Please allow me to introduce myself…

Hello lovely folks,

So it’s been a while, over 3 years actually… since I last updated my blog! and what a wild ride these last few years have been, so I thought I would reboot things, starting off with a little introduction post.

I’m Gabrielle (Gabby), 27 years old, a part time vintage seller, blogger and slow fashion enthusiast from the Isle Of Man.

I first started my fashion blog back in 2018 but had been interested in blogging since my late teens. The last time I was blogging my main focus was trend led fashion, I was working in Topshop at the time and the future was very uncertain whilst still in the midst of Lockdowns and dealing with some personal health issues, so my blog was a little creative outlet and safe space for me, and I had aspirations of becoming a personal stylist before the world turned upside down for a while.

I was made redundant in early 2021 with some question marks around what the future held for me and we were still living in strange and uncertain times… part of me wanted to try to persue some sort of virtual styling course, another part of me wanted to start a vintage business again and the rest of me was pretty stumped.

Strangely enough shortly after this I heard that a local vintage shop was opening and I decided to reach out to them on a whim, a few months later I managed to score a job there which was a dream! and I had some pretty sweet experience working there and helping run the shop for around 18 months, something I am always super grateful for.

After leaving my role there I decided to persue my own online vintage shop again, something I had dipped in and out of over the years but wanted to give a real go of this time around. It’s been two years of Rags & Feathers Vintage and things have been going well, it’s still a side hustle alongside my part time job but slow progress is still progress!

Alongside my part time job and vintage selling, I’ve also been enjoying playing around with content creation and styling over on my Instagram page @psychedelicpriestess where my main focus for the last 3 years has been on vintage and slow, sustainable fashion.

I’ve always been an avid vintage enthusiast and collector, with my personal style being heavily influenced by the 70’s. However around 3 years ago I took the no new clothes pledge for a month, and it’s now been 3 years of buying almost completely vintage or secondhand, and if or when I do buy new it’s most of the time from a slow ethical fashion brand. I have an understanding that we can’t be perfect, but we can all strive to do our best and make positive change where possible.

I think working in a fast fashion store, I saw first hand the huge amount of waste that comes from just one tiny store, and it was scary to think about the bigger picture… I think that’s when I first really opened my eyes to how problematic the fast fashion industry is, it’s pretty easy to be ignorant and turn a blind eye to these things.

So my main focus on my social media channels have been around vintage and slow fashion, and showing off how I style these pieces day to day. I’ve loved being welcomed into the little vintage and slow fashion community over on Instagram and have made some amazing connections and friendships through it, as well as being able to work with some lovely little businesses!

This blog is going to be an extension of that, where I can chat in more detail about vintage fashion, subcultures, trends, vintage labels, slow fashion brands, and all else that follows!

Stay updated by following me on Instagram or subscribing to my blog - I’ll be publishing a new post each week!