Hat designer Virginia has gone all frockabilly

IN THE words of the creator herself, “all dames deserve a dress” – and a designer one at that.

Virginia Hundt - offering differing styles of fine millinery and rockabilly 50’s clothing in her new Prince Street Store. Photo Adam Hourigan The Daily Examiner

IN THE words of the creator herself, "all dames deserve a dress" - and a designer one at that.

She may have made her name in the fashion world with her hats, but Virginia Hundt has two clothing lines and a new shopfront to add to the mix.

With rockabilly flair and frocks to make every woman's heart sing, her labels Wicked Dame and Belle du Jour are the latest fashion lines to hit Grafton.

"The expansion came about because Emma Binns made the finals of Fashion on the Field at the Melbourne Cup wearing one of my hats and a dress I designed and made," Ms Hundt said.

"I got a lot of interest from that from people in town asking if I made dresses and I said that was only a special occasion.

"But then I thought, 'well why don't I?'"

The majority of Ms Hundt's dresses are made from vintage fabrics to guarantee you will stand out from the crowd.

"Most of my garments are made from vintage fabrics which I have been really lucky to score from the 1950s era," she said.

While she is yet to turn some old drapes into a knock-out dress, she said that was not out of the question.

"I find these fabrics by looking around at deceased estates where fabric has been left behind and I've had some older ladies give me fabrics when they found out what I was looking for," Ms Hundt said.

"We are fastidious on the quality of our clothes and you can wear Wicked Dame or Belle du Jour and never see yourself duplicated because most of the time, there is only enough fabric for one dress."

Dress sizes in her range vary from XS to XXL.

"There is a lot of women in the (rockabilly) pin-up scene who are a bigger size who can't find groovy dresses, and all dames deserve a dress," she said.

As the rest of the world begins to embrace the rockabilly scene, Ms Hundt said we ain't seen nothing yet.

"It's absolutely huge; we've only seen the tip of the iceberg but it's coming right across the board from home wares to clothing," Ms Hundt said.

"From plumbers to lawyers; they're all living this lifestyle."

Having only been open since last Wednesday Ms Hundt said the dresses were already walking out the door.

"I've sold at least six dresses a day since we opened," she said.

Her store Hundt and Family Fine Millinery has moved from the Webber Arcade to Prince St, next to Harvey Norman.

Originally published as Hat designer Virginia has gone all frockabilly