Inspiring Conversations with Saige Elise of Saimar Vintage

Today we’d like to introduce you to Saige Elise.

Hi Saige, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I have always loved FASHION! The clothes, the styling, the couture fabrics, the look, the concept, the moment… for me, it’s about the feeling of it all. Fashion can make one feel confident, radiant, protected, sheltered, open, and free; fashion is limitless, and for me being in this field and doing what I love is when I am truly at my most “creative” self. Like many vintage clothing lovers, I started out just going to thrift stores. I would go on my own for hours on random weekdays and just walk amongst the aisles in awe. As funny as it may sound, thrifting became my therapy. Finding hidden vintage gems, the thrill and the hunt of it all was oddly fulfilling and gratifying. Not to mention much less expensive than shopping at a big brand name store, which I could not afford at the time. I felt most at peace because my brain could shut off and I could just get lost for hours in a sea of clothes.

In college, in studied photography, film and worked on campus as a radio personality/tv station camerawoman. However, Fashion photography and thrifting became my personal Segway into fashion styling and opened me up to an entirely new world. I graduated school in 2007 and over the next years, I worked as a freelance fashion photographer, videographer, stylist, personal shopper, and wardrobe stylist. I started my own events company with a friend of mine in 2017 and I also was in the alcohol industry and worked for two different liquor distributors in sales while bartending nights and weekends. Let’s just say, this past decade has been one wild and crazy adventure. Then in 2018, I suffered my first real major loss, my grandfather had passed away and everything changed. I lost myself and lost my drive. Trouble at my day job had become increasingly hostile and stressful, which ultimately led to me walking away from the “sales/liquor distributor” industry in June 2018. I went back to bartending for a while but I felt empty, it was not enough. I have always known that working for someone else just was not for me. It’s simply just not who I am at my core. I have always been a true non-conformist. I despise normality and the whole “mainstream” ideology of it all.

As a Scorpio/Sagittarius and natural-born creative and “free spirit” I believe ALL FREE birds must fly! Finally, I had enough, and in September 2019, I made the decision to quit my bar job and leave the Cooperate lifestyle. I had a vision. I knew I wanted an online vintage store. I wanted to share my fashion styling concepts with the world. So, I changed my focus, I hustled, saved every penny, and did everything I needed to do to start my business. Then, on February 24, 2020, Saimar “say-mar” (an old nick-name made up actually by my mother, which was a mash-up of myself Saige and my brother Marques’ names) was launched! And, I have been working non-stop ever since. Today, I know that “building a brand” takes a lot of time, you must be willing to put in those long hours and put in that work! But trust me, I’m here for it! I want to build Saimar organically and authentically by providing people with a “fashion experience” more than just “selling an item.” Of course, I will only be serving up dope pieces, but fashion to me is about emotion, and especially with vintage because those items have “lived” and have stories. I want my customers to have those one-of-a-kind pieces that make them feel beautiful, fierce and special because for me FASHION is about the FEELING that generates from the inner soul. My greatest compliment as a Black & Latina Business Owner/Fashion Stylist is when a client says, “Oh my goodness, I can’t believe this is me, I love this look” or “I never would have thought of wearing these things together,” with an expression of sheer joy on their faces. That’s why I do it, that’s what it’s about, that’s Saimar! 

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, for most, I don’t think it ever is. That certainly has not been my experience. This road is long, and gritty, it is raw and uncompromising. If you are not ready for the grind and all the struggles that will inevitably come with it, then you clearly are on some different kind of road. I have had countless jobs in many different industries, had my own events company with my friend, worked long hours, slept on floors and other people’s couches. I have had to quit jobs, had situations that didn’t work out, and even gotten fired. I’ve been broke and have lived paycheck-paycheck for a long time, the world does not care if you lost your job. I’ve missed opportunities and have had many opportunists and takers try and take advantage, shady co-workers lie on me behind my back. I’ve had people lie and steal my ideas. I’ve had friendships and relationships ruined. You name it, it’s probably happened at some point in my life. The road has not been easy. I’ve FAILED, over and over and over again, but that’s ok. I have learned from every circumstance and every situation. I have grown, and I have come to realize that I am extremely FORMIDDABLE!

We’ve been impressed with Saimar Vintage, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Saimar (“say-mar”) is actually more like a “two-part” store experience. On one hand we have the online vintage shop and on the other, we have a fashion styling section, ready for those customers who want to engage with me Saige Elise, CEO and Stylist on a more personal level and become a part of the Saimar Family! The Saimar “shop” specializes in curating authentic vintage pieces, modern-vintage designs, vintage accessories and sustainable/re-usable custom designs. All of our pieces are carefully hand-selected by myself, Saige Elise. We pride ourselves on authenticity and originality. Our pieces are meant to Be Different and Stand Out, they are fierce, funky, elegant, chic and one-of-a-kind, once an item is sold, it is gone forever! “Styled By Saige” is our “fashion styling” section on the site for customers who perhaps want a more personal or informative styling experience. Here we give our customers an opportunity to become long-lasting clients and a part of the Saimar Fam!

We offer many different options, and what we strive for is to give our clients the full, hands on fashion experience by making them feel like the royalty that they are. What sets me apart from others, and what I want readers to know is that I am an artist first, and I am self-taught. I never went to school for fashion, but I have always had “the eye” for it and I believe in myself. I have always known how to throw an outfit together and take vintage clothing and make it look like couture. I create my art through fashion, it’s my artistic expression. Creating a “full look” ready to be revealed. I think conceptually about each piece and I imagine who is the woman or man in this item, Where are they going? I think full-circle, I don’t just take pictures and post clothes and that’s it. That’s the difference, my collections are envisioned first, like an itch that I have to scratch until I can express myself by styling an amazing shoot, displaying the clothes in new fun and interesting ways. My store is Saimar, and I love being a female entrepreneur, it’s empowering, but my brand is Saige Elise, and I am most proud of the fact. No matter what happens, even if I fail, I know that I will never stop learning, creating, and sharing because for me, it truly is about the FASHION, the drama and the moment. I live for it!

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
I used to play tennis growing up and I actually was pretty good. Even all the way through high school, but the story takes place a bit earlier in time. My father was an avid tennis player and he taught my brother and I at a young age. Though I have to admit, I was a bit better than my brother, sorry Marques, lol. Well, one fine day, my father took my brother and I to the courts, which were down the street at the local high school, and we all went to go practice. You see, even though it was hot outside, and we had to practice Marques and I knew that if we practiced hard and played well, the day typically ended with a nice cool round of wild cherry/blue raspberry slushies. This day was no different, we ended the day as we usually did, when my brother made his rounds outside the fence to collect any fly balls, only this time, he had something to prove.

My brother, who is particularly clumsy by nature, remained on the outside of the tennis courts, and asked my father to hit the ball up over the fence in the air, and on the other side of the fence my brother was going to jump over a guard rail and catch the ball on the other side. Just saying it out loud sounds so silly. My brother kept trying to demonstrate to my father how he could jump over and jump back and still catch the ball in the air and land on the other side of the metal chain railing without falling. He said “dad look, it’s so easy, I’m on one side, I’m on the other side,” “I’m on this side, I’m on that side. It’s so easy, guys, I won’t fall”… BANG! That’s right, he fell, tripped right on the chain railing LOL. We all laughed so hard, for days, even after that incident we laughed. To this day, whenever I think about that memory, I still chuckle to myself, haha.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: www.saimar.shop
• Instagram: @saimar.shop

Image Credits
Photos Taken by: Braxton O’Neal Carey IG: @braxtoncarey