In conversation with Medley Vintage
This is the very first post, in a series I’m starting, where I will be chatting with some amazing people behind some of my favourite vintage & small brands.
I first became acquainted with Emily from Medley Vintage in late 2020 when I first traded with A Virtual Vintage Market, which Emily is a co-founder of. The market is an online vintage clothing community, with two virtual markets held on Instagram each month, filled with amazing vintage traders and small fashion brands.
I adore Emily’s brand, Medley Vintage because it’s full of a really varied, curated mixture of vintage pieces, as well as Emily’s reworked ruffles made from vintage fabrics.
So I was very pleased to get the chance to have a chat with Emily, to find out more about all things vintage.
Tell us all about Medley Vintage, how it began, it’s journey etc…
“I’ve always loved vintage and some of my first and favourite pieces were handed down by my mum - she lived in London and wore so much vintage herself. I started selling vintage as I was hoarding so much but loved collecting. Medley was launched in 2018 and has been trading online ever since. The focus is mostly highly curated vintage but I also repurpose vintage fabrics into own designs which I sell in very limited collections.”
Your collections/items are very distinctive and just very ‘you’ where would you say your unique style comes from?
“I honestly just pick, sell and wear things I love! I’ve always gravitated towards colour, prints and interesting details and I have no fear of just throwing everything on - I don’t do rules! I would say I fundamentally like timeless silhouettes and shapes so while my pieces are all bright and statement-making, each piece is in some way classic, easy to style and really wearable. All of my Medley girls have such unique styles, find joy in their clothing and have so much fun wearing their pieces - for me that’s what vintage is all about!”
Something else I really love that you’ve started doing is reworking your own ruffles, what inspired this?
“I’m so thrilled you love them! The Ruffle, like all detachable collars, is such an easy way to add something to an outfit and you don’t have to commit to a whole blouse or dress. I had an original pewter glittery lurex one from years ago I wore so much and decided to make a few in vintage floral cottons. The first one was the Scalloped Ruffle which became a signature design for Medley and is so exquisite in Liberty Tana Lawn florals. I’ve had a slight hiatus but Own Label will be back!”
I’d love to know what your favourite piece of vintage you’ve ever discovered or sold?
“My favourite vintage piece has to be my Ossie Clark & Celia Birtwell ‘African Violets’ dress which is mine forever! In terms of sold - such a difficult question! I would say my biggest regret was selling a rare Mollie Parnis floor length gown - I sourced another but the condition just is nothing on my first one.”
Who would you say is your biggest style/fashion inspiration?
“I’m really inspired by the creativity and style of my peers - I’ve definitely been ‘influenced’ into sourcing similar pieces I’ve seen on someone or styling things in new ways. I spend a lot of time scrolling through archive fashion magazine images from the 1960s & 70s on Pinterest for inspo too. Some of my style crushes include Marisa Berenson, Kate Moss and Jeanette Madsen.”
So what does vintage fashion, dressing in vintage mean to you?
“Wearing vintage means having fun, individuality and being yourself!”
It was great chatting more to Emily and I hope you enjoyed this style of blog post! I will be interviewing another one of my favourite brands next month.
Be sure to check out Medley Vintage and A Virtual Vintage Market.
Daisy x
(photos from Medley Vintage)