A modern approach to wearing vintage

Are you scared that wearing vintage will make you look like your granny? Karen James, AKA Fabulous Miss K the vintage stylist and personal shopper, has just published a book on how to make vintage decidedly more modern

With sustainable fashion at the forefront of the fashion industry many people want to shop in a more sustainable way – but are not sure where to start. Vintage stylist and personal shopper Karen James Welton (AKA Fabulous Miss K), has been wearing vintage since her early teens, and her new book, Old Clothes New Trends is all about how to wear vintage as part of your everyday wardrobe.

She explains how the book has come about: ‘About 10 years ago I decided I wanted to write a book about how I wear vintage. None of the publishers wanted to know so fast forward to 2021 and the end of a global pandemic – that gave me time to sit down and finally finish it and self-publish with the help of @herbusinessrevolution.’

‘It proves that you can make things happen and you are never too old to make a dream come true. I would never have believed that at 56 I would be a published author!’

Karen is a sustainable and vintage stylist with more than 25 years of experience in the fashion industry, working in London, Paris and now in her home town of Norwich.

Her love of vintage began in her early teens when she wanted to wear the clothes featured in the pages of Vogue but didn’t have the budget for designer items. Instead, she hunted for second hand and vintage versions, to create her own style. Over the years her passion grew and as an Ambassador for Slow Fashion Movement she now encourages her clients to get the trends with vintage.

She adds: ‘Working with clients over the years many of them say they would like to wear vintage and be more sustainable with how they shop but not sure how to give it a modern twist are afraid they will look like an extra from a period drama,’ she says.

‘Shopping second-hand is a fashionable way to shop, so after years of advising people on purchasing this way I thought I would write a book on how I shop and style vintage.’

‘With the focus moving away from fast fashion it seemed like the perfect time to put all my advice in one place making it easy for people to create a more sustainable wardrobe.’

‘After all, there are only so many ways you can reinvent a frock!’ she says