An Online Vintage Shop, really? Awesome!

Well, it’s finally here. My online store is open. Shelley’s Vintage Life & Design is real, not just in my head any longer. I am ecstatic and exhausted all at the same time, it’s been a long road getting there and I’m just starting – still lots more to do.

It’s been about 18 months since I first had the thought; “I need to figure out a way to make this my career” while antiquing and scavenging with my sister. It’s been about 10 months since I actually started working on things, researching, etc. The site would have been up in November (my original goal), except that I started doing costumes for the musical at the local high school. Not a regret, it was a great (although very stressful and time-consuming) experience. I love working with teenagers and I love costuming productions, so I actually really enjoyed it. It would have been all positive except for my obsessive and controlling tendencies which definitely came into play and affected the rest of my life. The costumes turned out great though!

What that means in terms of doing this blog is that I really haven’t done much to document my steps – too busy doing costumes (I'm going to add some photos here!). So I’m going to try to remedy that by abbreviating the experience, at least for the past week or so leading up to the opening! I’ll beg your patience here:  I may have to break this up into several posts!

What are the steps that go into opening an online business? Maybe you’ve thought about it, maybe you haven’t (if not, you’re one step up from me in the sanity department, for sure!). Here’s what I’ve done, in a nutshell version. I can’t speak for anyone else, obviously!

Step 1 - Realization. Growing up I designed outfits for Barbie dolls, stuffed animals, plus neighborhood and sibling productions I orchestrated. I have been a jack of all trades for years, but most of it has been related to clothing and/or costumes and theatre in some way. Even when I worked for Engineering Firms (yes, three times – once as a secretary/receptionist – my high school DECCA job - and twice in sales) and other corporate positions where creativity is not valued, I spent ridiculous amounts of time figuring out my work outfits. From my current perspective, I really doubt people happily employed in those professions spend at least three fourths of their spare time arranging their outfits or searching for and redoing thrift store finds. If there are Engineers out there spending three weeks looking for the perfect black belt to match the 1979 Leslie Fay dress you found and revamped - it may be time to change careers!

Honestly, being happy about what I was wearing and planning future outfits got me through the day in environments and meetings that bored me to tears. I realized early on that I really, really hated sitting behind a desk. I did it to pay for college and never would have done it again after the first Engineering Sales job after, had financial necessity not reared its’ ugly head! I’m not a big fan of people telling me what to do either. The whole Corporate Environment doesn’t really do much for me. 

The big bonus that came out of those experiences?  I met my husband. We are so different and while at times we occupy different universes (God bless him, he still doesn’t understand why he can’t wear a blue and red tie with khaki green trousers and a pink dress shirt – not in a good way, trust me -  or why he shouldn’t wear white, high calf athletic socks with sandals, yes, he's one of those – it’s a battle every summer.), I could never have done what I’ve done without him, so all those tortuous years of being a Corporate Drone (well, trying to be at least - although I must say, a very well dressed one!) were totally worth it!

I have also worked as a professional actor at different times but every time, either unofficially or officially I ended up helping, or sometimes taking over, with costumes.  I have costumed and assisted at shows both professional and amateur and I have worked in retail off and on since high school. I adore fashion and I always have. In addition to being genetic, it probably has roots in both of my Grandmothers. My Paternal Grandmother didn’t sew, but had some pretty amazing wardrobe pieces that I loved when I was a child. She also used to take me shopping and talk about fashions and clothes the whole time until I was twelve and she became unable to make the trip on her own. After that when I visited I would watch soap operas (especially Days of Our Lives) with her, during which she critiqued wardrobes the entire time. My Maternal Grandmother, in addition to having a fantastic and original sense of style, is an incredible seamstress and artist. In her heyday, she could make anything from anything and I learned a lot from her without even meaning to.

When I first started earning money as a teenager, I spent it on Vogue and Bazaar magazines. I thought Seventeen and Young Miss were boring, exactly what everyone at school was wearing. A great aunt (actually she might have been my Dad’s cousin, not really sure!) I visited at 16 had a treasure trove of Vogue back issues dating from the 1950’s – I still dream about them and wish I’d hidden them in my suitcase when I left! Not to mention the shoes in her closets, oh dear God, I have to stop. Everything else that happened of import in my life was based on or at least referenced by clothes. Even boys I was desperately in love with are defined by outfits I was wearing at various times in the relationship. 

It’s obviously related, but I  love costumes and history. Really it’s a no brainer that I should be doing something with Vintage and fashion if I’d been a little quicker on the uptake! Somehow I had a rule in my head that you really couldn’t do something you loved that much as a career. Not quite sure where that came from, but it was there. I can’t blame it on my parents as I am pretty sure both of them would have been happy for me to pursue something I loved, that was never an issue. The strange things we do and the weird reasons why, who knows (did I mention that I’m also fascinated by psychology?!)? 

This is where I’m going to break for now – this post is getting way too long and I want it to be readable! The story does have a happy - or at least current ending - though – I promise!

So, please stay tuned – come back for the next installment of my journey towards opening an online vintage store!  

Thanks for visiting and reading my blog! Happy Vintage and Life and Love to all!

Shelley