Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabrielle Jesse.
Hi Gabrielle, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I never really set out to become a vintage stylist. I just always loved clothes that felt like they had a story. I’ve always been drawn to the thrill of finding something unexpected, an old pair of bell bottoms, a perfectly worn-in jacket, a funky little western piece, and figuring out how I could make it feel fresh and completely my own.
Growing up in Southern California, and later living in Portland Oregon, Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Northwest Arkansas, exposed me to so many different environments, cultures and ways of dressing. I feel like I carry a little piece of everywhere I’ve lived with me. You can see it in the way I put an outfit together, the things I’m drawn to, and even the way I see fashion. My style has never really belonged to just one place, one decade, or one aesthetic, and I think that’s what makes it interesting.
I grew up without a lot of money and, honestly, I didn’t always have the easiest upbringing. Clothes were one of the ways I learned to express myself in a way it was my outlet. My outfits were usually different from everyone else’s. Looking back, I realize that I didn’t always understand what made that difference special. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to see it completely differently.
Being different isn’t a bad thing. It can actually be one of the most beautiful things about you.
That realization has become a huge part of how I approach styling. I don’t want my style to ever be predictable. I love mixing eras, textures, colors, silhouettes and influences, taking a little bit of where I’ve been and putting it into everything I create. I might pair something genuinely vintage with something modern, throw a western boot into an unexpected outfit, or find the one strange little piece that somehow makes the entire look work.
For me, vintage styling has never been about recreating an exact decade or following a set of rules. It’s about finding the pieces that make you feel like yourself. Fashion has given me a way to experiment, play, be feminine, be weird, be bold and take up space, sometimes all in the same outfit.
And more than anything, I want to create a safe space for that kind of self-expression for other people, too. I want someone to see what I’m wearing and feel encouraged to try the thing they were afraid would be “too weird,” “too much,” or not like everyone else. I want people to feel like they don’t have to fit neatly into one aesthetic or one version of themselves.
Today, I’m continuing to build my own creative world around vintage fashion, styling, secondhand clothing, photography and community. I’m incredibly thankful that I’ve found an outlet that lets me turn all of the places I’ve been, the things I’ve experienced, and the different versions of myself I’ve grown through into something creative.
Every piece already has a life of its own. I just get to give it another one.
I’m still figuring out exactly where this will take me, but that’s part of what makes it exciting. I’m really looking forward to finding out.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Growing up, I didn’t have the easiest upbringing and we didn’t have a lot of money. I think that actually shaped my relationship with fashion more than I realized at the time. I couldn’t always have what everyone else had, so I learned to be creative with what I did have. My outfits were often different from everyone else’s, and sometimes being different made me feel like I stood out in ways I didn’t necessarily understand or appreciate when I was younger.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized that the things that made me feel different were actually some of the things that made me unique. I’ve had to learn to trust my own eye, stop comparing myself to other people, and believe that there is value in creating something that doesn’t look like everything else.
Building a creative career has also come with its own challenges. There’s no perfectly straight path in fashion or creativity, and there have definitely been moments where I’ve questioned myself, my direction, and whether I was doing enough. But every experience has pushed me to become more confident in who I am and what I want to create.
I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that being different isn’t something you need to grow out of. It’s something you can grow into. The older I get, the more I appreciate the parts of myself that I once wished were more like everyone else.
That’s a huge part of why I want my work to be a safe space for self-expression. I know what it feels like to wonder if you’re too different, too weird, or too much. I want people to feel the opposite when they see what I create, like they have permission to experiment, take up space, and dress in a way that makes them feel like themselves.
I’m still figuring out where all of this is going, but I’m proud of how far I’ve come. And honestly, I’m really excited to see where it takes me next.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My work is centered around vintage fashion, all thrifted items, styling, and self-expression. I love taking unexpected secondhand pieces and giving them a new life through styling. My creative eye has been shaped by everywhere I’ve lived from Southern California to Portland, Santa Fe, Northwest Arkansas, and now Nashville, so my style is always changing and never tied to one aesthetic.
What I’m most proud of is creating looks that feel individual and a little unexpected. I want my work to be a safe space for self-expression and encourage people to embrace what makes them different. I don’t want to tell people what they should wear I want them to feel excited about discovering what only they would wear.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
One of my favorite childhood memories is playing dress-up in my aunt’s closet. I lived with her for a while, and because she traveled the world, her closet felt like this endless collection of different cultures, styles, and stories. I remember trying on shoes that were way too big and pinning dresses just so I could wear them. I was so young that the closet felt enormous, it was like being in a movie. Looking back, I think those moments were some of my earliest introductions to how exciting and expressive fashion could be.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Gabriellejesse_
