Popular independent ladies fashion shop in Sussex village says farewell after 41 years

Feathers of Hurstpierpoint, which sold quality brands like Joseph Ribkoff, Pauporte and Olsen, held its final day on Tuesday, May 9.

Owner Anne Graham-Evans, 80, who lives in Hurstpierpoint, said: “I’ve had quite a few cards from people. It’s actually been quite emotional.”

Anne told the Middy that she started to work for Feathers’ previous owner Wendy Gordon in 1982 when the shop opened. The pair had previously been childhood friends at a convent school in Worth in the late 1940s. Decades later Wendy realised Anne was living near her in Hurstpierpoint and asked her if she wanted to work at the shop.

Anne said she enjoyed working for Wendy, often buying clothing with her, which helped give her a solid understanding of the business.

She said: “I felt I'd been doing it for quite a while already, because although I’d never bought and sold clothes before, I did used to work in my father’s company, which was in Crawley and was miniature steel balls and bearings.”

“Selling is something that I’m quite good at,” said Anne, explaining that she went on to take over the business in 1995. “Somehow it felt like a natural thing, as my husband had retired and handled all the beastly paperwork.”

Anne continued: “There were no other clothes shops as there are now, so obviously one had to do quite a lot of merchandising to get people to come and find things that were different and suitable for all sorts of occasions. One did a lot of mailing and printed cards, things like that, that would be sent out twice a year.”

Anne said she has sold many wonderful items of clothing over the years, with some of her favourites being outfits by Jean Muir and Caroline Charles, which she said were ‘terrific, very different and very expensive’.

She has thanked her many customers by email for supporting the business over the years and has spoken to lots of individuals in person as well.

Anne first moved into Hurst with her husband in 1976, before moving to Brighton Marina and then returning to the village in 2011.