A bit about me :

Hi lovelies! I am Raisa Renée and this is Vagabond Collectibles.

Vagabond Collectibles is a wardrobe of sustainable style solutions. A curation of Vintage and Reworked clothing & accessories, focused on up-cycling quality materials.

Based out of Vancouver BC, Vagabond Collectibles was created out of a need for self expression and authenticity. Through the lens of style, I shift the focus from fast fashion to sustainable dressing through reducing, reusing, and reworking. I always resonated with the idea that these items were pre-loved, each came with memories and a story to tell, which I will continue to write through my design.

Growing up in a low income home, I had limited access to trendy brand names. Thrift stores quickly became one of my favourite places- spending hours getting lost in the aisles, full of fabrics and patterns and textures of pieces from so many places and times. It was there I gained the freedom and accessibility to dress and express exactly how I wanted. I began exploring up-cycling clothing that I found that didn't fit quite right but the fabric was amazing, or needed to be hemmed, or a tie or button added. It was so much fun to shift a piece that had lost appreciation.

There are especially opportunities for textile restoration in vintage pieces. Reworked vintage dresses can bring a higher value as clothing that is more comfortable, ready-to-wear, and represents the current times and trends. Vagabond Reworked helps to support people in seeing value in what they already have in their wardrobe, whether its vintage or otherwise. It's the offering of a curated, custom mending, and reworked/restoration service that will awaken consumers of what fit/expression they desire.

The fast fashion trend is becoming a real problem. Creating synthetic textiles, low quality items, with a high cost to our environment will quickly burn out our resources, as well as our planet.

Some information to consider in the fashion industry:

50-85 lbs of textiles are discarded per person in North America per year
It takes 1,998 litres of water, 142 grams of chemicals plus the cotton, to make one T-shirt.
Over 70% of the world's population wear second hand clothes.
300 million pairs of reusable shoes end up in landfills each year.

With Vagabond Collectibles, I continuously wish to inspire people to see the value in existing, quality made clothing. There is such reward in up-cycling, reworking garments, and experimenting with different mending techniques to seek more understanding in elevating our wardrobe. Something you can wear that respects the environment but is fashion-forward, while being mindful of trends.

By choosing to purchase Sustainable clothing such as locally made, vintage and up-cycled goods as much as is possible, you are helping shift fast fashion out of style and showing our planet the love she deserves.