DURING the past four decades, it has weathered multiple recessions and seen a string of fashion trends from mini skirts to power suits.

But now the AnnaBelinda dress shop in Gloucester Green, Oxford, is set to close.

Set up by Belinda O’Hanlon in 1970, the well-known independent store has provided women’s bespoke and vintage fashion for 41 years.

Mrs O’Hanlon retires on May 28, aged 66, and will hand the keys of her rented premises back to the city council.

Mrs O’Hanlon, of Church Hanborough, said: “I have mixed feelings about retiring.

“The shop requires 24/7 input. It’s difficult to find people willing to take on that commitment.”

The three-story building not only houses Mrs O’Hanlon’s collection but is also where the dresses are designed and handmade. The walls are covered with examples of her designs from fashion shoots taken over the years.

Colleague Charlotte Evans said “Since announcing the closure, our phones haven’t stopped ringing with customers requesting orders.”

The AnnaBelinda range seeks to offer a “feminine romantic” look which has proved very popular with customers across the world.

Mrs O’Hanlon set up the company with her business partner, Anita Woodhead.

At the time, the new business was featured in the Oxford Mail, when Mrs O’Hanlon said she wanted to establish “a pleasant place where people feel they can just look”.

Mrs O’Hanlon grew up in Kent and studied geography at St Anne’s College in Oxford.

After making clothes for friends and tutors she took up freelance dressmaking when she graduated after being taught by her mother.

AnnaBelinda began life in 1970, in Park End Street before moving to Gloucester Green.

Shortly after, Ms Woodhead left the business to move to Italy with her partner.

AnnaBelinda employs about 11 people and has stuck to its distinctive style, ranging from tea-dresses to flamboyant ballgowns and wedding dresses amid the emergence of mini-skirts and power suits.

In spring of 1975, London department store Liberty invited AnnaBelinda to design a dress for their centenary.

The mum of Puffin, 26, and son Galen, 23, also designed for Danny LaRue, Judi Dench and Prunella Scales.

She added “The most rewarding part of the business has been giving women the confidence to wear our designs.”