A Perfect Fit: Penelope Chilvers Comes to the Cotswolds
WORDS BY Cally Squires
“I’ve wanted a country store for a long time, because I love the countryside and everything it stands for,” explains designer Penelope Chilvers, as she sits down with Cally Squires to talk about her brand’s impossibly perfect Stow-on-the-Wold store.”
The address was formerly the site of Cutter Brooks, the revered lifestyle shop run by native New Yorker Amanda Brooks, who last year moved back to America. “I wasn’t quite sure where to open, but I was having lunch with Amanda when she said she didn’t want to continue, so I snapped it up!” she jokes.
It’s an area the designer knows well, having been a weekender here for over five years, with an unplanned full year of living here during Covid, during which time she and her husband “really fell in love with the place.”
The couple are now back and forth between their Cotswold cottage and London, where Penelope runs the brand alongside her two daughters, who she feels “incredibly lucky” to work with.
Keeping it Local
While the brand’s offices are in London, Chilvers likes to design at home in her study, where the mood is quiet and peaceful. “Watching the change in seasons is a wonderful thing. When I have a creative block, I love to go for a walk and refresh my mind.”
And conversely, when looking for a night out, she needn’t look far. “We have just discovered Bar Foletta in Stow – it’s a fun little speakeasy, which looks like a private house from the outside and is a great place to go for a cocktail.”
Both this year’s Spring and Summer collections are an ode to England, with the summer campaign shot at glorious Asthall Manor in the Cotswolds, and Spring inspired by the beautiful striped houses of colourful Notting Hill. A change from past seasons, which have taken the team as far as India, Botswana and South Africa.
“I wanted to dedicate Spring to our first store in London, which is on Ledbury Road. Plus, the Portobello Road market is somewhere that has been very important to me as a designer, because I find so many vintage pieces there.”
Vintage Vibes
It’s all about preloved when it comes to Penelope’s own style, both on the fashion and interiors front. “Like my store, I like to buy old rather than new,” she confirms, describing her vibe as “quite eclectic, but also warm and inviting.”
Cotswold Girl Summer
The Summer collection is based on iconic vintage chintz, with Chilvers collecting vintage English textiles as inspiration. Asthall Manor is a location she is clearly enamoured by, describing it as “breaking all the rules but utterly charming. The lady who lives there has planted her beds in an absolutely wild but beautiful way, with runner beans growing up the tennis court railings; and you’ll find pumpkins growing underneath a rose bush.”
The house, once home to the Mitford sisters, often hosts garden open days, events and art exhibitions. “Asthall as a village has a pub which I’ve heard is lovely too,” she recommends.
The Art of Craftsmanship
No doubt what elevates the brand and has attracted well-known customers from Cate Blanchett to Amal Clooney is the quality and heritage of the craft behind a pair of Penelope Chilvers, whether that’s leather boots or jute espadrilles.
The brand works with different family-run factories in Southern Spain that specialise in specific disciplines. “For instance, the Goodyear welt factories make double soles, and they’re a dying breed. I’ve been supporting that old fashioned way of making footwear for twenty years.”
The founder will soon be visiting her espadrille factory in Murcia, which is the traditional place for jute. “I chose that area a long time ago, because it’s one of the last few places where they hand stitch the upper to the sole with a blanket stitch.”
In a world of fast fashion, these are shoes made to last.
Dream Collaborations
Having just collaborated with American snowboarder Jamie Anderson during the Winter Olympics, the next partnership on the horizon is a capsule collection with fellow creative India Hicks, plus a packed itinerary of pop-ups from likeminded brands — which have previously included St Clair and GROVE England — to keep the store fresh and interesting.
English Country Garden
“We started with the thought of just opening five days a week, but it has been such a huge success that we’re now open all seven. We’re very happy to make customers a cup of tea, and in the summer, they can spend some time out in our garden,” shares Penelope. And it doesn’t get more quintessentially English than that.
Penelope Chilvers: The Square, Stow-on-the-Wold, Cheltenham, GL54 1AB
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