OUR STORY

32 years ago, our mother, Grace, founded Grace Windsor with one simple idea: to create a place where women could find beautiful, feminine and, above all, comfortable clothing for everyday life.

From the very beginning, our mother never wanted to choose a piece simply because it was fashionable or looked good in a photograph.

For her, what mattered was the cut, the materials, the craftsmanship and, above all, that special feeling that is so difficult to describe — when a piece simply feels right and you feel comfortable and confident in it from the very first moment.

Before anything earned its place at Grace Windsor, she would always ask herself the same question:

“Would I recommend this to a good friend?”

That simple rule stayed with her throughout all those years.

And today, it stays with us too.

We are Charlotte and Emily, Grace’s daughters, and we practically grew up surrounded by clothes, boxes from new collections and the shop windows of Grace Windsor.

Some of our earliest memories are of watching our mother in the shop.

We remember her opening boxes filled with new arrivals, carefully deciding what should go in the window and chatting with customers, some of whom she had known for many years.

As little girls, we did not really understand what any of it meant.

To us, it was simply our mother’s world.

We played amongst the clothes rails, helped unpack new collections and watched as our mother opened the doors of Grace Windsor every morning.

But as we grew older, we began to understand that Grace Windsor had never been simply a business to her.

It was a huge part of her life.

And eventually, it became a huge part of ours too.

For 32 years, our mother watched collections come and go, styles change and trends disappear almost as quickly as they had arrived.

But one thing never changed: the care with which she selected every individual piece.

Quality, fit, materials and the small details that make all the difference were always her priority.

Perhaps that was why so many customers kept coming back.

Some would pop in simply to “have a quick look” and, a little while later, find themselves smiling at their reflection in the mirror.

Others stayed chatting far longer than they had originally intended.

There were personal recommendations, conversations without any rush and customers who, after so many years, almost became part of our extended family.

Growing up surrounded by all of this, we slowly became fascinated by this world too.

As we got older, we were allowed to help more and more.

At first, it was just little things.

Opening parcels.

Sorting clothes.

Preparing the shop window.

Later, we began choosing collections alongside our mother, advising customers and taking on more responsibility.

The two little girls who had once watched their mother from the side of the shop had become two women standing beside her.

And only then did we truly begin to understand what she had built over more than three decades.

We also began to understand what she had always wanted Grace Windsor to represent.

For our mother, fashion was never about trying to become someone else.

It was never about following every new trend.

It was about finding clothes that allowed a woman to look in the mirror and feel elegant, feminine, comfortable and, above all, like herself.

Grace Windsor changed over the years.

And we grew up alongside it.

But the values our mother put at the heart of the business from the very first day never changed.

Choose every piece as if you were recommending it to someone close to you.

Never choose something simply because it happens to be fashionable.

And never compromise on quality just to follow a trend.

Perhaps that is why some customers stayed with our mother for so many years.

Some returned season after season.

Others recommended Grace Windsor to their friends.

Some eventually brought their own daughters with them.

And some faces became so familiar that their visits hardly felt like ordinary shopping trips anymore.

We were incredibly grateful for all of that.

But then our lives changed in a way we could never have prepared ourselves for.

We lost our mother.

Suddenly, the person who had created Grace Windsor was no longer there.

The woman whose touch could be felt in every corner of the shop.

The voice that had accompanied us throughout our lives.

The person who always seemed to know which piece belonged in the next collection — and which did not.

And, above everything else:

Our mum.

During those first weeks and months, we could hardly imagine how Grace Windsor could continue without her.

Every clothes rail reminded us of her.

Every box containing a new collection.

Every conversation with a long-standing customer.

Sometimes, even a particular piece of clothing would make us immediately think:

“Mum would have chosen that.”

There was a moment when we genuinely questioned whether we could ever open the doors of Grace Windsor again.

Because without our mother, everything suddenly felt different.

Quieter.

Emptier.

Incomplete.

But at the same time, we began to realise something.

Our mother had founded Grace Windsor.

But after 32 years, it had become something that went far beyond a business.

It was her values.

Her decisions.

Her way of treating people.

Her love for beautiful things.

And all the little lessons she had taught us over the years.

None of that had simply disappeared.

It lived on in us.

And one day, sitting together in the shop, we asked ourselves the very question our mother had asked so many times:

“What would Mum have wanted?”

We both knew the answer.

She would not have wanted her story to end with her.

She would have wanted us to find our own way.

To continue Grace Windsor with the same care with which she had built it.

And to never forget why she had created this place in the first place.

So we made a decision.

We would continue Grace Windsor together.

Not because we could replace our mother.

We never could, and we would never want to.

But because we wanted to protect and preserve what she had created.

Today, we stand where our mother once stood.

We introduce new collections.

We choose pieces together.

We sometimes debate which colours or cuts feel most like Grace Windsor.

And surprisingly often, we both say at exactly the same time:

“Mum would have loved this.”

In moments like those, it feels as though a small part of her is still here with us.

Of course, Grace Windsor is changing with us.

It has to.

We are a new generation, and we bring our own ideas with us.

But there is one thing we will never compromise on:

Our mother’s values will always remain at the heart of Grace Windsor.

We want to continue choosing clothing that feels feminine, timeless and comfortable to wear.

Pieces that are not created simply for a short-lived trend.

But clothes that women genuinely enjoy taking out of their wardrobes because they feel like themselves when they wear them.

Even today, with every new collection, we ask ourselves the same question our mother first asked 32 years ago:

“Would we recommend this to a good friend?”

If the answer is not a heartfelt “yes”, it does not earn a place at Grace Windsor.

The rule is still that simple.

And perhaps that is one of the strongest connections we still have to our mother today.

We do not know what Grace Windsor will look like in another 32 years.

But we know what we want to preserve.

The care.

The closeness.

The quality.

The feeling that behind every piece of clothing are real people who have carefully considered whether it truly deserves a place in another woman’s wardrobe.

For us, Grace Windsor is far more than a brand.

It is a part of our mother.

A part of our childhood.

And a story that we, as sisters, are now fortunate enough to continue writing together.

Sometimes, it is still difficult.

There are days when we wish she could simply walk through the door one more time.

Tell us what she thinks of a new collection.

Correct us.

Laugh with us.

Or simply sit beside us with a cup of tea and see what has become of the little business she created all those years ago.

But then we see a customer smiling at herself in the mirror.

We receive a message from someone who has been shopping with Grace Windsor for years.

Or someone tells us that their mother once shopped at our mother’s store.

And in moments like those, we remember exactly why we continue.

Grace Windsor is the story of our mother.

But now, it is our story too.

And for as long as we are fortunate enough to continue that story, we will do everything we can to do so in a way that would make her proud.

With the same attention to detail.

With the same care.

And with the same simple thought that started everything 32 years ago:

To choose clothing for women that we would happily recommend to the people we care about most.

To everyone who accompanied our mother on her journey:

Thank you.

Thank you for every piece you found at Grace Windsor.

Thank you for every conversation.

Every recommendation.

Every customer who returned.

And, above all, thank you for helping something that began 32 years ago as our mother’s dream continue to live on today.

And to everyone who is only just discovering Grace Windsor:

Welcome to our story.

We will do everything we can to continue our mother’s legacy with the same love and care with which she built it.

For our mother, Grace.

For the story she began.

And for all the chapters still waiting to be written. ❤️

With all our love,

Charlotte & Emily
Daughters of Grace
Grace Windsor ❤️