I was approaching 50 and I thought ‘If I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it'

Emma Watson made her passion project into a full-time job
-Credit: (Image: Colin Lane)


A mum took a chance on her income after her body started “saying no”. Emma Watson, who lives in Wavertree, had successfully run Pretty Clean, a local cleaning business for just under a decade.

Heading a small team, Emma and her employees completed domestic cleans in the area until the 50-year-old’s auto-immune disease stopped allowing her to do so. Emma, who has Graves' disease - an overactive thyroid - said she needed to find another income as she “didn’t want to rely on others”.

The business owner, who moved to Liverpool from Sheffield to study at Liverpool Hope University, told the ECHO: “Eventually my body just started saying ‘no’ to the physicality of the cleaning job. I knew I needed to find something else. Sometimes for weeks on end, I can’t do anything. My body just gives up. It’s very hard some days and others it's not.”

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Between cleaning jobs, Emma would attend markets with a pop-up stall filled with unique clothing items for women of all sizes. She had inquired with a family friend to rent a space of theirs to store her items when they weren’t being sold.

However, Emma said when she viewed the space, she decided she wanted her hobby to be more than just that. The mum-of-four said: “I was approaching the age of 50 and I thought ‘If I don’t do it now, I’ll never do it’. I wanted to turn a passion project into an income.”

Emma Watson opened Wardrobe Liverpool just a handful of months ago
Emma Watson opened Wardrobe Liverpool just a handful of months ago -Credit:Colin Lane

What came of it was Wardrobe Liverpool, a “dopamine-dressing” safe space. Hiding away in a side street in Wavertree, the store sells everything from neutral dresses to signature bohemian co-ords. With Emma handpicking the singular “eclectic” items, you can be sure others won’t have the same.

All the clothes are made in Italy, but despite this, Emma said they don’t carry the boutique price tag. She added: “When I came to view the place, I only wanted it to store my clothes for my pop-up stores and my rails.

"But when I came, I knew I needed to turn it into a shop. I needed to take the chance. It's been turned into a fun and bright place and that's what I want for my customers.

Wardrobe Liverpool can't be missed with its bright pink door
Wardrobe Liverpool can't be missed with its bright pink door -Credit:Colin Lane

Despite only being opened for a mere few months, Emma said the response has been one that “you’d expect from the people around here”. She added: "It's been open for three months and the reaction has been amazing. Right now, I'm focused on getting the word out there.

"I'm not on a main strip of shops, I'm on a side street and that means I need to shout louder. People often bypass the shop because they don't see it but when they do come, there has been so much positivity. It's what makes the people around here great.

"Everyone is fantastic and we all help each other. If people go into the cafe around the corner, the staff let them know that I am here and send them round and you couldn't ask for more than that really. There are days when it's quiet and you could be sitting for a couple of hours when you don't get anyone coming in. But you get that with any shops and I'm still spreading the word, I'm not letting it get to me."

Wardrobe Liverpool can be found at 5 Mosspits Lane, L15.