Vintage Maven Blythe Marks On Her 75-Piece Issey Miyake Collection and How to Find the Best Deals

What do other people think about your style and collecting habits? Has anyone said anything funny? 

My weirdest pieces often get the most praise, which surprises me. I have this khaki Bernhard Willhelm coat from spring 2016’s Magic Potato Collection (the title he himself gave me after I DM’d him pondering its origins). It has what I can only describe as a gaping Nope-esque ruffled orifice on the back. It’s a wrap-style kimono vibe on the front with this surreal void when I turn around. 

That’s what I think draws people toward my personal style and collection as a whole: The way I take something ubiquitous and twist it to be a little more sick and absurd, or vice versa. Understated melodrama. A purse from Magic Society crafted from a recycled vintage blow-up sex doll head comes to mind. Her name is Judy. Friends and strangers alike instantly bombard me with questions and compliments about it without immediately catching onto its original context, which I like. It means they relate to something otherwise taboo in a new way that fosters connection and community. Comments from little kids about my outfits are the best because they’re the most creative and open-minded out of anyone. They really love Judy! 

What’s your best, hidden-treasure find? 

Let me preface this answer by admitting that I’m sick and need help and also please DM me if you’re reading this and do the same thing because we should be friends. I have alarms set every day, twice a day, for The RealReal’s drops. This summer, I was at a friend’s barbecue and missed the second drop of that day, totally lost in socializing. Yet a little voice told me to open Gmail (I get updates from TRR there, too) and I nearly choked on my beer from gasping so loudly at what I saw. “The Wait Is Over!” read the subject line, and inside was a super rare egg crate jacket from Issey Miyake’s fall 2000 runway, returned by a very silly customer for whatever reason and thrown down like a lightning bolt from the vintage gods into my inbox.

I’ve never clicked add-to-cart and checked out faster for any purchase ever. Total blackout fashion grail moment. When it arrived, it still had the tags from being on one of The RealReal’s brick-and-mortar flagship sales floors for over $1,000, even though I purchased it for less than $300. There are times when we shouldn’t ask questions, only accept the strange and delicious gifts presented to us by a combination of chance and persistence. This was one of those times.