Originally from London, stylist Karen Blanchard moved to New York over 15 years ago. Inspired by the incredible fashion she was surrounded by daily, Karen set up her own blog—Where Did U Get That—where she chronicled her hunt for vintage treasures at some of the Big Apple’s best secondhand shops. A seasoned pro at mixing older pieces with more contemporary styles, she shows us how it’s done at New York Fashion Week.
When I go to the shows for New York Fashion Week, I am usually loaned pieces to wear but I always try to inject a bit of my own personality and wear something that is secondhand – that way, it adds more dimension and uniqueness to the loaned items. For one show, I layered a pre-loved Celine coat onto my outfit and for another, I added a vintage men’s necktie to bring the look together.
This season I focused a lot on jewellery. I wore a vintage statement necklace layered over a long slinky green dress to the Sergio Hudson show and the following day, I wore the same vintage necklace but layered on top of another vintage one for a different show.
For the last fashion show that I attended, I adorned my vintage men’s tailcoat with lots of different vintage brooches that I have collected over the years.
It’s important to add elements that you know will never be replicated because they are one-off – especially during a time like Fashion Week, where you can applaud someone for wearing pre-loved secondhand pieces but also inspire others to realise how they can give new life to pieces in honour of the most fashionable time of the calendar year.
Photography courtesy of Karen Blanchard.
