About Eliza Wyke

Eliza Wyke is the label I created upon leaving Leeds College of Art (formerly Jacob Kramer College), way back in the last century, after completing a City & Guilds in Ladies Tailoring and Manufacturing.

I adopted Eliza because “Elizabeth Pennington” wouldn’t fit on the label! However, I didn't just pluck the name from obscurity, Eliza Wyke really did exist... and she was a tutor, tailor, and my great-grandmother. A strong and extremely stylish woman, a maverick in an age when women were meek and mild, she was altogether striking with a passion for style. Sadly, we never met, but I've seen the pictures and heard the stories and, yes there is an aspiration.

Over the years such is my interest and passion for all things style, I’ve been asked for advice by friends, family and colleagues, I even had a recruitment consultant who knew me from old, call me out of the blue for style advice before her honeymoon! What started as a lunchtime hobby grew into a career I adore. Such was the demand that in 2007 I became known as “The Personal Shopper”, helping women achieve their perfect wardrobe – whether a capsule or a whole new look. As a trained tailor – I can assess a body-shape at 20 paces, so readily able to suggest tailoring solutions to achieve the desired look. Sadly, this side of the business vanished as internet shopping demand increased, but Eliza Wyke continues to grow, as do I, and I continue to cut the patterns, locally source the fabric (my favourite part), tailor and fit my customers all by myself. There isn’t any part of the process that I can't do. And the best part is - I love it!