How I Shop: Influencer and Fashion Entrepreneur Blanca Miró

The Barcelona-based co-founder of Vasquiat and La Veste finds (and posts) the best buzzy brands on Instagram.

We all buy clothes, but no two people shop the same. It can be a social experience, and a deeply personal one; at times, it can be impulsive and entertaining, at others, purpose-driven, a chore. Where do you shop? When do you shop? How do you decide what you need, how much to spend and what's "you"? These are some of the questions we're putting to prominent figures in our column "How I Shop."

For Blanca Miró, jet-setting around the world is a job requirement. The Spanish influencer, stylist and entrepreneur regularly travels in search of inspiration, not just for her personal style, but also for her growing fashion and tech ventures. But, with the Covid-19 crisis currently keeping her at home in the countryside of Barcelona, Miró isn't letting the pandemic stand in the way of gathering sartorial insight and creative ideas.

"Well, I've always said, 'When you love fashion, you never forget about it because it's inside you,'" says Miró. "I have more and less inspiring days, but I've been dressing up nearly everyday, even if I'm staying home. Getting dressed makes you feel better and see yourself more positively. I need to wear colors to face my days." Plus, exploring her crafty side helps Miró with self-care: She's staying "comfy and warm at home" thanks to the "cozy" socks and a blanket she's knitted during quarantine.

Like many of us, Miró is working from home, running Vasquiat, the members-only e-commerce business she co-founded with Rafa Blanc in 2018. In a stroke of fortuitous timing, the originally mobile-only platform launched its website just before the pandemic. Now, members can pre-order next season's designer clothing, accessories and home collections for up to 40% off, using their at-home shopping interface of choice. Vasquiat offers select pieces from well-known designers (like Paco Rabanne, Shrimps and Christopher Kane) plus a growing list of buzzy international brands (such as Milan-based jewelry line Bea Bongiasca and accessories label Hereu).

Miró previously found success in with Barcelona-based clothing line La Veste, which she co-founded and co-designs with Maria de la Orden. The Vogue-approved brand began with colorfully blocked and vintage-inspired blazers and has since expanded into prairie-cool, mixed-print blouses, graphic trousers and lively accessories.

With her days of in-person, on-the-ground brand research on hold, Miró heads to Instagram for recommendations and fresh ideas. "During quarantine, I just discovered Luna Del Pinal, a clothing brand, and Reut New York, a jewelry brand using black gold and baroque pearls," she says. (On the content creation side, it also does not hurt that Miró's shelter-in-place locale — up in the picturesque mountains — is basically made for Instagram.)

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Below, Miró also shares her eclectic and mood-influenced personal style, which has earned her nearly 400K Instagram followers, and her favorite vintage finds from around the world.

"It's not easy to describe my personal style because it really depends on my mood. I really like to mix lots of colors, patterns — all these pieces that maybe you never think will be good together, then, suddenly, you wear them and they're cool. I like to mix vintage with more rock 'n' roll pieces, like strong boots, or sometimes more romantic [items]. My style is a bit of a mix of different pieces from different eras.

"I'm looking at my Instagram [for an example of an outfit]. I was lying in the sun and I was wearing a blazer with beautiful flower embroidery from a brand that I recently discovered. I mixed that with vintage Levi's and with these vintage Gucci loafers that I found in London. While getting lost in vintage stores and markets, suddenly I bumped into these amazing loafers and they had an amazing price. I also wore these green socks. It was a cool mix together. I like to mix fun pieces from emerging designers and vintage stores [with] a Dior bag.

"During Paris Fashion Week, I was told I had to go to an amazing vintage store called Thank God I'm a VIP. It's a good name. It's a huge store and they have everything organized by colors, so you get a bit crazy [shopping there] because you don't know what to choose. There are so many different things from so many different brands, like, Versace, Missoni, Jil Sander, Balenciaga — just a little bit of everything and an amazing selection of pieces. This has become one of my favorite stores.

"I really like What Goes Around Comes Around in New York. But that one is really expensive, so you can maybe buy one bag once a year and mix in cheaper vintage shopping. I also prefer that because I don't really like going to super expensive vintage shops because you can only buy one thing — or nothing. So go somewhere where you can afford to make beautiful outfits.

"I also really like one in Barcelona called Le Swing Vintage. The owner, Renier Guerra, is a friend of mine and he has an amazing selection of accessories and clothing from high-end brands, but super cheap, like amazing prices.

"I bought this leather brown jacket that's bit oversized, like menswear, from a really good vintage store in Copenhagen, Paloma's Vintage. I go there a lot. It's a very, very tiny store, but the owner is amazing. She has amazing style and a great selection. When I go vintage shopping, I choose only the things that caught my eye when I walked into the shop, like a first crush.

"I also found, four or five years ago, maybe, this vintage Hermès Kelly bag in a vintage store in Paris, Lorette&Jasmin, at an amazing price. It's my treasure because I wear it a lot and no one can touch it. I'm very generous with my friends — giving clothes and lending clothes — but with this piece, it's like my treasure. Of course, I also love Vestiaire Collective and I also sell my stuff there.

"I have everything organized in my closet a bit like the store in Paris, by colors. I'm very organized. I like to have all the blazers together, all the long coats together, all the long dresses together, all the short dresses together. So I know where everything is. It would be impossible if I didn't organize everything like this. It's quite funny because my mom, when she comes to my home, she's like, 'Where do you have this shirt? How can you even know where is this, when you have so many different things?!' It's crazy, but I really remember where everything is.

"Also, when I have a lot of new stuff that I haven't worn yet, I put it in another part of my wardrobe, so I remember — because, sometimes, if you mix things you've already worn with the new stuff, suddenly you're like, 'These are things I haven't worn yet and I've had it in my closet for six months already!'

"I like really like to discover new brands in my everyday. It's a little bit my job for Vasquiat. If you're in fashion, you have to be on Instagram because it's the way to make people discover your brand. I spend a lot of hours on Instagram. It's not just because I post and everything — it's because I really like to discover these brands. There's plenty of them hiding everywhere.

"When I travel, I walk a lot in the cities. I go a lot into new stores. I also check online stores a lot to see new brands. But the most popular thing and the easiest way to find a brand? It's Instagram."

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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