Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Head to CatWalkers for a personal shopping experience

Visit CatWalkers, Ellon.
Visit CatWalkers, Ellon.

Alison Walker, Tarves born and bred, bought over the family
business in 2004. She tells us about her shop CatWalkers in Ellon and how they make shopping a personal experience.

Alison Walker at Cat Walkers, Ellon.
Alison Walker at Cat Walkers, Ellon.

WHAT IS CATWALKERS?

We are an independent clothing retailer. The fashion house was built and established in February 1902 and has been operated by the same family since 1962.

HOW DID THE BRAND BEGIN?

In 1962 William Skinner was the first family member to own the shop, known then as Skinners. He was the uncle of Aileen Walker so it has now been in the family for three generations.

Several changes have been made over the years – to the building internally and externally, the name and of course the fashions.

WHY IS CATWALKERS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER SHOPS?

We provide our customers with a personal shopping experience and honest opinions while also experiencing new collections and designs.

HOW DID YOU COME UP WITH THE NAME?

The name comes from catwalk, as in fashion, and Walker is the surname of the owners, therefore CatWalkers.

yl-CatWalkers9

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE SHOP?

My husband Andrew’s mum had the shop before us and we bought it from her in 2004.

I have always enjoyed watching fashion and following trends. After a long spell in the meat industry I was ready for a change.

WHAT SORT OF THINGS DO YOU STOCK?

We stock mainly clothes with accessories like handbags, shoes, fascinators, hats and scarves. The collections of fashions that we have can change from season to season.

HOW DO YOU CHOOSE WHAT PRODUCTS TO STOCK IN CATWALKERS?

I go buying in July and August for the following Spring and Summer ranges. I then go again in January and February for the Autumn and Winter ranges.

We have the opportunity to go to Germany, London, Birmingham, Dublin and even Glasgow. There are showrooms or exhibitions that you can visit depending on the ranges you feel are for your shop.

DO YOU KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS IN MIND WHEN CHOOSING STOCK?

Customers for me are a big influence, as you can buy some ranges with specific customers in mind.

yl-CatWalkers12

HAVE YOU ALWAYS HAD AN INTEREST IN FASHION?

When the opportunity arose the challenge of fashion felt the right thing to do as I always loved shopping for clothes.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE PIECE?

Oh too many to say as I love any quirky styles and lots of colour.

DO YOU HAVE A PARTICULAR AIM FOR CATWALKERS IN THE FUTURE?

To keep changing and evolving in the world of fashion.

WHO WOULD BE YOUR DREAM CUSTOMER TO WALK INTO YOUR SHOP?

Elaine C Smith – think of the fun you could have when dressing her in some of our collections.

DO HIGH STREET OR DESIGNER LABELS INFLUENCE YOU AT ALL?

I love Chanel lipstick and perfume. Clothes are for wearing – if it’s designer or high street so be it, as long as you feel and look good then does it matter?

HAVE YOU HAD TO ADAPT TO THE RISE OF ONLINE SHOPPING?

There are still customers who want to be given a personal shopping experience.

They may want to buy for a special occasion and want a little help in selecting their garment, so we are there to help.

yl-CatWalkers3

DO YOU HAVE ANY ITEMS WHICH ARE PARTICULARLY POPULAR?

At the moment it is dresses and Robell trousers. Why wouldn’t you want to be comfortable in a pair of pull on trousers that can cover all aspects of your lifestyle.