We recently connected with Alexis Carrion and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Alexis thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.
My business is called Thique Vintage because I primarily cater to larger sizes and curvy bodies. As a lover of vintage designer fashion, I found it difficult to find a wide variety of clothing in my size even at some of the most well-known shops in New York City. It would be a miracle if I could find one garment that fit well after an afternoon of shopping. Therefore, I created my business for customers like myself in mind. I think clothes should accentuate peoples curves and fit their body well, so a lot of my pieces are going to be sexy and form fitting. The excitement you feel when you come across a super rare vintage item from designers like Jean Paul Gautier, or Chanel was something that I wanted to share with other curvy girls like myself. I don’t think I’ve seen other vintage shops, whether online or brick and mortar that have tried to target these customers. I’m still searching for the answer to why that is, or rather why there tends to be mostly smaller sizes offered and rarely anything above a size 10. I get all of my pieces from reputable vendors in Europe, and bring them back to the states myself. I would love to keep doing this for the rest of my life, but I think it would also be great to show other vintage dealers that there are “Thique” customers out there that need a lot more inventory. It would be great if we could all work towards that goal.
Alexis, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I started out reselling designer vintage on apps, like Depop, and I built a pretty solid customer base from there. It really started out as something that I enjoy doing every day. From searching for specific items for customers, to indulging in the items that I thought were cool and seeing someone else gets to wear them, it’s a passion of mine. It takes a certain skill level to be able to source these items, you have to have an understanding of the brand and its history. You also have to know what are the current trends and what people are looking for in the vintage sphere in order to make those sales. I decided to pivot to creating my own website and selling direct to customers because I wanted to provide a better level of customer service and to curate a brand that was reflective of the fashion that I love. I also wanted to offer people vintage designer at a more affordable price, because a lot of the more well-known shops will sell their pieces for multiple times the amount they got it for simply because they think they can. I really just do it for the love of fashion. I myself got into buying vintage designer because it was more attainable than buying current season, and from there, I found a deeper appreciation for these pieces. I want to also give other young women an opportunity to have a piece of fashion history without having to spend a fortune.
Have you ever had to pivot?
When I first thought about starting my business, I spent a good amount of time, writing a business plan and thinking about how I was going to get the capital. During this time, I realized I had an opportunity coming up to actually acquire the clothing. I had a very short time to figure out how I was going to get the money to acquire these pieces and I was able to pivot and make it happen. In business, it’s always good to have a plan and to think things through, but sometimes you have to act quickly and take risks if you believe that it will pay off.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
I got the initial capital to start my business from someone very close to me, my mother. I never thought that I would approach my mother for the start up capital, but being that I had a short amount of time until I was going on my trip to get the clothing, I had to look at the resources that were most accessible to me. I wrote my business plan, approached my mom with it, and to my surprise, she agreed. I think the biggest lesson I learned from this was that if you really want to start your business, you have to have sense of humility and also be willing to face rejection. Sometimes your biggest support will come from places that you least expect.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://thiquevintage.com/
- Instagram: @thiquevintage
- Twitter: @thiquevintage
Image Credits
Eric Strausman Photography Pierre-Louis Visuals