Inspired by the beauty of cloth, colour and print, Dammit Janet has become the destination at Bay Harbour Market for one-of-a-kind, fashion threads that always make a statement.
After 40 years of working in the fashion industry, owner Janet Dobie realised that working for someone else just wasn’t her thing. She said goodbye to her boss and her and her son put her passion for fashion to good work. “It started with me trading vintage clothing under the label ‘byJanet’ with a small stall at a local market,” explains Janet. As any major fashion house will tell, you need to move with the times. “I felt that ‘byJanet’ was too lacklustre for what I wanted the future of the business to be and thought there needed to be something more fun and expressive.” She decided to move away from vintage and began introducing handcrafted ponchos and soon included kimonos and kaftans, and now cosy fluffy jackets. A new name was needed, so inspired by Rocky Horror Picture Show, she landed on Dammit Janet, much to the joy of customers and friends.
We turned to her to give us her top four fashion trends for the summer season.
- Athleisure wear is the buzz word of 2020 and it looks like it will continue into 2021. “As a result of lockdown, people are favouring comfort clothing. Especially as a lot of people are either having to or choosing to work from home.”
- We’re moving away from fast fashion brands and looking instead at sustainability. “With the shift in mindset towards a greener outlook, people are looking at recycled/upcycled clothing as well as buying less and wasting less.”
- Being authentically you. “I find that people are actually avoiding the usual trends and are wanting to express themselves in a more individualistic way.”
- “For this summer, it looks like there is going to be a particular emphasis on all-over prints,” much to the delight of Dammit Janet.
The beauty of Dammit Janet is that they aim to be the “antithesis of mass production” so you’ll always find something new, fresh and exciting at their stall. “We do keep a few of our best-sellers as staples, but in our peak season, there is often a full new assortment each and every week,” says Janet.
You can visit Dammit Janet at the market on Friday from 5pm to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 9.30am to 4pm.
For more information about the traders and what they have to offer, please do visit Bay Harbour Market on http://bayharbour.co.za/ and follow them on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/bayharbour , Twitter https://twitter.com/bayharbourmkt and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/bayharbourmarket/.