Images: Liv Davies/Provided
A former water-treatment engineer is swapping corporate life for racks of Y2K fashion, with her three-year-old vintage business preparing to open its first permanent store in Adelaide.
Liv Davies will open Thrifty Gal at 120 Grenfell Street this Saturday, bringing her racks of one-off early 2000s pieces and reworked clothing to the CBD.
“I used to work in a corporate setting. The reason I actually started Thrifty Gal was to get women better corporate clothes because I found corporate clothes so boring. I wanted to make them more fun.”
“I would be at my job, on my computer, thinking, ‘God, I’m so uncomfortable right now.’ The clothes never fit right.”
Now, instead of sitting at a desk as a water-treatment engineer, Davies will be spending her days surrounded by the vintage pieces she has spent years collecting, repairing and reinventing.
The move from engineering to vintage fashion might sound like an unlikely career change, but Liv says the two paths are connected by a desire to make a difference.
“It’s a big leap, but if you knew me as a person, it’s not,” she says.
“It was really important for me to do something with my life where I’m contributing to helping the world become more sustainable. But I also wanted to do something more creative and tactile.”
Davies started Thrifty Gal selling vintage clothing at markets before joining Adelaide vintage store My Dead Grandpa.
“I think [My Dead Grandpa] really gave me a platform to actually talk to people and meet people as well, and really show them what Thrifty Gal is all about outside of markets,” she said.
“I feel like this store is almost a massive market because I get to set up the whole vibe, make it inviting and fun for people and actually interact with them.”
The store is primarily focused on Y2K and early-2000s fashion, catering to younger women looking for vintage pieces that feel wearable and distinctive.
“We’re really trying to bring to Adelaide what so many other cities in Australia already have,” Liv said.
And for Liv, the appeal of second-hand fashion goes beyond nostalgia.
“I think everyone right now is living in such an interesting time when it comes to clothes because there’s such a massive shift in the fashion industry,” she said.
“People are getting sick of fast fashion. They’re starting to become a lot more aware of how so many clothes are made in literally the exact same place and they’re just slapping a label on them.
“I think people are really wanting to choose clothes that express who they are and make them feel like an individual.”
Some of the store’s most distinctive pieces are created by reworking old clothes, including button-up blouses that Davies and her team transform by adding ruching at the waist.
“Instead of it being a boring, baggy top, it becomes more of a statement piece,” she says.
Another point of difference is Thrifty Gal’s approach to vintage sizing.
Rather than relying on the often-confusing labels found inside vintage clothing, the store uses a standardised system based on measurements.
“We have a sizing system at Thrifty Gal where we use a board to measure a top from pit to pit, and that designates what size it is,” Davies says.
Davies’ launch event is this Saturday, September 12, 11am to 5pm with free goody bags with every purchase and Miss Sixty giveaways to a lucky winner!
Thrifty Gal
When: Opening on Saturday, September 12, 11am to 5pm
Where: 120 Grenfell Street, Adelaide
To find out more, click here.
