We recently had the chance to connect with Karalyne Grammer and have shared our conversation below.
Karalyne, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
A lot of people underestimate the amount of work that goes into curating vintage for sale, thinking that vintage resellers just go to the thrift store, easily find cheap items, and merely mark up the prices before selling them. Many people have the attitude of “I could just find that myself at the thrift store” and scoff when the price isn’t near thrift store pricing. They haven’t fully considered that the price listed on the tag is a careful consideration of the curator’s time, expertise, gas, laundry, mending, marketing, storage, the cost of the item itself, any overhead, and much more. There needs to be appropriate compensation for those who have the knowledge and eye to identify valuable items and who use their time to track down those amazing pieces, clean and restore them to marketable condition, and bring them from other parts of the country/world directly to YOU, giving you the opportunity to own that thing that you never would’ve found otherwise.
I am actually someone who works a full time job in addition to my vintage side hustle. My days off and vacation time are spent scouring the country for amazing gems to sell as well as preparing for and appearing at markets. If the job were as easy as rolling up to a thrift store at any time of day, quickly encountering massive amounts of amazing items, and taking them home to off-load quickly, then everyone would be doing it! In reality, there are so many ways that sellers choose to source outside of the typical thrift store realm because let’s be honest– thrift stores are over run by (often overpriced) fast fashion, poor quality cast-offs, and items that are in need of stain treating or general repair. Hunting for amazing items requires sacrifice in the form of physical labor, lack of sleep, exposure to unsavory working conditions and weather, etc. It can look like leaving your house at 5 am to spend your 4th of July at a hoarder’s house digging in the heat while dodging pests, mold, or anything else the environment may throw at you. Even then, vintage selling is often more about passion than anything. No one is getting rich doing this work.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hi, my name is Karalyne and I’m a DFW-based fashion enthusiast, collector, reseller, and content creator, with a penchant for vintage. Enthusiasm for fashion and personal style are definitely at the core of my being. My parents were both retail buyers and I definitely drank the “family Kool-Aid”. I have been working in fashion retail over the last 20 years, holding roles in sales, styling, merchandising, client relations, and management across various sectors and business models within the industry.
When I was laid off in March of 2020 at the onset of COVID-19, I turned to playing dress-up in my closet room and posting outfit photos on Instagram as a means of a creative outlet to keep me sane. This personal project blossomed into an opportunity for engaging with and sharing with other fashionable gal pals across the world who value unique pieces and the concept of dressing for yourself above all. With more time on my hands I was able to finally start attending early morning weekday estate sales. The ability to access so much incredible fashion opened me up to being able to start selling vintage, first sharing it with my online community via Instagram stories. In January of 2022 I filed my LLC and launched my website bestdressedwallflower.com to sell my collection all over the world. By the fall of 2022 I was selling my vintage acquisitions via in-person markets around the metroplex, the part of the business that gets the majority of my time and attention to this day. Though I’m back to working a full-time day job in retail, I still participate in local markets a couple times a month, where shoppers can experience my curated collection firsthand and receive my personalized suggestions and styling tips.
When shopping with BestDressed Wallflower, you can expect to find a highly curated product assortment of vintage and one of a kind “show pieces,” enabling you to exude confidence and strength through fearless fashion and a “more is more” aesthetic. BestDressed Wallflower challenges customers to express their personalities through “dressing loudly”– being bold, daring, and unapologetic through “not for the faint of heart” fashion choices that combine pattern, color, and texture to evoke intrigue and deliver a highly interesting and emotive visual experience. BestDressed Wallflower celebrates personal style and wants to help you embrace your most unique and authentic self by encouraging you to wear whatever makes the color go off in your brain.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. Who taught you the most about work?
Everything I know about work I learned from watching my dad. Throughout my entire life, my dad held roles as a retail executive and I saw him work 6 day work weeks without fail, only taking Sundays off for church and family. Holidays were the same– we never traveled to spend Thanksgiving or Christmas with extended family because it was a given that my dad had to be at his store the day before and the day after. In periods where my dad suffered unemployment due to corporate downsizing, I watched him maintain the same level of diligence in his job search as he did each work day. I would wake up and find him praying and having his morning devotional at the kitchen table at 6 am before beginning a full day of job searching until about 9 pm at night. My dad has always been my blueprint of what hard work and dedication looks like. Let’s just say I am definitely my father’s daughter.
What did suffering teach you that success never could?
Suffering has brought beauty into my life in different ways and at different points. I remember the most challenging, draining, all-consuming, and seemingly impossible job I ever had where I had to pray constantly in order to get through my day, accomplish my million deliverables, and excel during the revolving door of corporate visits. It was a time when I had to rely so heavily on the Lord that I was blatantly aware after each visit that its success was solely because of Him, not me. That kind of dependence and awareness propelled my relationship with God to a whole new level, because it’s easy to think you don’t need the Lord as much when everything is going well.
Another time of suffering was the aforementioned job loss I experienced due to the pandemic. I have always had a strong internal drive to succeed and have always found a great deal of fulfillment in my work. You can imagine then the devastation that came with job loss due to no fault of my own. However, I have experienced the most beauty in my life by being forced to rediscover myself outside of my day job. Finally having the time to explore my passions and exercise my creativity was such a gift. Even more unexpected were all the blessings that would come from discovering the vast online community of positive, supportive, personal style enthusiasts from around the world! This set of circumstances and its outcomes dramatically impacted my life– from the way I spend my time, to the people in my life, to the mode of creative expression I now finally have access to, and all the positivity and light it’s brought me. This experience also taught me the importance of boundaries and work-life balance, which I have taken with me as new values upon reentering the workforce.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. Is the public version of you the real you?
That depends on what your perception of me is! I probably come off as an extrovert based on my online persona or the way I conduct myself at pop-ups or my day job. I have a very easy time being hospitable and welcoming others into my space, making customers feel comfortable entering my booth at markets. I genuinely enjoy engaging with people at these in-person events. It’s natural for me to gush when they touch an item that I love and to share how I would style it! I also have always had a lot of self-confidence that comes from an assuredness of who I am and not needing validation from others. Self-confidence coupled with a love of maximalism has manifested in a loud personal style: an “extroverted” way of dressing.
What you see of BestDressed Wallflower is me tapping into a certain part of my personality. Those who don’t know me personally might be surprised to find out that I am no social butterfly– I’m actually an introvert! While I invite others into my circle with ease, I have a hard time permeating other people’s social groups. I have anxiety toward networking, parties, or being around groups of people I don’t know. I love meaningful conversations but generally dislike small talk.
For me, the name “BestDressed Wallflower” reflects a certain level of self-awareness. As written on my dating profile from 2014: “I am probably the most interestingly dressed person in the room who is standing against the wall, not talking to anyone.” My motto has always been to “Dress Loudly!” or “Let your style do the talking so that you don’t have to!”. I believe in style’s ability to be a silent communicator, signaling messages to others. Based on how I dress, I don’t have to convince other people that I’m interesting because they already know by looking at my outfit.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
I think my in-person customers most value the way I make them feel via the time and attention I give them. I’m really good at looking at someone and pulling a piece that I know is going to look great on them and that they likely would have never pulled themselves! I am able to grasp someone’s personal style and can quickly offer styling tips, including multiple ways to wear a piece. I have several repeat customers who return to visit me at each month’s market. Having gotten to know each of their unique styles, I’m alway sure to bring pieces with them in mind. I’m really good at remembering my shoppers and recalling what they bought, even years later. Giving each customer my focus and personal touch makes them feel special and sets me apart.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bestdressedwallflower.com
- Instagram: @bestdressedwallflower
