VintageLand. Episode One - The Untold Stories. #StyledByMarina

My love for vintage things goes beyond just clothes and shoes. "Vintage" is a way of living, a unique lifestyle. One can simply appreciate the fashion term "vintage", "old-school" or "retro", but really the term goes further than just material things, clothing style, and taste.

Thrift shopping is a treat for us vintage lovers. The experience is almost like when you were a child and used to play treasure hunt in the field. You never knew what surprises you were going to find. It is the same while in a thrift shop. Whether it be an old suede jacket with fringe on its sleeve, a torn mom jeans, a cozy wool sweater or a one-of-a-kind, beautifully patterned blouse. What kind of stories hid behind these used clothes? Who were the previous owners of these clothing? When you purchase a vintage garment, It is almost as if you are making connections with the previous owner. You are retrieving a piece of lost and forgotten memories. You cross path with someone you have never met before. It's a weird and magical feeling.

I believe there is an endless amount of incredible, untold stories behind every piece of vintage clothing. Maybe that pair of distressed old Levi's belongs to some hippie chick back in the 70's. A varsity jacket that was worn by some quarterback on a high school football team whom everyone worshiped. An elegant, long silver sequenced dress that your mom was pictured in on her senior prom night, and she was crowned prom queen. Or an expensive pair of Louboutins that used to belong to a socialite in the 80s living on the Upper East Side. These are the personal stories created by the people wearing the very clothes before they end up in a thrift store or a vintage shop.

Every piece of clothing has a story, an untold pass, a history. Just like every single one of us. We all have a secret no one knows about, a side that people rarely see, maybe a pass we so desperately try to hide. And with current fast fashion comes and goes, mass clothing production and replication slowly massacring our personal style and individuality. Vintage clothing bears a much interesting and unique style statement.

Do keep in mind vintage is much more than just a style choice. It is a lifestyle. Owning a piece of vintage clothing is like inheriting a family heirloom, you are accessing a piece of memory, uncovering an interesting pass, reading an untold story. The plot twist is, now it's your time to be the storyteller. What is your story? Well, That is your turn to create. The next chapter of this everlasting adventure is for you to write.

With love, Marina. xx