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Retro Paisley Button Up + Shopping Second Hand Fashion

The 70s are alive and well in more ways than one. Ever since last summer I’ve been getting deep into house music with a retro disco twist. Denis Sulta, the Scottish DJ I saw at Bass Coast last year sealed my fandom with his song L&S (You Mean Everything) that has all the best qualities of two genres of music I didn’t realize could be combined so perfectly.

This has also led me to listening to so much actual funk music from the era that I hadn’t really bothered to explore before and it’s SO great. It’s the best type of music for a mood lifter.

Apart from the music, 70s style appears to be back in fashion, lucky for me, as I purchased this delightfully retro polyester top while wandering the Brick Lane Vintage Market in London.

I was so excited to visit a legitimate vintage shopping spot because true vintage seems hard to find around here in Seattle. It might be different in other cities but the vintage I do seem to find is all designer and expensive.

I was so smitten with all the individual stalls absolutely teeming with polyester and amazingly bright patterns in London that I couldn’t resist picking up a few things. I had found what felt like 80s pattern button up shirts and then I found this loud orange top.

Shop: Pink SOJOS Sunglasses

Shop Paisley Shirts

Shopping Pre-Owned Fashion

As this year started, I was on a no shopping ban for personal reasons when I started looking at websites like The Real Real and scouring vintage shops on Instagram. I realized I can find unique fashion that fits my style for a fraction of the cost and sometimes even though an item was owned previously it can look brand new without any wear. I’ve already scored some cute summer wear from Marc Jacobs and Elizabeth & James for $35. And it is better quality than anything you’ll buy from Forever21 (which will eventually get thrown out, you know it will).

I did a quick closet clean out recently and a lot of the things I got rid of either didn’t fit or just looked cheap and I’d only worn it once or twice and surprise, though not really, they were things from Forever21 which tends to feel the cheapest to me out of all the fast fashion retailers.

You’ll have to pry my Topshop clothing from my cold, dead hands still. I’m not perfect, but as I start to limit what retailers I’m buying new from, Forever21 is easily the first to get crossed off my list and my Topshop clothing I honestly wear so much (and it doesn’t fall apart) it’s hard for me to say I’ll give that up yet (also most of the tops I linked above are Topshop).

But I will continue to shop second-hand or purchase from individual brands and work on how I shop for items in my closet. Instead of buying a bunch of new festival gear from an online shop, I chose to support an independent designer I follow on Instagram and bought one of her pieces. I’m a work in progress.

The thing I love about shopping vintage and second hand fashion is that others are less likely to have the same piece of clothing you do. So your individual style will start to shine when you shop anything pre-owned and that’s what I’m aiming for this year as a blogger: to find what my individual style is and focus on that.

xx
Steph

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