Meet the vintage lover who dresses the stars for TV and films shot in Liverpool

Fashion lover Christine Clarke has always had a passion for mixing unique vintage pieces with high street to create outfits that stand out from the crowd.

Now she’s seeing those looks translated on screen in productions like Call the Midwife, Funny Woman, Tin Star, Archie and most recently Netflix’s Harlan Coben drama Run Away.

Christine, who owns Bijou & Vintage in Liverpool, has helped to style TV series and films shot in the city and across the north west.

Working alongside costume designers, she puts together wardrobes for characters that match not just their size and their personality, but synch with set colour schemes too.

For Christine, vintage has been a reflection of her own individuality and Bohemian spirit since she was growing up in the 70s and 80s.

She explained:

“I’ve always been fascinated in fashion through the decades, and that stemmed from a love of film and the music industry. The 70s and 80s music scene was very expressive and unconventional, so it was an amazing period especially in Liverpool.

“Back then I’d buy from charity shops and the Army & Navy stores, they were my go-to, and I’d get some high street stuff, from Bus Stop and Biba. I didn’t have loads but I’d take my inspiration from there.”

While other people might be tempted to have seasonal clear-outs, Christine held on to her gems and built up her own personal archive.

“For me, because I wasn’t really following trends, the clothes didn’t go out of fashion so I never got rid of them, that’s where sustainability comes in which again is something I’m committed to.”

Although she studied hairdressing and beauty therapy with a goal of getting into the make-up artist industry for film and theatre, she eventually went into banking where she had a successful 20-year career.

But her creative flair never disappeared and when she had the opportunity to take redundancy in the 2007 financial crash, she took it and decided to focus on fashion.

“I was looking at all this beautiful vintage stuff I’d got and thought it was time to shed some of it. That was the intention, to downsize the collection.

“I started going to antique fairs locally, and then I’d see all this fantastic stuff and I’d buy it so I ended up buying more than I was selling! 

“There weren’t vintage fairs then, it was very niche rather than mainstream, so I decided to run them myself in hotels.”

They took off and led to Christine and a friend joining forces to open one of the first spaces in the newly-converted Cain’s Brewery.

“It had been the old Victorian reception for the brewery, with oak panelled walls and chandeliers, so it was beautiful.

“The space itself was popular with location spotters for film and TV and it was used in Peaky Blinders in quite an iconic episode, just prior to me moving in.”

As Cains attracted attention for shoots, Christine naturally did too and her connections with the industry grew.

She now works with Liverpool Film Office and is on their ‘facilities list’, which means productions looking to film here can find her and get in touch. Because she’s built up a trust, she’s also regularly recommended by people who’ve used her clothes before on previous projects. 

“Costume designers will either come over, go through and pull what they like, or we’ll get into the character together. I’ll be given the actor’s sizes and their profile, and once I’ve got their moodboards I’ll often pull a lot for them which saves them time.

“For Archie, I did quite a lot for arts and props, so all of Doris Day’s wardrobe in her bedroom was mine. They just said to me ‘this is the style’, I did my own research and they left it to me to do a full rail of coats, suits, everything.”

Christine, who lives in Lydiate, specialises in period clothing with a stock that dates back to the late 1800s, but she also supplies more contemporary and classic.

She’s recently supplied for Ridley, the detective series starring Adrian Dunbar, and Russell T Davies drama Tip Toe with Alan Cumming and David Morrissey which is due for release on C4 later this year.

Seeing her looks on TV and film isn’t new to Christine anymore, but it never gets old.

She said:

“I’ve just binged watched season two of Funny Woman with Gemma Arterton and I just couldn’t believe how much of my stuff actually made it to screen. I do still get a buzz from seeing my clothes on screen, it feels amazing.”

Find out more about Bijou & Vintage here.

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