Curating preloved clothing from around the world

Yay, you’ve arrived! This is epic. I’m super excited to have you here. I know you’ve got questions, and guess what, I’ve got answers. So grab your cup of tea or flute of champagne (promise not to tell) and clean off those cat eye glasses. You’re about to get the inside scoop on Prelovely.

Hello

First, let me introduce myself. I’m Elizabeth (aka Leigh/Leilah), the wanderlusting founder and chief curator of Prelovely. I’ve held many titles in my life. Among them: fashion designer, jewelry designer, and banker (yes, I know the last one seems totally out of place).

I was born in Los Angeles to a musician/entrepreneur father and effortlessly stylish, forever sweet mother. We moved to the surreally, picture-esque, Orange County town of Laguna Niguel when I was about 6 years old. I lived a pretty happy life there; full of music, art and exposure to a diverse array of cultures who populated the area at the time.

Storytime

In late 2014, after adventuring on the beautiful Indonesian island of Bali for an entire month, I made a life-changing commitment. I committed to only doing things I’m passionate about. I came back to LA determined not to take another banking job - ever, and gave up the corporate uniform for good.

As I was going through my closet, I realized I made a mistake. No, I was definitely not going back to the boring desk job, but tossing out those now needless clothes, clothes I once adored, made no sense. So I did what any enterprising millennial would do - I put them online.

To my surprise my closet was near empty within a month and my bank account kept growing. I quickly changed my strategy and started thrifting. Living in the sprawling Los Angeles metropolis has its benefits, the thrifting there being one of them. Let me tell you, I was continuously shocked upon discovering pristine designer pieces from Dolce & Gabbana, Roberto Cavalli, Acne, Manolo Blahnik, Valentino unworn Anthropologie and Free People...all of them sitting in charity shops. That saying about one (wo)man’s trash, I was living it over and over again!

These endless discoveries led me to ask a bigger question, why do we have the constant need to consume and discard, consume and discard, consume and discard? Rinse, repeat. Hmmm, ponder that while I continue.

Around the world

If you asked me what my life goal is, I’d tell you it's to travel into outer space. I’ve always felt a strong connection to the cosmos. While I may not be able to make it there just yet, I can explore our wondrous planet as much possible. So in the Spring of 2015 I expanded Prelovely’s vision and booked a one way ticket to Stockholm, Sweden. My only plans to travel south and do exactly what I did in LA - search the land for the loveliest, preloved designer, contemporary and vintage clothing I could find.

What an adventure it was! My life transformed into The Amazing Race. Welcoming all kinds of unexpected encounters with people and clothes. What I’ve found is that no matter where I am in the world there are myriads of beautiful things hoping to be recycled and avoid an unnecessary death in a landfill.

This is a mission (not a small time thing)

This business has grown me. When I started Prelovely my motivation was vain. I wanted to avoid the cubicle and do something I loved. Thankfully, I got that and so much more!

Spending endless hours in thrift stores all across the globe has turned me into a more conscious consumer. I’ve virtually ceased buying new and am committed to living a life of more style + less stuff. Through this platform I hope to inspire others to do the same, at least to some degree.

Again, I’m so excited to have you here. Please have a look around. Discover new to you preloved designer pieces at a fraction of their retail price. Or browse the vintage collection for unique pieces that have stood the test of time. Any questions, comments, suggestions, feedback? Go ahead and send me a message, they’re very welcomed around here. And please, spread the word. This is a revolution in sustainable style.