Today we’d like to introduce you to Beatriz Trevino.
Beatriz, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I have been collecting vintage since my teens but I started taking it more seriously and actually selling it in 2014. People always stopped me on the street to ask me where I had purchased a certain piece or comment on an outfit I was wearing. As a plus size woman, it was always hard to find something cute to wear that didn’t look cheap and didn’t look like a tent and have tons of animal print on it so I turned to thrift stores and estate sales and my eye just always veered toward the funkiness of VINTAGE. I opened a shop at the Avondale Vintage Market while working full time in March 2014 and was there for a year before the venue was shut down due to some zoning issues and I decided to pack up, regroup and just focus on my full-time job.
I got pretty discouraged/depressed after the Avondale Vintage Market was shut down and I kind of just left it alone and decided it wasn’t for me. In the meantime, I just kept working my full-time job in Accounting and was just going through the daily routine of life and then my dad went in for a bypass surgery in 2015 and there ended up being complications during surgery and he died. He was only 58. Losing him so sudden was devastating for me, my mom and my brother and I spiraled into an even deeper depression.
About seven months after he died, I resigned from my job, dusted off my camera and started putting together outfits and sharing them on Instagram and my followers went from about 432 to now over 2K. The online vintage community was a huge source of therapy for me and for that, I will forever be grateful. I have met some extremely creative, talented and beautiful women and we have actually become friends in real life.
The most special connection that I have made that I absolutely must shout out is Michelle E. Lanaux Merritt. She is the founder of the Hey Brown Girl Collective, which is a community of Black & Brown Women Creatives. She found me on Instagram (of all places) one day and invited me to participate in one of the Hey Brown Girl Pop Ups and a friendship was fast formed. I met so many talented, dope, stylish, supporting women and I credit this collective (aside from my family & friends) with helping me get my confidence back and pushing through the death of my dad.
I left my corporate job and decided to dedicate myself to Vintage full time. Live my dream.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It is NEVER a smooth road. Any small business owner will tell you that. I still struggle to this day, but you have to push through and have the confidence in your talent. It’s hard to not know if one month you’re going to make enough to pay your bills. I’m just working on my savings. No loans. No credit cards. Working a full-time job was always safety. I knew I were getting the same amount of money every couple of weeks and it was going to be there in my bank account on time! It’s a gamble, but I’ve never been happier in my life.
My advice for young women starting their entrepreneurial journey would be to first of all JUST DO IT. FIND A MENTOR and your TRIBE.
Entrepreneurship is a labor of love and every entrepreneur needs a community. I know without my tribe I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today.
What should we know about Beautyful Vintage? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Beautyful Vintage is an online based vintage/retro/modern boutique primarily focusing on the plus sized women.
My focus is on plus size women but I cater to curvy women of all sizes. I want my customers to feel like they have a one of a kind piece that they won’t see anyone else wearing and if it isn’t a one of a kind piece I’m going to show you how to style it so whenever you walk down the street people will take notice! I want you to feel Bold, Unique, Empowered and most important BEAUTYFUL in the skin you’re in.
I pride myself on providing funky plus size clothing options that don’t hurt your bank account. Many people have told me I need to charge way more than I am charging and they may be right and I’m getting better about my pricing, but let’s be real… Plus Size women ALWAYS have to pay way much more for our clothes and I won’t be a part of the FAT TAX trend.
What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
The biggest barriers in any industry being a woman of color is representation.
I attend a lot of festivals and pop-ups to check out the scene and we (Brown & Black Women) are noticeably absent from the scene and it’s not because we are not into Vintage. WE ARE and WE ARE FLY and WE HAVE FLY VINTAGE.
That’s why it’s necessary for us to create our own spaces and get our names out there and I work hard at doing that.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.beautyfulvintage.com
- Email: beautyfulvintage@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beautyfulvintage/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Beautyfulvintage/
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/hey_brown_girl/
Image Credit:
Beatriz Trevino
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
