Personal style is really important, and it's taken me my 23 (almost 24) years to figure out what I like to wear and what I feel comfortable in.
Owning a vintage store, I always feel like people expect me to wear all vintage, as if they'll walk up the stairs to the shop and see a 50s housewife standing there complete with crinoline and red lipstick. Though I do tend to wear something vintage every day, I feel very costume-y if I wear a full-on vintage look.
Generally, I pair a vintage item with something modern, skinny jeans or a cardigan, military boots or patterned tights. This keeps away from looking like a costume and looking more fashion forward. If I want to wear something simple, I try to do my hair in a vintage style or something special with my make up.
It's all a series of balances that need to be thought out at 8 in the morning when I'm getting ready to open the shop (so naturally, sometimes I look at myself at 1 in the afternoon and think, "What was I thinking?!").
Also, the saying goes "Don't get high off your own supply." My shop would be a giant closet for myself if I let it be, but it takes a lot of self control to not let that happen. However, I do treat it like one when I go on buying trips, as I tend to pick things I love (patterns, colors, and textures), but, keeping in the sense of fashion-forwardness, I also choose styles and cuts that the runways and seasons call for.
