By David Duffy Fashion shop owner Carol Grant has returned to Oxford - in the same shop from which she launched her first business 22 years ago.

Her first venture, Designing Woman, opened on two floors at 31 Walton Street, in 1979. Now she is back in business in the same store under her own name.

She said: "It is wonderful to be back in Oxford. I have a special feeling for the city and felt there was a gap in the market that I could fill. Young girls have any number of fashion shops in Oxford, but I cater for women in their twenties upwards who want wearable fashionable clothes."

Ms Grant ran her first shop in Oxford until 1990 when she relocated to Shrewsbury. There she started to design her clothes, landing contracts with stores in New York and Italy and across the UK.

After a couple of years in clothes wholesaling, she decided to move back into retail and opened a shop on five levels in The Square, Shrewsbury, which she continues to operate. She added: "I have many friends in Oxford and when I heard that the lady who had my original shop wanted to retire, we sorted out an amicable agreement.

"I have superb staff in Oxford who run the shop just as I want and that makes running the two so much easier."

She added: "I get a real buzz from seeing a woman come into the shop and go out with clothes that make her feel like a million dollars. You can't beat that."