as time goes by
It was gifs of Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe on Tumblr – the microblogging site popular in the late 2000s – that first got Lily Chen interested in old Hollywood films. She was around 15 and studying at a Canadian international school in China when she first watched Breakfast at Tiffany’s. That was her “gateway drug” into vintage style. Something about the way the starlets held themselves, plus the way their garments moved, captivated her. “I wanted to capture some of that magic in my own life,” Lily says. “I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer and tried to make my surroundings beautiful. I’m a very visual person. As a kid, I always wanted to create my own aesthetically pleasing world.”
The Western vintage fashions Lily became infatuated with weren’t easily accessible when she lived in China, so she curated lookalike bits and pieces from modern clothing shops instead. She returned to Australia for university, but it was only in the past few years (she’s 27 now) that she began dressing in true vintage, with a focus on the moody aesthetics of film noir. “I always say vintage clothes find you because so many things have to align,” Lily says. “It has to be the style you’re after, within your budget, in your size and in wearable condition.” Lily sources pieces from all over the shop, including Salvos, eBay, Etsy, Instagram and Gumtree. And while special-occasion garments like cocktail dresses pop up quite regularly (because people took better care of
