The founder of the vintage store More is More Anya Koltsova about favorite outfits
FOR RUBBER "WARDROBE" we take pictures of beautiful, original or strangely dressed people in their favorite things and ask them to tell stories related to them. This week, our heroine is the founder of the online store of vintage jewelry More is More Anya Koltsova.
When I was little, my grandmother had two televisions - my brother remembers how I flew to her in the bedroom and stuck on Fashion TV for hours. I grew up in Vladivostok, so it was common for my mother and I to go shopping in frontier Chinese cities: Suifenhe, Mudanjiang and Hunchun. There I bought things for myself and my friends - these were some incredible things like on the pages of Elle Girl. Mom, of course, was still that fashionistas, she always sewed custom-made skirt suits and dresses, we even had paired black velvet dresses with her. From her I have love to dress up - I dress up even in the bakery.
I became interested in vintage at the age of thirteen: I wanted to look different from those around me, which was difficult in a provincial town. At fourteen I went to study in Tokyo, where I dressed as an anime character. At sixteen, I already lived in Kentucky, and my host family, artists, also adored all that was old - the “father” even engaged in the restoration of old cars, which later rolled us. Every weekend we always went to antique shops and second-hand, to flea markets and fairs. It seems to me that it was then that the love of the vintage consumed me. Most of all I love to spend hours wandering around to find interesting finds.
Around the same time, I became interested in the environment - at the university my friend and I founded a student club for environmental protection. Then I almost stopped buying new things - it went against my views. Now my wardrobe consists mainly of vintage, H & M, where I donate old clothes, and things sewn by my girlfriend. In general, for the last eleven years I have been moving from place to place almost every year, which also influenced the style. On the one hand, it is necessary to adapt to the local climate, on the other - in different places they understand fashion and beauty differently.
For a long time, the experiments were "freakish", but now I sort of learned something and even calmed down: I dress calmly, romanticly, I like to emphasize the figure, I appreciate first of all the quality of materials and the cut, I pay much attention to color. Half of the vintage I take on purchases for the store, half find online. I often take it down or repair clothes, but I rarely spend more than fifty dollars on a thing. I walk a lot on foot, so comfort is incredibly important to me: I will never wear a model that hampers movement or synthetics that the body does not breathe.
Ralph Lauren costume, Max Mara sandals, COS bra, vintage clips
I bought this costume on eBay for fifteen dollars. I always dreamed of a white pantsuit, but it’s difficult to pick up a deuce for my figure. Then I was very lucky: the pants were a size larger than the jacket, besides with a high waist, as I like, and even a brooch as a gift. I often wear a jacket separately - with dresses or jeans.
Dress of the 30s, combination Triumph, cigarette case of the beginning of the XX century
I found this dress on the "flap" in Los Angeles - it fluttered in the wind in the rays of the evening sun. As a man who understands the vintage, I knew his price and was afraid to even approach this beauty. But in the end I talked to the seller and she gave him twenty dollars. I am crazy about buttons on the back - they repeat the vertebrae. To fasten them is a whole ritual, you feel like a real princess. The most difficult task was to find a combination for him that would exactly repeat the lines of the top, would not argue with the dress itself and would not spoil the whole romance with the straps. To wear it with a combination, I still feel embarrassed and cover the most beautiful detail - buttons - a jacket. In sight remains only gentle waving train skirt.
I use a cigarette case in the form of an envelope as a wallet or a clutch bag - bills and cards are placed there. I quietly dream of opening a vintage store where such amazing and elegant items of clothing would be sold.
Top Ralph Lauren, Levi's pants, Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, vintage bag, earrings made by herself
Shoes and pants bought in the period of lack of money in a charity store. I am very attached to them: these things came to me in difficult times at the price of coffee and were necessary for the soul. Pants - the only synthetic thing in the wardrobe, sit perfectly, I myself sewed them in the waist.
The little heels are my weakness; I prefer the Salvatore Ferragamo 90s, on eBay they can sometimes be found for a penny. The earrings are a rough prototype of a model of our own collection of jewelery, which we will soon launch.
Men's jacket Yves Saint Laurent, shirt and shorts MY812, Dior clips, Chanel shoes
I dress up in this uniform almost every day, and I can wear shorts even in winter - with tights and high boots. This is the most comfortable set of clothes for work.
The story is also connected with this shirt: my friend Albina Zueva sewed this for herself at the opening of my store, and then added a model to the collection. I bought it in memory of that day: it turned out that it was so comfortable that I didn’t even want to shoot.
The Row blouse, vintage pants, bag and belt, sandals & Other Stories, Anne Klein glasses
I realized that I absolutely didn’t need big bags - my back starts to hurt in half an hour. I found this handbag last year for a store, but for some reason it didn’t attract anybody. It was worth picking up for yourself how everyone began to constantly try to buy it. It contains everything you need, and if I need a computer, just put it in a separate shopper.
The color of this blouse does not fit almost with anything from my wardrobe - I love her for that. For me, an elegant thing is one that needs a special approach.
H & M shirt, custom-made dress, Gucci sandals, silver ring - a gift, the second was made by herself
From this dress began the current me. I sewed it to order for the wedding: it has a very beautiful pearl shade and fantastic texture, the fabric dances under every gust of wind. I never got married in it, but the designer who created this thing became a person close to me, supported me in opening my own store. Thanks to this dress, I finally met my people, gained strength and confidence, started to move forward and make progress in my favorite business. Since then the dress has been tamed, and now I wear it just like that, with a shirt, jacket or kimono. I will never part with this talisman, even despite the stain of red wine.
Laura Ashley dress, Max Mara sandals, vintage necklace
This is one of those things that long hangs in captivity in the closet, is put on at home by the mirror, but then goes out to parties or to the theater. Sometimes this dress is taken to bear friends, therefore, it seems, it does not miss much.
Vintage blouse, skirt, bag and clips, shoes Ralph Lauren
Another one of my favorite period in clothes is the 90s. Sometimes I focus on the heroines of Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock in the film “Practical Magic”: knitted tops, prints with flowers and a checkerboard, skirts below the knee — I am impressed by this “peasant” modesty.
Dress MY812, Chanel shoes, vintage bag
I was convinced by experience that this dress was created for travel and dates. It envelops the body like a small cocoon - the elegance of flowing silk cannot be reproduced by any epithets. This dress was complimented all over the planet, but once in it I was mistaken for a missionary. In general, in the things of MY812 I feel like a very rich and successful woman. And I also get food from the way the golden buttons on the sleeves are combined with the accessories at the bottom of the bag.
Vintage Dress, Mexican Hat, Chanel Shoes
This is a favorite, very comfortable pair of shoes that fit almost everything. Investing, of course, solid, but when they are demolished, I do not hesitate to get new ones. It was these guys that I received as a gift from the godfather, when I broke up with a young man and moved back to Petersburg from my beloved Los Angeles. I remember how, poached, put them on, and the world instantly turned over. I immediately had a feeling of the beginning of a new life - I do not believe that shopping does not cure.
I have several similar silk vintage dresses from the 80s-90s, in different colors. They are very convenient for the city and dancing. I also love them for the volume in the shoulders and thin waist, and it is this - for its bright, atypical for me shade.
Vintage poncho, H & M shirt, Levi's jeans, Salvatore Ferragamo shoes, necklace made by myself
I waited all winter to put on my poncho as soon as possible - I did it on the very first warm day. It seems that it should have been a rug, but I also took it into account - using it as outerwear and as a blanket for picnics in the park.
Levi's vintage jeans are a separate conversation. I love them dearly, but I always take a strong oversight and tuck it: I do not like the way my jeans of my size sit. In general, I also do not strongly believe in size. There is a whole pseudo-mini-science about vintage Levi's, each of their model in different years of production sat differently. By the way, vintage Levi's, as far as I know, do not divide into male and female, therefore I usually find the best models in the men's department of charity shops.
Aromas
In order: Orto Parisi Boccanera, Le Labo Musc 25 Los Angeles, Parfumerie Generale PG17 Tubéreuse Couture, Nabucco Parfum Fin Amytis, James Heeley Vetiver Veritas. Perfume has always been an important part of my wardrobe. I was influenced by a friend, Anya, the owner of the First Perfumery in Vladivostok, and a beautiful woman Marina, working in the perfumery Cherry in Rome. They are sick of their work and have told me a lot about fragrances, taught me how to choose “my own”, have fallen in love with aesthetics and rituals. I am pleased when friends associate me with a certain smell: I like complex and atypical aromas. For example, Boccanera - chocolate and hashish, Amytis reminds of all the sweets of the world, and Vetiver Veritas reveals bright mint and grapefruit.
Choker and ring made by myself, vintage brooch and pearl necklace, H & M hairpins, selfie button
As the owner of a vintage jewelry shop, I, of course, have few of my own - everything goes to the project. The moment when a thing finds its owner gives me too much joy. I usually leave the decoration myself if I find a duplicate. After the shooting, I realized that I need to urgently change the situation - I feel naked.
Recently, I started making my own jewelry. For example, this is a ring with a phallic symbol, which friends call "ring - *** echko" - as a prototype made an ancient Roman ornament.
Persian Earrings
We get different in style jewelry, but I prefer very antique items. Something similar we had in the store, and my heart broke when we bought them. I went to look for myself the same. Then I even accidentally broke them, restored them, and now I am extremely careful.
Vintage cigarette case
Such cigarette cases were made at the beginning of the last century as souvenirs; they wrote the name and address of the customer. You take out a cigarette or a credit card from there - this is the most elegant gesture in the world. By the way, it is interesting that in 2008, YSL came out with very similar design clutches. I love this cyclical!
Stuart Weitzman glasses
Silk shawl
I have several handkerchiefs, and I'm already thinking of starting to collect the collection. I wear them everywhere - on handbags, hair, neck, belt, wrists.