What's up, Kings and Queens?! I hope you all are well. Did you miss me at all? I definitely missed yall. I took a little time off to take care of myself. I realized running a business takes a lot of hard work, time, and energy. I was running myself raggedy y'all, so I took a little break. With that, I hope you all are taking care of yourselves as well. Remember, the job will be there, the relationship will be there, the business will be there. Take a break! And if those things aren’t there when you return from your break, maybe they weren’t meant to be in your life. But please believe, God has other plans for you. Now, let's get into this week "Story Behind the Look"! Join me in reading more about Mrs. Erica Dee! She is a stylist, thrifter and content creator with an inspiring story! Enjoy this read!
My name is Erica Dee, owner of ThriftGift and creator of Twenty Dolla Holla and That's My Sis! ThriftGift is here to show you that there are many possibilities in the world of second-hand fashion. We like to keep it fashionable, sustainable, and affordable.
Tell us more about your thrifting journey...
To give you some background on my thrifting journey, we have to take it all the way back. While I haven't been thrifting all my life, my love for the creativity behind fashion stems from my younger years. During my elementary/middle school years, I attended a private school and we wore the same uniforms day in and day out. When I transitioned to high school, that is the moment that I realized that there are fashion choices outside of uniforms. Every day was a fashion show in the halls of Henrico High School. While I wasn't rocking a ton of name brands (very much Kohl's, Sears, JC Penneys) and hadn't quite established a style, you could say that my love of fashion was born. Fast forward to college, with my newfound independence came a new style. My friends were always asking me what I had in my closet to borrow. Hit fast forward again to 2019 and I found Iesha @thriftntell and Brandy @damnthatscoacoa. I loved how they found second-hand items and turned them into unique, fashionable looks. So I thought I would give it a go and here we are.
What's the story behind your look?
I was looking up trends for spring/summer 2021 and found that bright colors were in. I took to Poshmark and found the red and purple color block top. I absolutely loved it but had no idea how I was going to style it because it was too short to be just a dress. So I put the top on ice for a couple of weeks and I bought a two-piece set from a fellow reseller @rekreatedthreads and I loooooved the movement of the bottom of the skirt. One day I was just playing around in my closet and I saw the skirt, I saw the top, and wondered "What would happen if I put them together?" and I did just that. Added a belt to give it some shape and once it was together, that was it for me. It's a very fun and flirty look. And my favorite part is the movement the skirt gives at the bottom.
What's a piece of advice you would give to others based on your experience/story?
I have two pieces of advice. The first piece of advice is: Be genuine and be you
The people will come, the sales will come. Just make sure that you stay true to yourself, but that you're also being relatable. You would be surprised how many people are drawn to you simply because they relate to you and your experiences. The second piece of advice, find your tribe. Find people who are going to support and encourage you in your journey. These are the people to hold on to and keep close because they don't come often. I'm so thankful for finding women in the thrifting community like Erica of SBL and others who have been so supportive. It means so so so much to me that while I'm building up ThriftGift, I have people (some whom I've never seen face to face) in my corner. They want to see me win and I want to see them win. It's all about collaboration over competition at the end of the day and we all are going to have a seat at the table.
There you have it folks, the story behinds Erica's look! Take a second to look at this beautiful outfit!! Can you believe it's two separate pieces? I thought it was a dress! Can you also believe she found both pieces at different times?! Like how cool is that?! It was destined for her to have this look! When I first saw her post, I immediately fell in love with the bright colors. I hope you all enjoyed Erica's story. Thank you E for sharing your story with us and for the amazing advice! I hope you all appreciate this look as much as I did. Make sure you keep in mind the advice she gave us, "stay true to yourself"!
-Vintage Black Girl
