To many Wellesley students Essentia in the ville may not strike one as a go to shopping source. Before interviewing Essentia I have to admit I was like my fellow Wellesley sisters who thought Essentia was for the more mature residents of Wellesley. But after taking a closer look at Essentia I found that it is actually refreshingly contemporary.
Essentia has a charm about it that no other store possesses. This charm emerges from Victoria Wallins, the founder of Essentia, or what seems more appropriate to say, Essentia’s creator and curator. Essentia is different from the average Wellesley student’s favorite store in that it expresses creative freedom through fashion and style. Therefore Essentia is more than just a boutique, it is an art gallery. Each unique piece of clothing is handpicked by Victoria and the set-up and window displays are put together with thoughtful creativity. When looking at the clothes, jewelry, and kitchenware I feel like I’m looking at art pieces. Every item in the store is a statement piece rich in texture, color, and design.
When I asked Victoria how she finds the collections to sell at Essentia she replied that her “customers are my eyes”. The Essentia team prides themselves on their devoted customer service. They’re always trying to help their customers find that special look as well as encourage their customers to share a favorite designer or label. Through this interaction Victoria is able to discover smaller designers and unknown labels, and because of this collaboration Essentia is full of artistic treasures from all around the world.
For this spring and in honor of Earth Day Essentia will have clothes from the PreLoved collection and the Ethos collection. These two collections are special in that they are fashionable yet environmentally conscious.
PreLoved is a 15 year old company based in Toronto that reconstructs clothing from vintage items. The PreLoved philosophy is to create fashionable, unique clothes while also being sustainable. The company team goes through thousands of bed sheets, curtains, saris, sweaters, and coats per season to find just the right fabric to make dresses, jackets, pants, and tops. By recycling and reusing clothes the “collections have helped us further reduce our carbon footprint”.
To find more info about PreLoved and their interesting design concept visit http://www.preloved.ca/index.php.
Ethos was built off the inspiration to combine fashion with Fair Trade ideals. Ethos uses only raw, organic materials that are processed in a non-harmful way to protect the environment and the residents of the area. Ethos reaches out to developing countries to hire workers, and everyone working for Ethos is paid living wages and is treated ethically. Ethos prides itself for providing “sustainable fashion” and “ethical fashion” through its Fair Trade practices.
To find more info about Ethos visit http://www.ethosparis.us/.
So take a trip over to Essentia and discover a fascinating interpretation of fashion and style.
Essentia is located on 91 Central St., a couple stores away from Upper Crust. Also, take a look at their website to see their many other collections www.essentialifestyle.com.