I have worked in the fashion industry for 13 years. In the fall of 2009 I decided to go out on my own and open my store, Mafalda in January 2010.

My love of vintage started when I was a teenager. There was a local St. Jude Thrift Shop close to my home and one day after encouragement from my mother I decided to have a look. I fell in love with a 50’s dress in the loudest print I had ever seen. I wore it constantly throughout my freshman year of high school with MC boots and a motorcycle jacket my Mom had taken me to buy on St. Marks Place. The MC boots were replaced by Dr. Martens the next year and the 50’s dress found a few more friends from more digging in St. Jude.

One day while wearing said dress, one of the cool older girls came up to me and said, I like your dress; is it Betsey Johnson? I shrugged her off, not out of rudeness but because I had no idea who Betsey Johnson was! Later that night, I asked my sister, who had been reading Sassy for a couple of years by that point, who she was. And just like that, I understood the power of vintage clothing.

When most people hear the word vintage, they think old. With Mafalda, I display vintage pieces that fit with whatever the current mood of fashion may be. I want the woman who shops Mafalda to find pieces she can mix with new purchases and not have any part of her outfit scream ‘old’. Fashion is cyclical and in most cases, you can find whatever the shape of the moment is through vintage pieces for a fraction of the cost. Come in and see for yourself!

Christina

January 19, 2010, 3:12pm