Fashion can be passed down from family members to their descendants. We speak to a few local artists about how fashion is their family heirloom.
“My grandmother had a boutique for men and women in Holland and my mother used to work there after school and became a milliner, naturally making all my clothes when I was a child,” says Wendy O’Halloran, owner of South Perth’s Parata and Zeppelin Clothing boutiques.
It’s a family thing, with Wendy now running one boutique in Angelo St – Parata – while son Jack manages the other store – Zeppelin – right next door. And it doesn’t end there, with Wendy’s two other children, Tom and Mikaela, also having a role to play in the business, while Wendy’s husband ensures the books make sense. One in, all in.
"It’s a family thing, with Wendy now running one boutique in Angelo St – Parata – while son Jack manages the other store – Zeppelin – right next door"
“I started working in King Street for a fashion wholesaler when I was 19, before starting my first boutique in Rokeby Road (opposite the markets) when I was 27. I then married and sold the boutique just before Jack was born in 1987. I spent the next 10 years bringing up my kids, keeping in touch with fashion through my contacts in wholesale and retail,” Wendy recalls.
“I thought there was a gap in the market in South Perth for high-end Australian fashion designer labels. I knew I wanted to get back into the retail side of fashion but my family was always my priority and I didn’t want to be too far away from them out of school hours. However when the opportunity came up in Angelo Street to open another boutique I thought the timing and location was right. So Parata came to be. As the kids were all now in school at South Perth Primary, they were able to walk a few blocks to the shop after school if necessary, where they could still be with their mum and of course their white fluffy dog Jebby, who has become an icon of the shop. Jebby is a very well-behaved 11-year-old Japanese Spitz – beautiful. The perfect boutique dog. Everyone loves him – they can’t resist giving him a pat.”
“The mood is very relaxed and peaceful in Parata, and we like to spend time with each client to find the right garments for them. We have built many relationships with our clients and we often share a coffee or a glass of wine while they enjoy shopping and catching up on the latest fashions.”Parata has a huge range of designer labels including Fleur Wood, T.L. Wood, Yeojin Bae, Cohen et Sabine, Zimmermann, to mention a few, plus a huge range of denim.
“Summer stock has already started to arrive and it is very exciting,” says Wendy. “Beautiful yellows and neutrals, silks and wearable shapes and feminine styles.”
Parata is 10 years old this September. Zeppelin Clothing, in contrast, is still a precocious one-year-old, and stocks the latest uber-cool labels, including Stevie, Shakuhachi, Zanerobe and Wheels and Dollbaby. Definately worth a visit!
“South Perth really had nothing to offer the young people in the area, so when the shop next door to Parata became available I saw the opportunity to start something for them,” Wendy says.
“All three kids work in Zeppelin in between uni and school. It is great to have them so involved and close to me when I am next door at Parata. I really respect Jacks’ buying ability. He is a bit of a natural and is very in tune with what’s cool.”
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