Luca - Thrift with a conscience

Every once in a while you come across something that just makes you stop in your path, something quite different to what you have seen before and Luca is just that. A site full of  handpicked affordable thrift items that are styled in a realistic and aspiring way. So long have we been used to the vintage online stores looking well... old-fashioned, oh and those that do try the modernistic approach tend to typically fail. Luca however is different it is not condescending, it respects its customers and provides a unique service which is relevant and easy to view for vintage aficionados and vintage first-timers alike.

I managed to catch up with the lovely Felicity owner and founder of www.myluca.co.uk to find out what her inspiration behind Luca and her own personal passions are. She also revealed her plans to develop Luca into entrepreneurial creative hub...  

When did you first start Luca? 

 I first had the idea for Luca when I discovered an amazing strip of charity shops in a town near my uni. I always loved charity shopping but it was getting to the point where I was bringing home sackfuls of stuff and I had no room for it anymore. It was actually getting silly, and if I left something behind that I loved I'd actually be genuinly annoyed and go back and get it. The strip of charity shops i discovered just had so much amazing stuff, I decided I couldn't afford to keep it but at the same time I couldn't afford to leave it behind either. I always had friends asking me to go shopping with them or help them charity shop, people see the rails and rails of stuff and cant think of anything worse. For me, I cant leave til i know I've seen everything! I genuinely love it.

What was the concept behind it?

The idea was to just sell on any gems that I'd find, and pass them on to other people. From my own experience I find vintage shopping tends to be either hand picked to fit the current market so well that it becomes way overpriced. I also find that there aren't many good UK online vintage sellers. I also find the ones that do exist very condescending with their 'offers' and promotions, when you know it's just a girl sitting in her bedroom flogging any grandma looking stuff they can get their hands on.

Where did your passion for Vintage clothing first develop?

I've always been a very frugal person... I've always worked hard and never really been able to justify full price items. I almost refused to do it without getting a discount in some way or another. Up until this September Ican hand on my heart say i'd never bought something for myself for over £40. I was lucky enough to live in a town with some amazing charity shops, and once I started I just couldn't stop. I've waited up to a year for some chelsea boots in my size to crop up, refusing to pay for them in Topshop - but i got them! For about 1/8th of the price.

Where do you source your garments from? (you don’t have to give away your trade secrets!) Just generally…

Most of the time it is just charity shops, I have so many at my disposal, near my family, work, uni house. It's the cheapest way for me to do it without ordering by the kilo which means you don't get the choice. A couple of the items I have up now are from a vintage shop in St Paul in Paris - which is amazing for vintage. I also absolutely love looking on ebay for that one person that doesn't understand the worth of what they are listing. I looked for days for a vintage Moschino belt, but i got it for £20 in the end. I have a couple of tricks, but mainly its perseverance to a ridiculous level... 

Is there a particular era that you go for? did you self teach about vintage pieces- what to look out for? 

No, that's not necessarily what i'm interested which is why i've included the term 'thrift' into my store bio. I know it gets very competitive on the vintage markets, if something is from as late as the 80's its frowned upon! I just pick things that are good quality that have been made well, and that you are never going to find anywhere else. I have looked into designer bags before, i got a burberry travel bag from a charity shop and a Louis Vuitton sac from an antique shop, ive also sold Louis Vuitton on ebay so i needed to know if they were real. They have some great tutorials on what to look out for if you ever need to check.

And also just a bit nosey but find it intriguing to find out, where do you store all your vintage gems?

Oh god, in my bedroom, on my floor, under my bed. At one point i had a flat with absolutely no storage - not even a cutlery draw in the kitchen. There were clothes growing from every corner, I lived with stepping over a pile on my floor for about 6 months. When my housemate moved out i used her entire room. Luckily I just moved into a place and my housemates kindly gave me the biggest room because they felt sorry for me! I have a big built in wardrobe and i have a rail and boxes for my Luca stock. It is a nightmare. It's the first thing people comment on when they come into my room. I feel sorry for my boyfriend.

Do you purely just sell online? Or do you do any Vintage fairs and if yes which ones? If not why, and do you attend any vintage fairs yourself?

Right now i'm only online. I have considered selling at vintage fairs though; I set up a stall recently in Epsom market but it didn't work that well. Half of the love of this for me is styling it all, showing people why it's good and doing all my own photos - that's part of my course too. I'm not ruling it out but I prefer to do it all online. I have all the big vintage fairs on my facebook groups but i always seem to miss them. It's definitely something I need to get on and do.

I love your modern take on styling of your vintage pieces… extremely refreshing to see,  But what do you believe is the future for Vintage clothing?

Thank you! Its the foresight that people lack, I learnt that from working on Topman and displaying clothes for the way men shop, you literally have to put it on a plate for them to see how it can work but its something I really enjoy practising.

I've never really thought about the future of vintage - I think the prices are definitely getting competitive. East End Thrift store sells some amazing things and doesnt charge over £15 for any of it. Brands these days either look down on their customers, or are really trying to level with them, sometimes it can be almost embarassing or patronising. I think for the future of brands at least will be taking their customers more seriously. People think their customers are stupid! I don't know if thats just me or if other people think that too.

With my site its going to turn into a creative outlet for all the entrepreneurial friends I have. Im lucky enough to be around so many amazing creative people who are really pushing themselves. If it wasn't for them i wouldnt be doing this now, and I want to create a platform to propel others into doing something they love on a higher level, eventually I want to be a brand that consists of mini independant brands, much like how Asos stocks brands but on an independant level.

Also lastly but on a more personal note, how would you describe your own style? What are you wearing today for example?

I imagine from this interview I  sound like a bag lady! I hate to be cliche but I take a lot of my style influences from the likes of Alexa Chung, and even people like Cheryl Cole - I love how polished she always is, i'm really not like that. I really like Coco Sumners style. I am very aware of having that 'wanker' look when I get ready. There's nothing worse, so i try and avoid that. Right now it's snowing, so i'm wearing black leggings, those snowflake tribal ish print socks, black chelsea boots, a long white jersey top from H&M and an oversized mottled grey felt crop jumper - its really old Topshop, back when they had their old logo and white labels. I love finding that kind of thing!

 For more information please email felicity@myluca.co.uk or visit www.myluca.co.uk