Dawn O'Porter

“I'd love to whip back to the 20s for thirty minutes, just to have a look.”

“Unfortunately here in the UK we have got into the habit of being nasty about people in the public eye. It's all so vicious. In the States they are happy to just say people are great or that they look nice.”

“I'm not used to performing in front of people. When I make TV it's very intimate. In front of a crowd I get so nervous and I'm not that great at it.”

“The British fashion industry had major players, Mary Quant and Biba to name but a few, who were making incredibly stylish and youthful clothing for a generation who didn't want to emulate their parents.”

“Love is something we should all be saying yes to. If you're willing to love someone then people should support that. In a world full of such hate and so much negativity, it feels like love is something we should all just be sharing.”

“I have literally wanted a vintage business for as long as I can remember, but I am glad I waited. I've learned so much over the past ten years. So much about quality, shape and how to spot what truly is vintage and what isn't.”

“But as the years have gone by, I've got such a thrill out of shopping for other people. Every time someone tells me they have purchased something, I feel so happy.”

“How lovely for a woman to feel her husband fancies the pants off her.”

“When someone has told me they have the 'world's worst knees' I've done all I can to find them a hem line that hides them. Luckily, as my shop is predominantly vintage, I have clothes from all decades and therefore pieces of all length.”

“I just want to clear something up... vintage doesn't mean cheap.”

“In Hollywood most of the films we see are all about the relationships between lovers, but as massively important as that is in someone's life, my relationships with women have always been really dramatic and powerful.”

“Couture is also a term used for top-of-the-range, to-order clothing - but not to the level of intricacy and expense as haute couture. And without the 'haute', the word 'couture' itself isn't protected.”

“If you can't afford the prices at one store, go to a store you can afford. There are plenty of options for all budgets in the vintage world.”

“Working in the shop has taught me how utterly ridiculous the female fear of knees is. It's a bloody knee. It's bone. We can't control our knees, our knees are not our fault. We cannot let this continue, we have to abandon this ridiculous new obsession and set the knee free.”

“I couldn't keep up with trends, I couldn't really be fashionable. But I really loved clothes. And then I discovered a vintage shop, and realised that I could dress for myself rather than for an industry or trend.”

“Women of the 60s revolutionised fashion for us. They took the hem lines up so we could feel young, and free, and do things like run for a bus.”

“More women have come out of the changing rooms slagging off their knees than any other body part. I recently developed a complex about my own knees, so I totally get it.”

“After the baby boom of the second world war 40% of the population were under 25, and it was London that realised they needed to be dressed for their age and state of mind.”

“So many designers now look to the past for their inspiration when creating new looks, but if you get one from the past, it won't go out of fashion.”

“It's really important for women in the public eye to be open - these pop stars who don't look, behave, speak like real women - that's not fair on women. Being real, honest, authentic - too many women in the public eye are afraid to be authentic because they are afraid they will be judged.”