OUR STORY
THIS IS FOR YOU:
Rêveur Vintage is a seasonal curation of vintage clothing & accessories, thoughtfully sourced and rooted in the desire to provide women with careful, quality wardrobes that will last them. We believe vintage clothing tells a story, has timeless application & holds endless possibility.
The above quote is a reminder I wrote for myself, to reacquaint myself with the fact that I am an active participant in my own story, not a passive character, or a silhouette. I hope it can serve as a reminder for you too, on the mundane days that leave you feeling like a shadow.
You are not an extra on the set of a Sophia Coppola film, flat and bathed in dull pastel. No matter how many books you read, you can’t jump into the world between the pages. You have personality, uniqueness, and significance in your own world. There is beauty in the narrative you are living, however routine it may be. We all are living one.
Style is a way we speak back gracefully to a world that won’t stop yelling at us about what we are supposed to do and who we are supposed to be. It’s one of humanity’s most creative and intimate methods of self-expression, and so many amazing pieces from the past have been lost in obscurity, buried beneath the mountains of cheap, modern fashion in the spotlight.
The vintage clothing you see here holds the stories of women-past, women-present, and women-future. Wearing stories from the past inspires us to believe in our own; to believe in the sturdiness, the longevity of women, both forgiving and relentless, like their clothes.
We hope that you infuse these timeless, carefully selected pieces with your own stories and your own special elegance.
MY OWN NARRATIVE
My life has been deeply influenced by a love for bygone eras. Raised by parents who immersed me in antiques (and literature) from an early age, I started my “vintage” journey just scouring antique stores with my mother in my otherwise boring, tiny hometown looking for old books, cameras and music boxes. (An old music box was one of my first gifts from my father as a toddler, and I’ve been hooked on old things ever since). I perused shelf after dusty shelf for beautiful items, drawn especially to ornate items with quality craftsmanship. I was fascinated with the way something old and well-made could last and last. I also discovered a respect, almost a reverence, for European aesthetics as a teenager, and particularly the French way of life. (My proximity to Cajun Louisiana and a mother with Cajun French roots might have contributed to this).
I found a love of accessories in my mother's classic gold jewelry that she kept tucked away under lock-and-key in a mysterious looking, velvet-lined jewelry box. Inspiration was also abundant in my grandmother’s Victorian-era-inspired home. Her house was cluttered, but all around it you could find delicate rose-patterned teacups, gold-dipped roses, elaborate milk-glass oil lamps, and other elegant items from another place in time. Visiting her home felt like finding treasure.
As a teenager I was attracted to clothing and accessories that reflected my obsession with the Old World and the past. Actual vintage clothing was scarce in my area at the time, so I searched for classic, vintage styles whenever I could. (Cue layers of cheap lace and Forever 21 Victorian-revival pieces). But at the same time, I was drawn to dark colors and a somewhat “unconventional” image. I found some affinity with goth style, with it’s Victorian-rooted aesthetic, but found I could never adhere to it exactly. So I did my own thing. My sartorial taste has matured over time, and I’ve become rather set in what I like, though the constant has always been my appreciation for mixing classic and alternative pieces. I believe deeply in the potential of vintage items to build sustainable, beautiful wardrobes for modern women to live their lives in and hope that every woman who shops with us will learn the intrinsic value that these beautiful, quality vintage pieces have to offer.