Last month, we got the chance to go down to the Canoe press day and check out some of the fab new items for the new season, which this time, came from some great new brands. One of the brands which impressed us the most and really stuck in our heads was Rock My Vintage, a new brand which sells both vintage and vintage inspired clothes and accessories and is set to launch this month. We got an exclusive interview with the founder; check it out!
Fashion Compendium: Rock my vintage is launching next month isn't it? When is the official date people can start purchasing?
Beth: Yes, that's right and we are ridiculously excited (and quite tired). Our official go-live date is the 14th May when the site will be fully up and running and ready to sell!
I got a lovely preview of the collection, but when will images be available for the rest of the public to see?
Thanks, we think the collection is pretty great too! On the 14th May, customers will be able to view the full range of original and inspired vintage dresses and accessories with full imagery. We will also be highlighting specific themes each month to showcase some of the more on trend looks and products. So, to kick off, in May we have a focus on seventies style, (which we all know is taking the nation by storm) and bold bright colours to help with blocking and popping your way through this season.
So how do you go about picking items? Have you spent a large amount of money at auctions to buy the clothes in? Can you talk us through the process?
Picking is the best part! As the site stocks both original vintage and vintage inspired dresses and accessories, the process for selecting products is very different for each. For the original vintage products we spend time scouting fairs and auctions finding and bidding for cool pieces. The auctions are a bit crazy and you have to be fast if you want to get your lot. It is exciting but you can get carried away so you have to keep your cool and know when you have lost. I learnt from a very early stage that I shouldn't be left alone with a paddle for any length of time! We spend a lot of time sifting though piles of clothes (which I think is the best part of the job) to make sure we get the right dresses and accessories.
For the contemporary products, things are slightly less stressful but no less important. We want to make sure that we have a great selection of inspired dresses and accessories that represent all that is fabulous about vintage with a modern twist. To source these we spend time researching up and coming designers and going to fashion exhibitions like PURE and LFW. We either go direct to designers or their agents to view the most up to date collections and choose those products we feel fit with the concept. We then order those products in a variety of sizes and wait for the delivery!
We think this mix of products gives the customer the unique shopping experience where everything on the site is about vintage design and style but there is a real choice and a real chance to get a product that works with their style and that actually fits them!
Wow that sounds like a long but definitely rewarding process! What do you look for in a vintage item then? You obviously must go through a lot on a daily basis but what are the key components you search for that make you think, "wow we definitely need this"?
That is a tough one but I think the key things we are always thinking about are; that is needs to represent an era well, it needs to be of high quality and it needs to stand out. That doesn't always mean it needs to be kooky or unusual but that it makes you look twice and think it will look great on someone. With the original vintage items, you have less choice but you need to ensure that the items are right and in good condition which may mean not getting something even though you love it!
With the contemporary products, we want to be on trend and current so we can attract the modern fashion follower. However we also need to ensure that the products are still true to vintage in some way. That may be in the cut or style of the dress but it may also be the print of the fabric used on a scarf or the use of a particular shape in a piece of jewellery. I think that is the most important thing for us to keep in mind and it really encapsulates the concept of Rock My Vintage - we are all about vintage design but that doesn't mean we are just about selling old clothes.
Of course not. Obviously as it's vintage, anything goes, but what are the average price ranges?
We have tried to make the price range accessible for everyone but to also include some really special pieces or lines to drool over too. The vintage dress prices range from about £60 -£ 450 with an average of somewhere around £90. For the alternative contemporary range, the dresses range from £30-£200 with an average price of around £70 which we think is a great price for an individual party or day time dress. We also stock jewellery, handbags and other accessories both original vintage and inspired which range from £9 - £300. We really think there is a range of products for everyone which is really important to us. We want the pieces to be look fabulous and inspirational but not to exclude.
That's one of the great things about it. There's nothing worse than being really into vintage fashion and never being able to get your hands on any of it. What inspired you to go down this career path? What were you in before you started all this?
We were inspired to set up RMV partly through my own experience of vintage shopping and partly through a belief that a niche exists in the market for an online retailer like RMV. I love nothing more than rooting through a stall at a vintage fair but did get fed up when I couldn't find something in my size or when people tried to sell jumble that smelt of mould! That's when we thought that it would be great to have a selection of really good vintage pieces but to sell those along side a contemporary range that still looks and feels vintage. That way the customer can choose to own a one off vintage piece or can be inspired by that piece and instead pick a modern on trend alternative that still captures the vintage vibe. The business is unique in that way - the age or provenience of the product does not matter, it is all about vintage design and style.
In a previous life I was an employment lawyer working for international organisations, which was very different although in many ways has given me a great skill set to set up a business! It was a good career, I loved the people I worked with and the fact that it offered me security and a guaranteed salary but it wasn't inspiring and it didn't leave me feeling satisfied at the end of the working day. So, to much shock and horror, I decided to leave the law and act on my own inspiration to start RMV. It has been extremely challenging and hard work. We are really excited about what the future might hold for RMV and have some long term plans for development and growth. Right now though, I am focusing on getting the collection out there for people to see, letting people know about the concept and hopefully get people talking about RMV.
Trust us when we say the collection is not to be missed - check out rockmyvintage.co.uk on 14 May when some images of the beautiful items can be viewed for the first time. Put it in your diaries!
