Housed amongst an enclave of vintage and independent fashion shops, Syd and Mallory in The Forum is more than just a mere vintage clothing store.
A joint business venture between two close friends, this little boutique inspires fashion-wear that is every bit as original as making your own clothes.
Syd and Mallory embodies creativity and originality, with its carefully painted walls and quirky store designs (the centrepiece: a line of scissors draping artistically off a host of lightbulbs) the owners Kirsty and Lucie certainly wear this bold corporate ethos on their sleeves.
Bringing together and reworking new fabrics and vintage materials to invent clothing one can truly call their own, the store aims to keep costs low and bring to the public modern styles without the hefty price-tag.
Your Granny’s calf-length pencil skirt can now be tweaked into that party head-turner in this industrious place.
The young boutique got its name from the owners’ favourite personalities: the late Syd Barrett (from the rock band Pink Floyd), and the character Mallory Knox from the 1994 film Natural Born Killers.
Thus mirroring the nature of this thriving business – bringing random subjects together to bring out a refreshing concept.
Describing the boutique in three words, Lucie gave “raw, edgy” and “individual”.
One would be well impressed with the range of products available in-store for sale, from clothes to accessories, personalised greeting cards to home-ware, like duvets and cushions, because according to Lucie, “people want fashion in their homes, too.”
Current hard-sellers are the headbands with bold flora designs.
Although much of the store appears catered to the young female group, the shop does have a small, but substantial section devoted to menswear.
With fixed sizes in these trendy one-off pieces, one would be relieved to hear that the shop offers an in-store alteration service to cater to your tailored tastes and sizes.
As our conversations went on and I began to put to bed my fashion illiteracy, I was impressed with Lucie’s inspiring candidness.
What does she think of the fashion of students today, then?
“A bit lazy, I think” she added with good-humoured derision.
“[When I was in school] I never wanted anyone to wear the same things as I did.
Plain, sheepskin boots, hoodies and jogging bottoms – it’s a little weird that everyone looks the same these days.”
Fashion tips for the majority of us wanting to stay in style and yet reluctant to experiment with our clothes?
“Wear a bold top and stay safe on the bottoms. Ultimately, you need to push fashion: fashion has no boundaries.”
The owners continually update their stock to keep up with high street trends “with a unique twist”, and often pride themselves as a platform for local, budding artists to exhibit their designs.
As it is, the spring collection is slowly coming together in-store, as the two dedicated owners aspire towards expanding the business beyond Sheffield in the years ahead.
Lucie’s advice for young adults looking to venture into the business is to take a resoundingly fearless approach, “Just go for it, if you really want to.
It took a while to build [Syd and Mallory], and it can be quite hard to get into the fashion industry. We sold our designs to shops initially, before we decided to base ourselves somewhere. I guess I just got lucky as well.”
Syd and Mallory opens every day, and students are entitled to a 10 per cent discount on purchases.
As I’ve always based my fashion tastes on whatever doesn’t itch, I was surprised to leave this quaint boutique with inspiration, to view fashion fearlessly from now on.