Featured shop: Dear Golden Vintage Luxuries & Essentials

Thank you very much Lauren for taking the time to answer a few
questions about your etsy business: Dear Golden - Vintage Luxuries &
Essentials. http://DearGoldenVintage.etsy.com

Q. How did you hear about Etsy?
A. For the life of me I cannot remember, it was a very long time ago. For well over a year I shopped very casually on Etsy, for handmade items and fabric. It took me an absurdly long time to realize there were vintage items on Etsy.

Q. What made you decide to sell on Etsy?
A. I have always collected vintage clothing and pretty much all things vintage, whatever did not fit or I did not want anymore I passed on to friends. My husband was the one who saw me looking at vintage on Etsy and made an off-hand remark about how I could “totally do that” (meaning, have a shop), and it was as if I never considered it before then. Two days later, I had a shop stocked from items right out of my closet!

Q. Why Vintage?
A. I have worn vintage clothing since I was a child. We were poor, mom was a waitress, blah blah blah, so the Goodwill was pretty much my first shopping experience. Also my mother is into antique and vintage so it was always part of my life. Vintage stuff is my absolute love because it’s got history, so much character and it’s more original. I love standing out in a crowd, I love that I have to use my creativity to see potential in garments at the thrift stores and to create outfits. It’s like art to me. I find retail stores very boring.

Q. Do you follow the latest trends in fashion?
A. Certainly! But I almost always wear what I am inspired to wear whether or not it’s a trend. I am usually sporting some “trend” that has not yet taken hold and even my friends have to crinkle their nose and wonder what I am up to. For instance, last summer was my summer of short, 90s floral dresses and it totally perplexed some of my friends, and now look – they’re completely in fashion for this spring!

Q. Do you see the connection between then and now in terms of fashion?
A. I am not sure what is meant by “then”, but I see connections all the time, fashion is so cyclical and what I love about fashion now is that you can pull from so many decades and be fashionable, the field is wide open, you can dress pretty much any decade and look really cool!

Q.What is your best advice for new etsy sellers?
A. Hmmm, I am fairly new as a seller so I am no expert, but a few things I find crucial are posting new items regularly, keep your store fresh. Take great photos that are very clear, don’t make people guess what you are selling, crisp & clear photos are key. And also, have fun, meet other sellers and just enjoy it. I work as hard on my shop as I do at my day job, but I love every minute of the Etsy work because I am really passionate about fashion and vintage fashion specifically!

Thank you very much, Lauren.