Debbie Ruzzak is half of the husband and wife duo that comprise Seamster Vintage. Together, Debbie and Steven work to make and produce a fabulous upcycled range of clothing.

Interview by Giacinta Frisillo

Hi Debbie! Tell me about what you're wearing today.

Today I am wearing one of my most recent vintage finds. I was so excited by this I had to buy it for myself! It’s a late 60s/early 70s orange Crimplene mini-dress with green and gold embroidered trim round the neckline and cuffs. It’s so fun and colourful and I feel it is definitely an outfit that sums me up perfectly.

Do you have a favourite article of clothing?

This is an impossible question to answer! I have so many pieces that I love. I am a great believer in dressing how you feel. So some days I will have on an elaborate silk dress and go full Stevie Nicks and other days I can feel just as great in a pair of high-waisted 80s ‘mom’ jeans with a Hawaiian shirt. Most of the time it will be colourful!

What accessory could you not live without?

I can mostly be seen cutting about the Southside with one of our big workbags. I designed these to be able to keep up with a busy life. Tote bags are great, but they’re never quite big enough, so like most of the products we make, they have been designed around our life and the things we needed but could never quite find. They are large enough to fit my sketchbooks, folders, lunchbox, headphones and any other random bits and pieces needed for a busy working parent. These have been a great addition to our handmade range as it means we can use the marvellous fabrics that may have been binned or lain unloved due to marks and holes. Using some clever zero waste pattern cutting we can give them a new life and offer a unique product to our customers.

Who's your style icon?

Two very obvious influences on my style have always been David Bowie and Debbie Harry. I have always loved the absolute freedom that Bowie used in his fashion – no rules, just fun and colour and complete refusal to adhere to the norm. He had total fluidity through clothing. I am working my way through making many of his iconic suits. Debbie Harry has been a huge influence on my style too. As a broke musician in New York, she used to scour thrift shops and find incredible outfits from the 40s/50s and teamed them with real mad punk styles so you get this elegant society lady mixed with mad punk. It is definitely a look I would say describes me well.

Are your shop's clothing style and your upcycled designs your personal style?

My style is a true reflection of the shop. We try very hard to offer everyday wearable vintage clothing and try to make it more the norm for people to shop more sustainably. It can be helpful for people to see how we style a lot of the items as often we put things together that folks may not have thought to do. This allows us to run a business in line with more sustainable practices and show that you don’t always have to buy new if you know that the vintage clothing you are purchasing is of a high quality.

Where do you get most of your clothes?

Honestly, the majority of my clothes come from the shop. It can be really difficult to not take all the fun home with us, so we try to regulate what we wear from the shop and leave some of the gems for the customers.

How do you decide what to wear to the shop?

It really depends on what it is that we are working on that day. There are days where we are stock processing so long floaty dresses can get in the way. A solid pair of jeans and some high tops are the best for moving stock, but when it’s the weekend or an event, I like to dress up a little more and show some of the styles we sell.

Check out Seamster Vintage’s fantastic finds in the Cooperage at 674 Pollokshaws Road.