The leaving of Lavin

Say goodbye to those gilt buttons and shoulder pads because next Friday Jackie Lavin closes her doors for the last time. It has been 17 years since the ex-model first opened for business, specialising in the kind of clothes a Jackie Collins or Shirley Conran heroine would want to wear.

Understated dressing was never Ms Lavin's style but circumstances change and now, she says, there are other demands on her time. Plus, "the glamour situation doesn't fit into many people's lifestyle anymore. They're looking for practical clothes that'll take them through the day." Perhaps practical was never the hallmark of Jackie Lavin's approach to fashion; she prefers to use the word "unusual."

Accordingly, now "it's very difficult to find unusual clothes that don't break the bank. I think most women's fashion today is very boring. I find men's clothes more interesting." What will she miss? "The buzz, the shows, being involved in fashion." What will everyone else miss? The feeling until now that, at least in some circles, the 1980s had never really ended.