[perfectpullquote align="right" cite="" link="" color="" class="" size=""]"I think more women are starting to dress that way as opposed to, for lack of a better word, being chic," said Roberts[/perfectpullquote]
For those not in the know, being fashionably on trend is on the outs.
As absurd as that statement may seem at first, it makes sense when you consider the prevailing fashion philosophy these days, especially here in Brooklyn. It's all about expressing your personal style, not achieving a particular look.
And it seems entirely believable when you're sitting inside the showroom of Sheryl Roberts' Indigo Style Vintage.
The Indigo Style Vintage showroom is in Sheryl's cozy living room in her house on Greene Ave. It doubles as a parlor for the beautiful and unique clothing occupying the racks that fill half the room.
Comfy couches fill the other half. A large opening onto the wide kitchen gives a view of an enormous kitchen table perfect for entertaining or admiring wares. The entire vibe of Indigo Style Vintage is personal: there's no space for cookie-cutter fashion here.
Roberts notes a trend moving away from getting all your clothes at "mass market chain stores," not because one can't find cute stuff or necessary basics, but because "more and more you want to develop a style that's your own."
"I think more women are starting to dress that way as opposed to, for lack of a better word, being "chic," said Roberts.
She got her start with fashion as a model. She's been modeling for more than 25 years now. Her skill at finding beautiful things, however, came from her mother who has spent a lifetime collecting and selling antiques. Roberts remembers spending her weekends as a child being dragged along to estate sales.
Her style reflects her travels, both the eclectic cultural influences and in the distinctive combination of high and low fashion. Her brand, Indigo Style Vintage, reflects Roberts' approach, not just to fashion, but to life.
"I think it's about kind of living a great life in an individual way," she said. "Because if you're developing your own style then you want to dress for not only what's trendy, but for what fits your body well. You want to shop and get something that's really great quality.
"You want to find out and figure out what works for you[...]and once you find that out, you kind of pick and choose clothes that work for that. So to me when you mix a high-low way of dressing with that it affords you just a wider variety of things to choose from when you get dressed."
Indigo Style manages to work for a wide variety of women, size 0 to 16. It's a collection of unique pieces rather than a curated look. Roberts may buy items that fit in with current trends, but her finds often reflect vastly different modes of what's fashionable.
Her clients are similarly vast in their needs and style. Some girls, she said, have their tastes down pat, it's just a matter of seeing the right item. Many see her looks on Instagram and request whole looks.
For others she provides more styling or personal shopper services. She'll get a call about needing something for specific events, or calls from women working odd or long hours to come in late to look at what she has that's new. She's especially proud of beautiful pieces for those sizes in which folks often feel short-changed by the lack of beautiful, high-quality or fashionable items.
The overall result is a shopping experience that mirrors the fashion philosophy of Indigo Style Vintage: unique for each person.
Indigo Style Vintage has several unconfirmed events for the near future, including a possible pop up. But until then, more assembled looks can be accessed on Indigo Style's Facebook or Instagram.
