By JESSICA PEREGOY

jep024@latech.edu

 

Vintage items are a huge trend among college students, but one merchandising and consumer affairs major has taken it to the next level.

Jennie Concelli, a junior, has mastered the art of giving old things a new lease on life.

On any given day, one can spot the fashionable Concelli on campus with her long, blond hair carelessly pulled back, oversized earrings, layered necklaces of varying lengths, colors and styles, and eccentric pieces such as tattered T-shirts and peasant tops adorning her small frame, setting her apart from the rest of the crowd.

Her appetite for vintage began in her freshman year of high school.

“I got some things from my friends’ mothers from the ’70s and just absolutely loved them,” she said.

Concelli’s infatuation with style of the ’60s and ’70s has grown over time and the technically borrowed, but never returned items are being put to use with her unique style and flair for combining new and old.

“Since high school, I just haven’t been into dressing up,” she said. “I think I have a laid back style. I’m not into heels; just give me a pair of flip-flops, and I’ll wear them with anything.”

Concelli said her style is not as unique as it used to be. With such an insatiable appetite among college students for vintage items, it has helped older, rare pieces become more accessible.

“What I like is so popular right now, and it makes it so much easier to find stuff,” she said. “But, at the same time, my style isn’t as unique as it used to be because it’s such a trend.”

However, Concelli’s knack for piecing together ensembles is anything but ordinary. Her mix-and-matching of colors, styles and time periods comes off effortlessly.

Concelli has an eye for what she likes and said she enjoys shopping and finding her treasures.

“I love the Antique Mall [in Monroe],” she said. “It has everything you could ever imagine. Not to mention, it’s all super cheap so you can buy it in bulk.”

Concelli also shops at Urban Outfitters, a store known for selling vintage and vintage-looking clothing, and other stores known for carrying rare pieces.

“Stuff at [Urban Outfitters] can be pretty expensive, but they have such cool stuff, and a lot of it’s on sale,” she said.

But, her love for vintage is not just with fashion.

“I have some pieces that family [members] have passed down to me, and I absolutely love them,” she said. “You can just tell when something was made years ago. The details are so intricate and different from anything that’s made today.”

Some of her favorite pieces include a wool and suede vest from the ’70s that her great aunt gave to her and a vintage skirt she found at Urban Outfitters.

Not only is Concelli’s closet full of history, but her house is also filled with furniture from her family and vintage pottery and glassware.

“There are things in my house I remember from when I was little that I never would’ve thought I’d have in my own home,” she said.

Concelli has a bed and dresser that were given to her by her great-grandmother that survived a fire, a sewing table her grandfather made and a stool she now uses as a nightstand that she remembers spinning on as a little girl.

“Sometimes I forget how old these things are,” she said. “It’s almost like you don’t really appreciate it until you think about where it’s been.”

Concelli plans to keep her treasure in the family.

“When I first started dressing like this, my mom would always say she used to have something just like what I had on, and I always wished she kept it for me,” she said. “I have a lot of things I plan saving for my daughter.”

As a merchandising and consumer affairs major, Concelli knows a thing or two about fashion history repeating itself.

“Trends circulate and maybe my daughter will be able to enjoy my things as much as I do.”