Mackay designer lives a vintage way of life

Everything about Anna Dutton screams the 1950s, and this weekend she will be judging a vintage fashion parade at Greenmount Homestead Heritage Fair.

But Anna does not just enjoy dressing in retro clothing - she also loves to create it.

From the age of four her mother taught her how to sew, and from there she has stitched herself a new career.

She left her legal job more than three years ago to throw herself into creating a vintage collection.

Dedicating ones life to an era

No matter what the occasion, Anna says you will always find her dressed from head-to-toe in 1950s clothing.

"It is a way of life for me," she said.

"Every morning I get up, I iron my frock, style my hair, do my makeup, throw on some red lippy and we are ready to go.

"It is just a presentation thing for me and it doesn't matter where I am going or what I am doing."

Anna is a big car fanatic and admits that sometimes people laugh and refuse to believe her when she tells them she fixes her car wearing a frock.

"Even on the weekends I go four-wheel driving with my husband, I am in a frock," she said.

"I walk through the bush in a frock, I don't change who I am, everything is done in a dress and I prove that," she laughed.

She adds that it helps having a husband who is very supportive of her career and vintage lifestyle.

Such bright clothing definitely attracts attention, and Anna says she gets stopped regularly by people commenting on her colourful vintage outfits, or asking for a photo.

"It makes me quite happy when the older people come along and say things like 'you look like girls I used to take to a dance back in my day' or 'I used to wear dresses like that back in my day'," she said smiling.

"It is not a huge amount of effort to dress up like this, it is just very different."Read more here:formal dresses canberra | plus size formal dresses