Hi! My name is Laura, and I am the founder of Desert Belle Vintage. A life-long fashion maven and devotee of dressing up, my love affair with vintage clothing began in the 1990s while searching for a mod dress for a 1960’s themed party. Instead of a groovy psychedelic dress, I found a gorgeous 1950’s floral sundress that fit like a glove. I truly believe fate led me to that special dress because my admiration for vintage clothing was born that day! For over 25 years now I have been enthralled with vintage, and I endorsed chic secondhand clothing choices long before the sustainable fashion movement became mainstream.
I founded Desert Belle Vintage in 2018 out of a desire to share my love of fashion and vintage with others and to inspire fashion lovers of all ages to be your own influencer, embrace your own singular look and live and dress boldly with vintage. The majority of my personal closet includes vintage clothing and accessories. I love my style “with a twist” in that I aim to mix first-rate contemporary, modern fashion with vintage in a way that is fresh yet timeless. The Desert Belle Vintage Blog is a celebration of my personal style and showcases outfit inspirations, collaborations, noteworthy designers (both vintage and non) and ideas for mixing vintage with new. My personal style mantra: Add at least one piece of vintage to every outfit!
While I source, collect and preserve top-quality vintage clothing and accessories from all decades, I have a particular fondness for 1950’s dresses due to their whimsical and feminine prints, flattering silhouettes and impeccable quality and construction. Whether it be a 1950’s or 1990’s dress, I meticulously care for each and every one of my vintage garments and ardently work to preserve my rare fashion treasures so future generations can appreciate and enjoy the styles of our past. I have spent countless hours on education devoted to fashion history, differences in fabrics and their required care, fashion designers, garment construction and the differences in vintage ready-to-wear, demi-couture and couture clothing. Every day to me is a new vintage adventure, and I love continually learning about vintage and finding those rare, elusive pieces to share.
Varying arguments are made by vintage aficionados and collectors as to how old something has to be to be considered vintage. The general consensus is that something has to be at least 20 years old to be considered vintage. Throughout my fashion-loving life and hours of education on clothing, I have found that every historical decade from the 1800s to the 1990s and into the 21st Century has offered fashionistas gorgeous, well-made and timeless pieces. For modern 21st Century goods that I believe are constructed just as well as their vintage counterparts, I write a blog series called “The Future Vintage.” In this series I pay tribute to the brilliant designers of today that are offering these collectible worthy, quality goods, and I feature one or more examples of the clothing or accessories I am honoring with “The Future Vintage” title.
Wearing vintage is a magical experience, and I am thrilled to share that journey with you! Please reach out to ask any questions, share comments or to simply say hello. I look forward to hearing from you!
