Some of our keen-eyed Society readers may remember when we chatted to Aberdeen fashion entrepreneur Victoria Mutch in October last year.
The oil and gas worker set up her own business V+ Style in 2020 with clothes catered to women of all sizes.
Her stint at Curated Aberdeen in the Bon Accord Centre proved to be a huge success.
Now, she has a shop all of her own with a brand new name to celebrate too.
Style For Your Shape opened to customers on Saturday July 2.
A five strong team is at the helm of its operation and instilling confidence in women of all sizes is what the business is all about.
The business is now also award-winning having recently finished top of the best fashion boutique category at the Aberdeen region of Scotland’s Business Awards.
If things continue growing, we see no reason why Victoria can’t start a fashion revolution.
“We are the first fully size inclusive shop in Aberdeen – but I’m also hard pushed to find another similar shop in Scotland as well, to be honest,” says Victoria.
“A few of the big-name high street shops in Aberdeen and other cities across Scotland have actually taken their curve or plus size ranges out of their stores.
“It’s shapes that aren’t classed as normal to the fashion industry that just don’t get represented.
“That’s where I want us to come in – to give people that different offering than what’s elsewhere on the high street.”
Pastures new
Victoria’s stall at Curated Aberdeen in the Bon Accord Centre allowed her to build a loyal customer base in the north-east.
A number of new, exciting opportunities soon followed including the recent Courage on the Catwalk event in May alongside Marks & Spencer and Perfect Bridal, which Victoria says “skyrocketed” the business’ growth.
But moving into a shop all of her own was something that had always been a goal.
“We’d been looking for premises for a while, but I’d been a bit hesitant with it wondering if it’s the right time to do it having started the business in the middle of the pandemic,” Victoria explains.
“I’d actually looked at the premises we’re in now just before Christmas.
“Fortunately, the shop became available again later in the year and I just decided to go for it.
“I know I would have regretted it if I didn’t.”
Bringing back life into the city centre
Victoria was met with a whirlwind of emotions when she picked up the keys for her new premises on Schoolhill.
But after a successful opening night with live music, food and entertainment, it’s been straight down to business for Style For Your Shape.
The shop is open from Tuesday to Sunday every week. A colourful range of occasion and seasonal wear in all kinds of sizes is widely available.
In-person shopping experiences have been at the heart of Victoria’s business since day one and now that she has her own shop, she’s hoping to revitalise the high street with her positive ethos.
“I want to hopefully start a bit more movement back into the city centre,” she says.
“We need the local community to support the high street. But I also want to encourage other businesses that if they’re doing reasonably well without a shop, why not take that leap and have a more permanent presence?
“Style For Your Shape is all about having a space for women of any shape or size to come in, shop, feel comfortable in our environment and leave feeling more confident than when they first walked in.
“We’re now a team of five up from a team of one and it was really important for me when I was hiring staff that they understood the message and what we were all about.
“We understand what women want when they shop and how to make them feel good about themselves.”
‘It’s the most rewarding thing I’ve done’
Juggling another full-time job alongside her business has brought challenges for Victoria – but she wouldn’t change a thing.
She is proud to have built her brand in such a short space of time and to now share it with her new team.
Next stop for Style For Your Shape? Making the brand a nationwide name.
“I feel really proud of what we’ve achieved in a year and a half… it’s the most rewarding thing I’ve done,” Victoria enthuses.
“But I also do feel like this is still just the beginning.
“I want us to give our experiences to as many people as possible. I’m hoping that the first shop goes down well and that it will be the first of many going forward.
“I’d love to start designing and manufacturing our own range of clothing. Then even further than that, the aim is to have size inclusive shops across Scotland and the UK.
“Let’s see where we can go!”
For more about Style For Your Shape check them out online or visit them in-store.
Conversation