Wigan events wear store diversifies with children's clothes boutique

Carole Cooper with granddaughter Hattie and Keren Lawton

One Wigan business which normally provides outfits for weddings, school proms and other such large gatherings has launched an online children’s clothing boutique in its efforts to keep trading.

The Dressing Room Wigan, on Wallgate, has been doing occasional wear for 11 years but the coronavirus pandemic has had a colossal impact, with most of the special events it relies on cancelled entirely or hugely postponed.

Co-directors Keren Lawton and Carole Cooper have therefore made the decision to diversify and have launched Honey Buttons, an online clothing store for children and babies.

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Keren said: “This year has been disastrous for our business. We’ve had orders cancelled and postponed. Some weddings have been moved to next year, some to the year after.

“We’re waiting for that custom to come back in again but we’ve lost thousands of pounds.

“There are still no events happening so we thought children will still need clothes for Christmas and parents, whether they are taking them anywhere or not, will still want to dress them up nice for pictures.

“We are just in time for Christmas and hopefully this will see us through the difficult time.”

The pandemic has already taken its toll on The Dressing Room Wigan, with staff having to be furloughed and a freelance employee having to be let go as the work just could not be guaranteed.

All the clothes for Honey Buttons will be designed and manufactured by the team and Keren hopes the move will save some local jobs as well as give shoppers another option in the run-up to the festive period.

Keren also said that if the boutique is a success they may continue running it alongside The Dressing Room Wigan once the events side of the business starts up once more.

To find out more, visit www.facebook.com/honeybuttonsboutique or www.etsy.com/uk/shop/honeybuttonsboutique/

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