Into everyone's life, a little desire for originality dost fall. No one wants to show up at an event/party/dinner/red carpet wearing the same thing as someone else. Even if you are dealing with having a stylist, these people all shop in the same places and the tabloid column for "Who Wore it Best?" is never empty. Combine this with the motivation to do something a little more eco-friendly towards our planet when buying clothes .. et voila: vintage couture and your ticket to a one-of-a-kind revelation.

You commit to a dress, let yourself fall in love with it and become one with it: who can forget the dismay and sudden transformation of that dress into the least-desirable piece of fabric on the planet if you see someone else wearing it? It's not even a question of whether they look really horrible or really fantastic in it - they are just a visual deconstruction of the fact that "each of us has an original beauty"... and no matter how uniquely THEY fill out their dress and you yours, there is a lacklustre feeling of being misrepresented and let down by the choice of the garment.

Some of the most memorable recent red carpet moments, thank you Christina Ricci, Charlize Theron, Natalie Portaman, Chloe Sevigny - have been created by the refreshing and romantic notions of vintage pieces. Not just the couture houses either but simple elegant and transformable treasures found at estate sales or remote little vintage shops in small towns. Even if you are long in the torso or wider in some parts than others, if you can find a vintage piece that connects with your energy thematically and romantically, there is a victorious and magical feeling in walking into a room in something so completely yours. Rethinking how many moods and inclinations the average one of us females has in a fashion lifetime, thinking about borrowing inspiration (and pieces) from the past makes a lot of sense.

Some people are petite enough to fit vintage instantaneously without wondering, "how does one sit or breathe.. or blink in this?" but speaking as a long-torsoed tall girl, I think that there is a magic opportunity to personalize a piece when you are forced to custom fit it. When doing a joint photoshoot with U.K.'s tv and radio host Heather Suttie (who is hosting the first ever Green Carpet U.K> in Scotland on August 15th AND wearing vintage for the occasion), we both wanted to capture something romantic AND something which embraced the "green" glamour of the jewelry we were both wearing. (Froote by Elizabeth Moore). Our process of hunting down these distinguished pieces and cutting and tucking in pieces was one of many laughs and revelations.

Wearing vintage (hats with netting especially) is evocative and commanding; at a UK consulate event, both Heather and I sported vintage hats and were constantly approached for the "distinctive and feminine" look of the pieces. I can attest to feeling as though my clothing that night was making as much subliminal conversation on its own as I was verbally. And the beauty of vintage is that it always captures the imagination of a glamour and dramatic extravagance, rarely a negative connotation to a bad phase in fashion history (well, there are the 80s but that's a seperate subject).

You also do not have to pay through the roof to get a stunning piece of vintage - I have a place in Hermosa that is "$10 for any piece in the store" where I have found Alexander McQueen, Hermes and YSL pieces. (If you are in L.A. or visiting, I highly highly recommend "My Granny's Closet" on 16th and Hermosa Ave). Every city has a "goldmine" vintage spot and the key is to shop by instinct - if something resonates with you for whatever reason, try it on. If you have to hem it or remove fabric, there is also an excellently cool new designer called Kiel James Patrick (www.kieljamespatrick.com ) who specializes in super cute cuffs to go with your outfit (see photos). You can also make a headband, florets for your shoes etc.  Designs that capture your imagination are almost worth more than ones that have everything in place for you since the addition or subtraction of something else (a bow, shortened hem line or a cape) makes the piece even more representative of your unique beauty.

 All the dresses in the photographs you see with this article are vintage and no, not a single one of them has ever surfaced on another person in the same hemisphere. *And as many eco-advocates are praising, wearing vintage is a form of recycling pre-existing materials.