new job in the past, I knew it was just building up to this.”

Selling one-off vintage items she sources from across the country, Kelly reassured her customers, “if it doesn’t fit, I can make it fit”.

“That is the unique selling point,” she said. “Vintage clothes are often one-offs and may not fit straight away, but I can make the alterations and customise the clothes.

“And if people are after something in particular, I have got a book for customers to make requests and I will keep my eyes peeled.

“It is a full time job finding stuff for the shop, but that is what is so special.

“I have searched for everything in here, it is all handpicked.”

The new independent store is celebrated by the Star’s Fightback campaign, which supports businesses through this tough economic period.

n What other new shops do you think Ipswich needs? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk