Hello, and welcome to our digital journal! We're so excited to be able to say this finally. Since the inception of our website, we always wanted Label Society to have a blog space where we could broaden our love for vintage and thrifted gems and speak about it to the community we've built online. Learning from our experiences of growing this label and having you guys share yours is such an exciting process, and we're here to say that our thoughts have finally taken shape into words, and here we are.
So if you're someone that takes a keen interest in the world of thrifting, enjoys reads that talk about vintage clothing and the joy in dressing up in them, or just someone that's followed our journey and wishes to stay in the know of all the behind the scenes, upcoming projects, sneak peeks, then this is the space for you. We hope our journal serves as a reminder now and then that there's so much joy in wearing thrifted clothes; it's truly changed us and our relationship with clothes over the years. We're grateful for the support we have from you guys and can't wait to share more as we go. Feel free to drop in your comments under our posts and really let us know how you feel about these. We'd also like to hear your stories through sharing ours, and we hope we grow this as a space to learn.
Our first story is special, and we're glad it happened when we were sitting and discussing our first pitches for the blog. It's a collaboration that excited us from the first time we were presented with the idea. Meet Defy'ne X Label :)
The Journey
Our first interaction with Afshan (Defy'ne, founder) happened over a phone call. While it was just a telephonic introduction, we could sense her excitement and dedication toward building this platform. Defy'ne is an e-commerce platform that houses homegrown, sustainable labels from across the country. We were sure that Afshan's brand ethos was very much in line with everything we stand for. To create a platform where fashion is viewed as a medium of self-expression devoid of labels and judgements got us excited to partner with her on this. It's often said that finding one's style is key to building a sustainable wardrobe. Having pieces to love and appreciate for a long time, wearing and re-wearing the same item of clothing in multiple ways, is just one of the steps towards building a conscious wardrobe. We collectively shared our common interest in bringing these thoughts through our collaboration.
Often we remind ourselves that starting this store was always about finding and offering pieces that one could make their own. We then began collecting pieces over the course of time with this ideology, and the result is a capsule collection of twenty-five of our most gorgeous finds. We wanted to curate a collection that would not have standalone statement pieces but some classic must-haves that could be dressed up or down. Each piece in this collection evokes a different sense of emotion and we hoped the wearer would ultimately feel the same.
"All the collaborations with DEFY'NE and all the brands big and small that we carry have all been carefully handpicked by me, they all carry stories and values within their bones that go beyond just a piece of clothing or accessory, and Label Society is no different. I truly hope with this collaboration, we can speak of vintage as the magical experience that it is, powerful enough to transport you into another era while offering you the opportunity to live in these pieces and add your story and life to it and hopefully pass it along and let someone else experience the same joy with a little bit of you and your story now stitched into the piece.", says Afshan
The Curation
Speaking of the curation itself, the collection consists of 25 carefully curated pieces across a mix of categories, including our statement blazers, breezy shirts, flowy skirts, and more. Each piece added to this collection evokes emotions of nostalgia with a certain sense of playfulness. It's classic yet versatile, basically everything we love in a capsule. We've also kept the weather in mind to give you dressy summer casuals.
Though it's difficult to pick one and call it a favorite, we clearly remember the day when we got our hands on the vintage blue blazer with its delicate floral embroidery. It truly was love at first sight! There are many gems in there, like the made-in-Korea flirty skirt, vintage floral shirts in many hues, and our most comfortable sage green maxi dress with reverse stitch detailing. In fact we also asked Afshan what's one piece that spoke to her the most from the curation. She says, "The vintage checkered brown blazer speaks to me the most from the curation, because personally my love of vintage comes from the fact that vintage pieces are timeless and stand the test of time and go beyond silly narratives we have created like certain pieces of clothing belonging to certain genders. The blazer is definitely one such piece. Also, I love the stories you can attach to these pieces. It makes me wonder who was the owner of this blazer and what their life was like; this one makes me feel like it was someone who enjoyed reading the classics with a cigar and some cognac on the side. Also, love that the piece offers ample styling opportunities; wear it with knee-high boots or with tailored pants for two completely different expressions."
Our coming together to create this always felt the most natural to us. While we brought our love for vintage gems, we had Afshan, on the other hand, with her knowledge of sustainable and ethical fashion. The collection is available on both the Label Society and Defy'ne websites.
We genuinely look forward to many such collaborations in the future.
Shop our picks: HERE