Timeless Style Over Trends: Inside the Sustainable Living Movement with Christina Florencio, REVIVAL
From Side Hustle to Style Sanctuary: How One Founder Is Reviving Vintage Fashion in Vancouver
Christina Florencio didn’t plan on becoming a fashion disruptor. She just had an eye for beautiful pieces and a passion for the charm and craftsmanship of the past. What began as a side hustle—a two-foot rack at a shared collective—has grown into REVIVAL, a vintage clothing and home goods boutique in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood that is redefining how people think about fashion, sustainability, and self-expression.
Now with two storefronts, a dedicated community, and a growing movement behind her, Christina is proving that slow fashion isn’t just a trend. It’s a lifestyle.
Wearing Secondhand With Pride
Growing up in a working-class family in British Columbia, Christina often wore secondhand clothes out of necessity. But she quickly learned to see it as an opportunity for individuality.
“What I loved about it was nobody else had it,” she says. “It gave me a deep appreciation for unique clothing at a very young age.”
This appreciation followed her through multiple career pivots, from theater to hospitality, marketing to tech sales, before she finally turned her love of vintage into a business. “Sometimes boredom breeds creativity,” Christina reflects. “I knew I had an eye for great pieces, and I knew I could sell. So I brought it all together.”
The Two-Foot Rack That Started It All
In 2021, Christina rented a small rack at a local vintage collective. “It was only two feet wide,” she says, “but it was enough to test my ideas.” Within ten months, her side hustle had expanded to eight feet, and the momentum didn’t stop there.
By what she calls a “kismet moment,” Christina opened her first store in the Triangle Building, a historic corner of Mount Pleasant. She credits her success not just to her eye for curation, but to running her small business like a big one, keeping tight financials, treating inventory like gold, and building relationships with organizations like Vancity and Women Entrepreneur BC that helped her access startup funding.
Curating With Intention, Sourcing With Soul
REVIVAL isn’t your average vintage store. Christina’s team curates every item with care, sourcing from private estates, international travel, and auctions. Her collections highlight bold prints, timeless tailoring, and pieces that were made to last, from ‘90s baroque blouses to one-of-a-kind ceramics.
“We're very size inclusive,” she says. “Everything is categorized by size first. And we encourage people to shop their own closet before they buy anything. If they find something here that complements what they already love, that’s the magic.”
She also brings in a dose of creative flair with her latest initiative: story tags. These handwritten narratives bring vintage garments to life through short fiction, giving each blouse or blazer a fictional backstory. One silk blouse, for example, once belonged to Dottie Domingo, a car saleswoman turned South Beach dealership owner, whose confidence in the blouse helped her seal every deal.
“It slows people down. It lets them really feel the piece,” Christina says.
Styling Slow Fashion for the Real World
One of Christina’s missions is to help people rediscover the joy of dressing with intention without looking like they’re wearing a costume.
“A lot of people are afraid of vintage because they think it’ll make them look dated,” she explains. “But we teach people to mix it with modern pieces, a moto jacket, a contemporary belt, or just a pop of pattern. Start small, and suddenly it clicks.”
Her team also offers color analysis classes to help customers identify the tones that bring out their best. With small group workshops and a bite-sized approach, Christina’s helping people feel empowered, not overwhelmed, when it comes to personal style.
Breaking the Cycle of Fast Fashion
Christina is clear about where she stands on fast fashion. It’s a problem worth fighting.
“Fast fashion is all about convenience. But when we slow down, we get intentional. We shop our closets. We repair what we love. And we stop buying things that fall apart after one wear,” she says.
After watching The True Cost documentary in 2015, she committed to shopping secondhand for an entire year. Ten years later, she’s still living that promise and teaching others how to do the same.
Her philosophy is simple. Change starts at home. “Take a look at your closet,” she says. “Get some colored hangers. Shift your pieces around. Ask: what can I wear again in a new way? It’s all part of slowing down.”
Style With Soul. Fashion With a Future.
For Christina, the mission behind REVIVAL is simple. Give beautiful things a second life, and help people feel beautiful wearing them.
Every dress, scarf, and ceramic piece tells a story, not just of where it came from, but of where it’s going. And that story doesn’t end at the cash register. It continues with every outfit, every compliment, every moment of joy someone feels when they wear something that truly fits, body, style, and values.
🎧 Listen to the full episode of The Wild Party Podcast featuring Christina Florencio
🛍 Visit her online at mainrevival.com or in-store at 2408 Main Street, Vancouver
