Vintage Shopping, My First True Love

Giving a new purpose to an existing item has been a widespread practice throughout my life. I'm the product of two immigrants who started their journey together with very little material and financial resources. My mother moved from India to upstate New York, along with her brother, where they immediately began to work and save for a new life in America. She met my father, whom was here on a student visa as a graduate student, and they married shortly after. Partly due to his simple upbringing, and mainly because he trained as an engineer, my father was a big fan of repurposing everything. I truly believe growing up this way ties in with my love for thrifting and vintage shopping!

As I started to shift my energy away from designing and making clothing, I wasn’t able to fathom getting rid of my remaining textiles, embellishments and bead collection; so I decided to repurpose existing sample pieces into something completely new. This led me to finally start cleaning out my vintage closet when I realized I have too many wonders to be stuffed into a closet. Oh let’s be real, three closets, half of my garage, and a storage unit that costs a criminal amount each month. The realization was embarassing, so I decided to start sending some of my gems into the world again.

Initially I wanted to sell my vintage here, but have since decided to raise that endeavor as a separate baby. For the curious, check out newlightvintage.com for all things pre-loved. And if you’re into vintage clothing and antique homewares, let’s be connect! I love meeting new people who love all of this as much as I do. ✌🏽

x, Navi

A hidden treasure, filled with hidden treasures. 📸: Navi Gill, Kempner, Texas.