I used to do featured seller Friday all the time, I don't know why I stopped! I think I might start getting back into it, I love sharing my favorite beautiful shops....
On that note, this week I am featuring Valise Vintage, a lovely shop I discovered recently on etsy. Valise's owner, Rose, was super awesome & sent me some fabulous photos & gave me a great little interview...
Tell me about the name of your shop, Valise...
Valise is a French word that means small traveling case. I wanted a name that felt international, and also spoke of another era. Valise makes me think about steamy train platform scenes with women getting hello kisses in perfect dresses. Departing to destinations unknown. Spontaneity. Adventure. What would she pack in her Valise? What secrets might it hold?
Clockwise from top left: Photo by Ed Van Der Elsken, Ricard most refreshing, Jean Seberg inBreathless, Black bow flats from foxandfawns, Serge & Jane, Black velvet dress from Valise, Jean Shrimpton (not actually French but her look is everything I love), Plaid dress from Custard Heart Vintage, Françoise Hardy
How & when did you get into vintage, both personally & selling?
I inherited my love of the hunt from my Mom. Almost every weekend when we were kids, she would pack me and my little brother into the car at the crack of dawn for a day of garage sales. I’ve been thrifting every since, but I got serious about vintage fashion in high school.
Over the years, my personal vintage style has definitely morphed—from a brief (yikes) gothic phase to mod to my current mix of a bit of everything—but I’ve always loved a pretty dress. And always had a hard time leaving a pretty dress behind. My collection of pieces that don’t quite fit has haunted the back of my closet for a while, but I started selling vintage just this year. I was inspired to do so by the lovely ladies of Mighty Swell (http://www.mightyswell.com ), a vintage boutique here in Minneapolis. I’ve been a vendor at their last two sales. It was so fun to watch the things I’d collected find other happy homes, that I decided to join the inspiring Etsy vintage community. So many beautiful things changing hands all the time.
Tell me about your favorite vintage finds... (see photos below)
My favorite vintage find is the one that fits me! A few recent pieces that stopped me in my tracks because of their color/pattern:
1. 70s floral print bag—currently the mascot of Valise.
2. 60s painted velvet cocktail dress—the print is so bizarre and otherworldly.
3. 50s heels—I love the color and glamor of these shoes. Alas, not in my size, so off to the shop they go.
Your shop is really lovely, I love the merchandise photography. What inspires the visual aspect of your shop?
It is important to me that the shop feels like a curated collection. Since the clothes span the decades, I like to unite them visually by offering seasonal color palettes: First Blush for Spring and Thunderstorms & Blooms for Summer (see summer sneak peeks). Because I am a graphic designer by day, I want my shop to have a visual tonality and rhythm. It is like creating a living collage. I am also inspired by my lovely model Kim Bowman. She makes the clothes come to life.
If you could go back in time & live in a different decade, which would you choose?
For fashion and general lifestyle, I would love to have lived in Paris in the 60s. Cafés! Bangs! Minidresses! Jacques Dutronc! Scarves! Two of my personal style icons are Françoise Hardy and Jean Seberg. I wish life was always as beautiful as an Agnès Varda film and as cool as a Godard one. I’ve always had a bit of a love affair with easy breezy Parisian style—and the food!—and the music!—and did I mention the style?!
Anywhere else we can find you? Blog?
Yes! I have a blog (http://valisevintage.tumblr.
*all window photos by Adam Hester ( http://www.adamhester.com)
.............
Thank you so much Rose for all these lovely images & the fabulous interview!
Don't forget to check out the shop here
xo,
Brittany
