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Styling with Secondhand
Creative director and stylist Emily Darling celebrates vintage and secondhand clothing through her collaborative styling projects.
“I’ve always been obsessed with fashion, from as early as I can remember, loving bright colors, eccentric details and silhouettes, and expressing myself through what I wear. My family obtained most of our items second hand, whether that be through thrift stores, yard sales, hand-me-downs, or however else things come into one’s orbit as a used item.
Throughout my life, I’ve had a lot of style phases, but regardless of what I was currently drawn to aesthetically, I always enjoyed the hunt of searching for secondhand clothing. Middle school was when I first started paying closer attention to vintage, and specifically seeking out those pieces when shopping. The hunt only escalated as I grew older, and finding and collecting vintage ended up becoming a deep passion of mine.
When I was 21, I started collaborating with photographers and taking styling seriously. At first, it was just me styling my own looks and modeling, but this organically morphed into taking on group projects where I would come up with a multi-person cohesive look and have all the models shot together. This became an extremely fulfilling outlet to build worlds that feel make-believe, but also capture historical eras of fashion. Sometimes, I like to keep the look(s) for a shoot era-specific, while other times I enjoy mixing and matching pieces from all eras, while still maintaining a stylistic through-line. Vintage, to me, is a playground, and it’s meant to be played with. These projects are just my outlet to play with it.
I have a pool of good friends with whom I frequently create. Almost all of the projects I do are shot up in LA, because that’s where the majority of my collaborators, both models and photographers, live. I often don’t start my styling process until I know the group of models in its entirety because I need to make sure I’m pulling the right sizing for everyone, and also, each person brings their own unique look to the shoot as a whole, and that can alter the stylistic direction I take.
I enjoy the diversity of ways in which my collaborators operate, and I’ve learned that as long as everyone shows up, it always works out. At the shoots themselves, it’s usually a combination of me and the photographer creatively directing, and sometimes other models as well. It always feels like it’s just hanging out with my friends, having fun conversations, while taking brief pauses every time we set up and snap a shot. Having such a lovely, creative community of friends is what keeps me coming back for more.
In all seriousness, I truly look everywhere for vintage clothing that inspires me to style. The places I have best luck finding truly mesmerizing pieces are flea markets, yard sales, and online reselling platforms, which Gem has helped me with immensely. I’m rarely looking for something hyper-specific when it comes to shopping in real life, as I prefer to let the piece find me. When it comes to trying to find a very specific clothing article, I look on Gem.
Usually, I don’t find it right away, and in that case, I will set a saved search on Gem. What I’ve learned is that more often than not, when you put your efforts towards finding something specific, you will come across it eventually, or at least something similar enough. I feel like patience is important when it comes to sourcing, and also an openness to pivot if you find yourself being intuitively drawn to something more than what you had originally set out to find. Oftentimes, all it takes is one piece to spark inspiration for an entire group look, whether it’s the color scheme or overall vibe.
I think if the customer demand for seeing more secondhand in fashion photography is there, the brands will follow. The beauty of secondhand clothing is that there are endless opportunities to incorporate it into so many different types of brands, and the resources are bountiful. Garments can be resold, upcycled, and recycled in so many different ways.
It’s become so cheap (therefore very inhumane) to create new garments that it’s less enticing for large brands to have to change their ways and take a slower approach to fashion. That’s why there needs to be real pressure coming from the collective consumer for brands to prioritize taking a greener approach to the fashion industry. I encourage people to try to buy secondhand as much as possible, especially buying directly from the seller.
When it comes to shopping from a modern brand’s business, I think it’s important to look at their ethos, and materials used, and support brands that incorporate up-cycled garments into their inventory, or utilize recycled textiles. Some modern brands even offer a ‘pre-loved’ or ‘refurbished’ section in their shop, which gives people the opportunity to give a piece a second chance.”
tartan plaid midi skirt