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Every person has a style, and every style deserves support. Enter your style strategy cheerleader and founder of BU Style, Natalie Tincher. Since 2010 Natalie has worked with hundreds of personal clients as well as large corporations and a major global news network—and she is here to guide you.
In this podcast, you will gain clarity and insights on how to connect your style with your authentic self through Natalie's style expertise as well as interviews with other style-supporting guests like designers, clients, and other professionals in and out of the fashion industry.
Whether you love fashion, fear fashion, or fall somewhere in between, it doesn't matter. This isn't about fashion; it's about exploring who you are and how to own your unique style identity. This podcast will help you cut through the noise and examine your personal style holistically so you can "wear who you are" every day.
0:00:00 - Natalie Tincher
And remember my newest Natalie-ism. Wherever the denim rise naturally draws the eyes, welcome to Wear who you Are, a podcast that takes the fear out of fashion and holds space for everyone to explore how to connect your authenticity with your personal style. I'm your host, natalie Tinsher, founder of VU Style expert style strategist, and your enthusiastic friend and safe space of support. I believe that every person has a style and every style deserves a seat. With over a decade of experience working with hundreds of personal clients, I've learned a thing or two about how to help others have a healthy and holistic approach to navigating, how to build a wardrobe that reflects who you are. So pull up your seat and let's get started who you are. So pull up your seat and let's get started. Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, and welcome to this new episode of when who you Are. I'm so excited to be here. I'm your host, natalie Tincher. This was such a fun episode to record and I'm so excited to share it with you.
We had a couple weeks off you may have noticed on a bit of a summer hiatus, if you will, and I will not call it a break, because the work, in some form or another, never, ever stops. This brain doesn't stop, I will tell you, but it truly has been wonderful to take this work-life harmony on the road. I've been in Chicago, I've been in Indiana, I've been in New York, I've been in San Diego. Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? Where in the world is Natalie Tincher? I know it often feels like this podcast is New York-centric, but trust me, as a Midwest girl born and raised, when I say that it feels like campaigning for all the electoral college votes, to use a very timely metaphor. But my summer has truly been so wonderful. I'm really grateful and just so happy for the adventures I've been able to have and the connections I've been able to make. One of those connections is a really personal highlight is that I got to spend a few days in Indianapolis and meet my absolutely perfect, perfect, perfect baby niece, baby Claire, of course, when I think about her entering this world and I got to hold her and just look at her perfect little face that I hope she can move through it, knowing her worth, being surrounded by all the positive circles and feeling loved beyond measure, especially by me, her aunt Natalie, who just can't wait to spoil her rotten her whole life. I also took this time to think about what the next iteration of where who you are was going to be.
The Nat Chat episodes have, in the past, been where I talk about the BU style methodology or a personal experience, but now we're pivoting so that these Nat Chat episodes are structured more like a public forum version of my BU style cue the stylist sessions. It's a place where the where who you are community can ask style questions and have them answered for everyone's benefit. You know, like those old radio shows where people would call in and be like Should I break up with my boyfriend? Well, this is like that, except replace boyfriend with skinny jeans. So for this episode I posted on Instagram and sourced some questions people wanted answers to. We also ran a survey and got a piece of feedback that really lit a fire under me in terms of how to make ethically manufactured clothes more accessible and affordable. And then also our communications guru, kelly McCready, also got a really fun voice memo from a listener asking for a piece of advice, all about pants or trouser heights. So both of these questions really took me on a personal adventure and I would love for you to join me on it. Let's do it. Here's the episode. All right, our first community question is how can I find affordable, sustainable and ethical clothing? This is a great and completely valid question.
The ethics of my business, bu Style, and this podcast are that every style has a seat, but we wouldn't be inclusive if only people of a certain means could afford to sit there. We have to offer resources that can apply to everyone. It might mean being a bit creative here and there, but I am here to help. Everyone's had that feeling. They walk into a store. You're browsing. You're like, oh, look, that's a nice piece. Then you look at the price tag, your eyes bug out and you pretend to keep looking. You're like, oh, I'm still going to look at this, even though in your head you know you're not going to buy it. I can picture many of you nodding. That's myself included. It's happened many times. It doesn't feel good to feel priced out. So let's give ourselves more resources so that we don't have that feeling.
And rather than just feeling excluded from the fashion industry, I want to help bring you in as always. Let's say you really love this brand, the one that you put the shirt down and were like yeah, I'm moving on, I'll offer a brand I love Another tomorrow as an example. You've fallen in love with their ethics. You love their sustainable practices. Their clothes make you feel good and you know you'd love them for a long time. You know that it would be a good investment. These are thoughtful and strategic purchases, but you're feeling priced out. It's just simply not in your budget, and that's okay.
Before you even start pining for pieces outside of your budget, I would recommend getting a good sense of how that brand works on your body. As we know, sizing is not standardized. So in some brands you might be a four, but here you're a size six or eight Again, that's okay. That's not standardized, so in some brands you might be a four, but here you're a size six or eight. Again, that's okay. That's not you, that's on the brand. So once you get a handle on that, here are some options for your price-friendly, ethical style searches.
First, you can head to thrifting sites. If you want to put a silver lining on the fact that consumerism is at an all-time high and that a contingent of the uber-wealthier buying high dollar items and disposing of them after a season, it's that more things barely worn go to secondhand shops. So the rest of us can scoop them up at a fraction of the retail price. Here are the most common secondhand websites to search. Thredup is more of an industry standard. It's an excellent organization and it does really good work as a company to raise awareness about the fashion industry's impact on the environment. In ThredUp, you can sort by brand easily and then layer on the size that would fit you best. If you've done your research, there's a good chance you'll find exactly the item you are wanting for up to 90% off. Thredup also has a more robust returns policy, less the $3.99 restocking fee. I also like the fact that the photos on the website are standardized, which makes the products easier to see for you, so you know what you're buying.
Similar to ThredUp is a small but very mighty company that Allison on my team introduced me to a few years ago. That is True Fashionistas. They're based in Naples, florida, and they have a lot of great items in stores and online, including women's wear, men's wear, kids and homewares. You can also send them your items to sell. My clients and I have personally sold items to them and in fact, I just got a couple hundred dollar check for my last batch of items.
Next up is Poshmark. This is one of the bigger marketplace resale companies. It's also easy to sell on Poshmark, especially if you're doing a bit of a closet call yourself. Poshmark also has homewares and some odds and ends here and there, and the photos are from users, however, so they are less standardized and we have to rely on them being accurate. That being said, poshmark has a really strong community feel.
My recommendations for using this site are to target a specific item through sizing, brand and item specs and then add that to what's called a bundle. Once you've created a bundle, you can go to that user and see what else they might be selling. They might have other things that fit into your strategic shopping list and if you're looking at making things more affordable for yourself, if you add that to your bundle, you can offer a much lower price to the seller and they can counter offer, and you can either accept or decline that counter offer. You can also use comments to get a sense of how low they might be willing to go for an item. You can also ask questions about the item. If you're unsure, I suggest you get all of your questions answered. You deserve that.
Returning items is a little harder on Poshmark, so I do recommend engaging in that conversation as much as possible before purchasing to make sure you are getting exactly what you want. Then there's Depop, which functions very similarly to Poshmark. Depop's demographic does tend to be focused more on style rather than brand, so if you're willing to sift through all the photos to find what you want, it is a great app for that. If you're looking to replicate exactly what you're finding in a store, poshmark is likely to be your friend. The customer service and shipping support is also much stronger at Poshmark. And there are a few other big luxury secondhand resellers that you can score great deals on, especially when you're doing their super, super sales on sales to clear out their inventory. Two of those that I like are Vestiaire Collective or the RealReal.
I have personally seen some really high dollar ethical and sustainable brands I love on these sites for fractions of the retail price and in excellent conditions Another option for ethical fashion at a lower price. In the same vein, as part of their efforts to keep clothing circular, many ethical and sustainable brands offer what's called authenticated reselling for their items Circling back see what I did there. To Another Tomorrow, they offer such a program. Consumers can return their Another Tomorrow purchases to be verified by the company and then they'll get the store credit and we as consumers can buy these pieces at a discount. So check to see if a sustainable brand you love has one of these programs. It's an initiative I love and that more and more brands are implementing over time.
Finally, I also want to point out that not all ethical and sustainable brands have to break the bank. Secondhand isn't for everyone, and that's truly okay. There are more and more brands that are finding ways to uphold high values and keep lower prices. I recommend visiting one of the sites that have made it their mission to provide these resources for us. One I've mentioned before and that I love is Good On you. They have a great resources library, including titles like Alternatives to Shein.
11 Brands You'll Love. Sounds great, right, you can go through it. Look at what they've sourced. No, it may not be $2.99 for a dress, but I can guarantee it will be made much more responsibly and I would bet a lot that the item will last much longer. Apps like Good On you often provide dollar sign price filters as well, so you can look that way. I suggest that you find a handful of these ethical brands that you love and then you can make them a new go-to spot when you want to shop new. I hope that information helps make things a little more affordable and that it gives you a way through to buy more ethical brands without feeling priced out, because that feeling really does suck.
Ethical fashion is available to everyone. It just might take a little bit more work, but there's absolutely a seat for you at this table. All right, we'll be right back. All right, so we got this fun little question from our community. I'm going to actually play it for you.
Hey, maggie here with a question for Natalie. Where should jeans sit these days? Waist or hips? I'm feeling confused about the whole thing. Talk me through it. Engaging with the community, and this question really lit a fire under me Pants, where to wear them. Are you an elder millennial or above? If you wear them high-waisted now, what's the deal? Does this make you uncool? Here's why I thought this was such a great question that needed answering First. Ever since the skinny jeans are out debate surfaced a couple of years ago, I have gotten more questions than ever about pants, and this year's great denim debate is high versus low rise. I am an elder millennial and I enjoy fashion, as you know, so I completely understand wanting to stay current and modern, but I also loathe when fashion opinions turn into bullying and exclusionary feelings. So I'm always here to help you make a choice based on you and only you. So my answer to this jeans should sit wherever the hell you feel most comfortable and whatever accomplishes your style and fit goals. And remember my newest Natalie-ism, which I'll admit I was really proud of wherever the denim rise naturally draws the eyes, For example, high rise jeans will naturally draw attention to your waist. So if you want to emphasize that area, wear high rise. Same applies to lower rise.
This is the simple version of an objective guideline. It's not taking into account overall silhouette of the jeans, of course. A quick personal example on that I loved wearing my older brother's old oversized Levi's in the 90s. As I said, I'm an elder millennial, proud. I grew up in the 90s. I wanted to recreate that feeling this season in a way that feels relevant to now. So I recently sized up in a pair of already loose jeans to make them lower rise, comfy and slouchy, like chill. I pair them with a loose t-shirt and I feel so relaxed, and so me in them. So summer me.
My goal was to incorporate one updated piece that feels current but still like me. That gives me comfort and gives me ease, so I wanted a little bit of a low rise For this. I was focused on my style brand vibe more than quote-unquote flattering. As always, the choice is yours. I'm just here to give you the tools to make empowered and informed decisions to accomplish your goals, and that was our Not Chat episode. Aware who you are town hall, if you will. Thank you so much for joining us.
I hope you enjoy this new format. If you have questions of your own you want me to answer in this format, please feel free to send them as a DM to the Be you Style Instagram account or to my personal Instagram, which are always tagged in the show notes. Our next episode is going to be even more about ethical manufacturing with one of the coolest companies out of the Midwest. Get ready and we'll see you on the next when who you Are. Thanks for joining another when who you Are Wednesday. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support the podcast, please share it with others, post about it on social media or leave a rating and review. Be sure to follow along for episode news updates and other bonus style insights on Instagram through my business account at Bustyle that's the letters B, u and style or my personal account at Natalie, underscore Tincture. And don't forget to subscribe to Wear who you Are wherever you listen to your podcasts. Thanks again and see you next time.