Words and photo by Tristan Ovington.

Small businesses need to stick together through tough times, that’s the message from Katy Shergold, owner of Sister’s Wardrobe on Salisbury’s Winchester Street. Opening a shop in the current climate has been a challenge for Katy, who runs the shop with her sisters Jess and Alice Hodgkinson.
“Running a business with my sisters is great,” she said. “We all bring different skills to the business and always support each other. Like all siblings, we have a few artistic differences but come together to make the shop work.”

But the sisters don’t just collaborate with each other to make their shop successful. “We hope to work with other Winchester Street Indies like Stuff Emporium and Blueberry Den to make Christmas shopping a local experience. We currently hold a monthly late-night shopping evening from 6-8 pm, details of which can be found on our Facebook/Instagram. We have also been attending the Brown Street Live Indie Lunch, a live music event with local businesses offering a range of crafts and sellers.”
Supporting fellow businesses is important in challenging times but also a source of great strength. “Our biggest challenge was the heatwave in August when buying clothes was the last thing on people’s minds. While the economic times make it hard for everyone and lead to fewer purchases, the flip side of that is that our biggest success was the support of other Salisbury indie businesses and our growing customer base who support the shop and the ethos of buying more sustainably.”
Sustainability and support is at the core of the business. “We enjoy giving clothes a second chance, taking preloved items and passing them on to be used again. We enjoy talking to customers and providing personal service to help them find that inexpensive but perfect outfit. We sell a range of clothing from high street to designer. Brands include Joules, Boden, Next and items not found on Salisbury high street including Karen Millen and Ted Baker.

Our biggest highlight was a lady who bought an outfit for the royal enclosure at Ascot.”
With the Christmas on the horizon, Katy and her sisters are preparing to help even more customers find sustainable outfits for the festive period: whether in person or online. “Christmas will be an exciting time, we will have lots of clothing perfect for the party season and the big day. We’ll hold late-night shopping events to help with all those Christmas outfits,” she said.
“Our Instagram live stream is popular and helps customers unable to get to the shop during the week to see items which can be reserved for collection. It is a great platform to showcase the items we have in stock.”
Sister’s Wardrobe, 44 Winchester Street, Salisbury