Girlie goodies

IF you are the sort of woman who likes to hang pretty handbags on her wardrobe door, slip her tootsies into embroidered silk slippers and drape fairy lights around her house all year round, safe to say you're still a girl at heart. And if your heart melts at the sight of a dinky clutch-bag (the smaller the better) a cutesy purse (ditto) or anything with a pastel floral print then Elise Compson's shop in Tadcaster should come with a health warning: shopping here may make your ticker skip a beat.

The boutique, By Elise, in Kirkgate, is a paean to all things pretty: from Elise's striking hand-made jewellery to her colourful and eye-catching accessories and clothes - all displayed against a backdrop of antique French furniture - the emphasis is firmly on good giggly, girlie fun.

"It's a girl's boudoir," says Elise, defining the store which she opened almost a year ago. "Once, I had a customer who stayed and looked around for four hours."

And it's easy to see why. The shop is a delicious confection of the chic and quirky. In one cabinet, you'll find cotton sleepwear with images from the kama sutra printed all over it next to vintage-style purses and handbags from designer Cath Kidston.

Under a table brimming with Elise's own chunky, funky necklaces and bracelets, there is an array of bags - some barely big enough just to hold those feminine essentials: mobile phone, credit card and car keys; as well as Italian leather holdalls which unzip to reveal themselves as cat and dog carriers.

"For the pampered pet," says Elise. What else?

To make it into the shop, all goods must pass the Elise Compson test.

"I can only sell what I actually like myself," she says. So her merchandise has to be feminine, but also a bit unusual. "It has to be classic, with a twist. My aim is uniqueness."

To this end, Elise endeavours to have something different on her shelves.

"I'm really fussy," she says. "When I'm buying for the shop I always find out who else they are selling to and where. I love shopping and I know people don't want to go from one shop to another and see the same thing."

As a self-confessed shopaholic, running her own shop is a dream come true - and one that became possible after Elise and her husband Peter moved north for his job, a director with First Direct bank in Leeds.

The couple live at Ledsham, a ten-minute drive down the A1 from Tadcaster. In the past, Elise has worked as a PA at ABC news in London and as a secretary at a boys prep school in Suffolk, but her passion had been for making jewellery.

Her mother runs a clothes shop and her sister a jewellery store, so it seemed only natural to want to have her own shop.

She chose Tadcaster because of its central location between the shopping centres of York, Harrogate and Boston Spa and because it was great for parking. Indeed, By Elise is a stone's throw from a large, free car park in the town centre, and is next door to an independent fashion store run by Elise's friend Helen Dennis.

Many of the goods in By Elise are rarely available outside London, while lots of the bags and accessories come from Italy.

Elise's jewellery is distinguished by large stones such as rose crystal, turquoise and coral, strung together to make chunky chokers and necklaces - often with quirky bits and bobs attached. Some pieces have silver love hearts, or fishy shapes or even large chunks of shell. The work has an exotic feel, reflecting her upbringing in the Caribbean.

The aim of the shop is to offer a selection of fun, yet functional, goods which will help a girl make a statement.

Elise says: "I'm not an exhibitionist, but I don't like to blend in. I like to be different. I don't want to wear something that everyone else has."

And being different doesn't have to break the bank. Elise's jewellery starts at £12 for a bracelet, with slipper shoes at £24 and basket bags from £22. Leather bags are from £50-300. For the fashion junkies, she also stocks Allegra Hicks kaftans, hard to find outside of London, for £190.

Elise's own wardrobe is a mix of designer and high street.

"The best outfit I bought this summer was a Fifties-style skirt and top from New Look for £28," says Elise. And she says the hessian-style top she is wearing today was £5.99 from H&M. Teamed with white linen trousers and a chunky clear crystal choker, it makes her look a million dollars.

Accessories, says Elise, are what make an outfit.

"Just look at the Italians or the French. They can wear a T-shirt with jeans and then a great piece of jewellery or carry a fantastic handbag and they look just wonderful."

And that's why Elise Compson has brought a piece of continental chic to this corner of North Yorkshire.

By Elise, 15 Kirkgate, Tadcaster. Tel: 01937 835847 or visit www.byelise.com

Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday from 10am-5pm, Saturday 10am-4pm. Closed Mondays and until July 31 because of holidays.

Updated: 09:30 Tuesday, July 15, 2003