Our Story
Since 2013, Birthday Life Vintage has been connecting women all over the world with carefully selected and restored vintage fineries. Specializing in 1930s-1970s women's vintage fashions, our items are hand-sourced with particular attention to craftsmanship, detail and wearability for today's modern wardrobe. We always find ourselves drawn to playful prints, bright colors and impeccable tailoring.
Birthday Life Vintage got its start when owner Allyson Hillerby turned her love for fashion history and vintage style into a business. Fueled by the thrill of the hunt, she opened a shop on Etsy using the sewing skills learned from her grandmother and a passion for second-hand treasure hunting with her mom. For the first few years, she single-handedly grew the business from a small office in her apartment. Today, Allyson operates out of her home studio in San Francisco. Contact us for a private shopping appointment!
What Birthday Life Means to Us
Birthday Life Vintage is all about dressing like every day's your birthday! Why dress to impress just one day a year, when you can look fly all year long? Sure, we have our jeans and tee days, but your fancy outfits don't have to emerge from the closet just once a year - give them their time to shine and you will too!
Every Item Gets a Lil Love
Vintage clothes have lived some pretty incredible lives! Most items we offer for sale are over 60 years old, and as is the nature of vintage, it doesn't always arrive to us in perfect condition. With a bit of cleaning and mending (ok, sometimes with a whole lot of it!), we breathe life back into them. Every item we sell has been restored in-house, staying true to the original construction and design. Instead of being discarded in ever-growing landfills, they find new loving homes, arriving clean and ready to wear for many more decades!
Why Buy Vintage?
We value quality over quantity! That's why we've said goodbye to fast fashion and are welcoming sustainable fashion with open arms. The high standards of vintage garment design and attention to detail means vintage is constructed to last.
It's rare to find the same vintage piece twice, so you can happily strut your stuff knowing you'll be the only one looking fabulous in your vintage ensemble. While many contemporary designers are looking to vintage for inspiration or to mimic designs outright, wouldn't you want the original? With vintage you're getting designer quality (or true designer!) for a fraction of the price.