Classic outfits retail store produced by UH senior can help pay out tuition
Utilizing her passion for trend, company communications senior Olivia Haroutounian collects and sells classic outfits to pay out for tuition. | Juana Garcia/The Cougar
Amid the acceptance of entrepreneurship, numerous UH students have designed tiny companies all over their passions or a specialized niche they come across exciting. For corporate communications senior Olivia Haroutounian, her enthusiasm is the earth of vintage vogue.
As the brains driving her enterprise RealLifeAsLiv, Haroutounian collects and resells designer and vintage garments.
From Chanel to scaled-down designer brands, she finds and collects them, most of which sells for hundreds of bucks.
Along with remaining the proprietor, she is also the creative director, frequently modeling in the garments she gathered for shots on her website, Depop and Instagram.
While she is nonetheless in faculty, she maintains the tasks of jogging her fast rising enterprise as she performs on it whole time.
How she began is a testament to her mom, who sparked her curiosity as a youngster.
Like her, Haroutounian’s mother ran a organization accumulating and offering vintage outfits. Developing up, she viewed how her mom went to estate profits and yard product sales to decide on out goods and at some point market them for financial gain.
“I like to say I have been accomplishing this because delivery basically,” explained Haroutounian. “But I began at a very younger age due to the fact my mom has been promoting vintage outfits considering that I was born.”
This kind of exposure and adore for niched style historical past encouraged her to take about the enterprise following her mother’s retirement.
Considering the fact that then, the organization took off, aiding Haroutounian with shelling out her tuition charges from the income.
With 30,000 and counting followers on Depop, Haroutounian’s business is gaining much more traction than ever.
Her story is highlighted in Vogue and The Houston Chronicle, attracting the fascination of several vogue lovers who actively get her outfits.
“The Vogue article really modified my existence. It gave me the platform I have currently and put me in speak to with people today I never considered achievable,” she stated. “I’m so grateful for the experience, and I can not explain how amazing it feels to discover such a enormous neighborhood fascinated in style the similar way I am.”
As she continues to obtain more followers, Haroutounian tends to make confident to use her business as a system in advocating second-hand searching and knowing style record.
Purchasing next-hand helps with retaining garments out of landfills and combating inadequate doing the job ailments and wages. With fast style bringing difficulties to the manner marketplace, it also constricts the pockets of large corporations.
Furthermore, comprehension trend history assists with cultivating person model and self-expression, in accordance to Haroutounian. Describing trend as powerful, she uses apparel to express how she feels and indicates others do the exact.
“The greatest style guidance I can give is to be oneself. I use apparel as a way to radiate what I’m feeling from in,” she explained.
“So if I experience like I require to be comfortable, I’ll wear a pair of sweats and a vintage t-shirt. But if I really feel like I want to peacock, I’ll place on a pair of Manolo’s and a classic costume to go about my working day,” Haroutounian included.
For these searching to rating their future pair of Manolo’s, Haroutounian’s in depth awareness and practical experience equip her in understanding the place to hunt for classic garments about Houston.
On the other hand, with additional persons getting into the market, looking for vintage clothing is becoming tough she notes.
“The greatest guidance I can give is to go to lots of diverse areas and do not give up very easily when it arrives to hunting for vintage,” she claimed.
“Frequenting thrift shops 3 to four situations a week, and heading to spots like Buffalo Exchange and more compact independently owned classic shops like The Vogue Time Equipment is the best detail to do.”
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