Alumni
Grad is Fashion Stylist and Vintage Shop Owner
Teresita Marie graduated in 2009 with her Merchandising & Marketing degree from the San Francisco campus. With fashion running through her veins, she hails from a family of costume designers and tailors from Mexico and is now an LA-based fashion stylist on films, commercials, red carpet, music videos, and magazine covers. She and her wife own Restyled Vintage, a vintage shop that specializes in women’s suits. We caught up with the entrepreneur to learn more about her career path and her life in the fashion industry.
Tell us your industry story--your path to FIDM, and some of the highlights of your career so far: I've had incredible opportunities with brands as a Merchandising Director and as a stylist. I've worked with artists like Louie Castro, Why Don't We, Adrianne Ho, Kara Del Toro, Fernanda Urrejola, Kandee Johnson, Ziggy Marley and so many more. The biggest highlight is knowing we could run our own brand and sell items that we feel passionate about sourcing. We're using clothes that were created before the 90's and recycling them into new designs to be re-worn today. We live a highly biodegradable and eco-friendly lifestyle so it feels good to manage a business that we believe in wholeheartedly. It feels like we're sourcing for our own local gallery because vintage is considered a collectible, just like art.
Tell us about your vintage shop, Restyled Vintage: I'm a full time stylist and I’ve collected hundreds of samples over the years, covering a variety of eras and designers. In December 2018, I posted a few items on Depop and left it alone for a few months. We went on a trip in March 2019 and on our way back at the airport we sold one of my vintage cashmere scarves. It sparked a fire in us and my wife was determined to list all of the vintage pieces that we had. We set up a business plan, found the best platforms and in our first month we sold over 30 pieces.
I grabbed some of my FIDM books on merchandising and marketing to see if I could use some tips from my FIDM classes, and I opened a website and started seo. We began shooting our seasonal look books and reaching out to potential customers on social media. We made this our full time gig.
How have you had to pivot your business in the last month? I tailor all of my suits and any items over XL. I have pounds of fabric left over that I tailored. We started making masks with the fabrics and donating all profits to the Pandemic Relief of LA.
Tell us about your LA-based styling business: I've worked on movies, commercials, ads, red carpet, album covers, music videos, magazine covers, and personal appearances for social media influencers.
I come from a family of costume designers and tailors from Mexico; I knew what I wanted but you can't just walk into a meeting and tell people that you're something you're not. I started out as a retail associate, grew into a brand merchandiser, became a creative director and senior stylist for various brands, and then went freelance.
My work is open, I feel blessed to work on so many different types of projects, so many different eras and styles, but I specialize in anything with a plan and adequate research. However, my favorites are modern menswear and vintage womenswear but I love working on commercials and consulting with consumer brands on their styling as a merchandising director.
What are you doing to stay inspired during these challenging times? I feel inspired everyday. Everyone who has worked with me knows I can't stop moving.
My wife inspires me to stay focused, she's a beast at setting tasks and keeping us supervised. She has a major background in management, research, and photography. It helps to have a plan everyday and make sure your calendar and your tasks are stocked with any idea that comes to mind so that you don't feel frazzled.
It's crucial to stay organized. We use the Paper app by Dropbox. It's been a lifesaver in sharing ideas. We use Dropbox to organize our images, and always have something to look back to in terms of inspiration.
How are you showing up for your community, your career, and yourself right now? Staying home is so important. I'm trying my best to post as many stories and as much content about using resources so that you don't need to leave your house. I post how to support local businesses, and lifewise feel blessed that a lot of our customers are still supporting our shop.
We're staying home and don't have the urge to leave. We Facebook video chat with family and friends and keep in touch through Snapchat groups. We do facials and yoga a few times a week and watch new series while we work on our shop and create content. We're playing with ideas and using the resources we have available.
What brands are inspiring you right now, in terms of their response to the needs of the world during this pandemic? I love what Michael Ngo (@imngo) is doing. He is using scraps from his previous celebrity customs to create masks in an effort to donate all of his profits to the LA Food Bank. His work is transparent and he cares about sharing his story, his family, his team and how he creates his designs. It's incredibly inspiring and humbling.
What are some of your best memories of your experience at FIDM? I love the resources that were available to us. A lot of times you don't know how much your institution offers unless you look into it and they are so transparent about their resources because they want their students to thrive. The books are so thorough and the teachers are so friendly. I loved the location on Union Square and all of the opportunities they helped me find. I was able to land a job with Juicy Couture when they first opened, I was an associate during my first year and helped them open up the Grant Store in 2007—it was eye opening.
What are you most looking forward to once the pandemic is over? I'm looking forward to working again as a stylist. We normally work in crowds of 30-400 people so it's going to be so bittersweet when we can all work together again. In the meanwhile, I've been offered opportunities to style from home or consult via Skype.
I'm also super excited about shooting some content for our store and my personal Instagram at the beach or anywhere outside other than my home. But that might not happen for a handful of months and I'm ok with that.
I'm eager to start sourcing for the store. Online sourcing is a bit messy and the photos aren't the best. It's fun for the element of surprise, but nothing beats seeing an item in person and bringing it home the same day.
Anything else you’d like to share? We work for our future. We also share our profits with our family because we believe they need it more than we do. It's important to always have a goal and a why to everything that you do and what motivates you to achieve your goals. You'll never give up with a powerful why.
Keep up with Teresita on Instagram @bornorigingal and Restyled Vintage @restyledshop.
Categories: Merchandising & Marketing Alumni
