Shirin Altsohn (@shrinatra) is a 22 year old vintage fashion blogger and influencer from Germany. Her style is classic and effortless, and has helped her emass a following of 285k on Instagram and over 4 million views on her Youtube channel. I began following Shrin long before I made my way into the vintage fashion community, back then she had around 20k followers and her fashion choices were of great inspiration to me, as they are for many others. She has ever so kindly allowed me to interview her and pick her brains about all things fashion!

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your fashion style?

“I'm Shirin, I am 22 years old and a Vintage Soul from East Germany who's working as an artist, model and content creator. A lot of people know me under the name 'Shirinatra', which is a composition of my first name and Frank Sinatra's last name. Sinatra is one of my favourite singers of the 20th century and the name 'Shirinatra' stands for my love for times gone by. I would title my Fashion Style as 'Vintage Inspired' since I like to take inspiration from different eras, but mix and match and create my own unique look. I'm not going for a 100% authentic style and I'm also not able to stick to only one era. I think I'm a little bit of a chameleon when it comes to that. Besides Vintage Fashion, I'm a huge bookworm who loves to read classic novels and I also can't live without some good period dramas and Old Hollywood films. Travelling, Drawing and Photography are also three of my biggest passions, which I like to share on my platforms too.”

When did you choose to start dressing a vintage style, and why?

“I started dressing in a vintage style in April 2018, so only a bit over 2 years ago. But I fell in love with it a few years earlier when I was around 13/14 years old. It all started with "Breakfast at Tiffany's" and Audrey Hepburn’s iconic black dress. I fell in love with the aesthetics, the timeless cuts and shapes and the feminine silhouette it created. As someone who was always very slim with a small waist, I thought it could be the right style for me to emphasize my figure and it turned out to be right. At the moment, most of my clothes are vintage reproduction but I also love to get some true vintage pieces. Thinking about the history of those pieces is amazing and I love giving them a new life. Also, I'm just a nostalgic person. All in all, the vintage (inspired) style makes me happy, confident and I can't help but loving it - that's why I'm wearing it every day.”

What/who are your main fashion inspirations?

“I can already say, I have a lot of different fashion inspirations. Two women that inspired me from the start and will keep inspiring me are Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly. Both ladies had such a timeless style and they made even the simplest outfits look absolutely classic. In general, the ladies from Old Hollywood, whether from the 1940s, 1950's or 1960's, influence my fashion choices a lot. On the other side, I take inspiration from period dramas, old paintings and literature. I have a soft spot for a romantic and natural style with loose hair, no makeup and lots of white and beige. I dream of looking like a Bennet sister or a woman of a pre-raphaelite painting sometimes. And when I feel a little more masculine, I love to get inspired by Sherlock Holmes, Peaky Blinders or some vintage adventurers. As much as I love dresses and skirts, there's nothing against a good pair of pants. As you can see, I love to reinvent myself every day and it's loads of fun!”

You have a vast following on your Instagram, Youtube and blog. Can you tell us a bit about why you started posting on these platforms, and do you think they have influenced your fashion at all?

“I started to post on those platforms because I wanted to connect. I didn't want to feel alone with my interests and passions anymore so I thought social media would be the easiest way to find like-minded people. It also helped me to feel more confident with myself and my style and that was something I really needed. I also wanted to get more into (fashion) photography and just share my creative side on the internet. But it was never my goal to become some kind of Fashion Blogger with a bigger platform. It was something very far away for me and it's still surreal to this day. I just wanted to feel safe and accepted and at this point, I hope to provide a safe and accepting place for other like-minded people with my platforms.

The platforms, or more the people on those platforms, definitely influenced me over the past years. My style definitely changed since I started and I tried out a lot of different things but not because I felt forced to do it. I always loved to find some new inspiration, reinvent myself, grow with my knowledge and fashion style. Especially when it comes to sustainability, I was able to learn a lot over the past few months and it influenced me in a positive way to have a closer look at brands and clothes, to buy more conscious and build a different 'relationship' with my clothes.”

Do you have any tips for someone wanting to start dressing in a vintage style?

“First and foremost I think it's important to make some kind of research. What kind of style would you like to try? Which era inspires you? How did they dress, what kind of cuts and patterns did they have? Which hairstyle or makeup can you wear with the outfits? That doesn't mean you have to be 100% accurate, but when you start off it's good to have a sense for the certain eras. That will make it easier to find your style and also buy the right pieces.

Talking about accuracy, don't pressure yourself! There's a misconception within the Vintage Fashion community that you have to be accurate otherwise it's not ok. But let me tell you, there's no rule. Wear a 1950's dress with long flat hair or pair 1920's pants with a 1940's blouse. Of course, if you want to go 100% authentic you can do that too and there's nothing wrong about it either but I think it's good to know, that at the end it's your own decision and you can wear and combine what you like.

Which means you also don't have to choose only one style, you can try out many different ones.

When it comes to buying clothes - first of all, be patient. It doesn't happen overnight and it takes time to build a new wardrobe. Second, try to start with some basics with plain colours or just some very simple patterns, nothing too crazy. Once you have them you can still continue with some more unique clothes. But when you start off it's good to have a handful of pieces that you can combine in many different ways. Some unicolored blouses, skirts, cardigans and belts can already make a few different outfits.

Last but not least, you have to be aware that people will look at you and might even talk to you about your style. It can be a bit weird at the beginning but it's something you'll get used to, so don't let it stop you. The people are usually very kind and positive about it and even when they are not - remember that it's your life and that it makes you happy - that's the most important thing!”

If you had to give one piece of advice to your younger self about your fashion style now what would it be and why?

“I would just tell my younger self to not care about the fashion trends, what other people think about her style and just continue being herself. There will be people who judge her and don't like it because it's different. But it shouldn't stop her and she should continue to embrace it. There are actually more people like her than she may think. She should just follow her heart, love and passion because that will truly make her happy and confident!”

Do you have any wishes for the future of fashion? (Styles, sustainability, materials, trends) etc.

“That's a good question. In general, I hope that the relationship between us and clothes will change from fast to slow again. I love the idea of passing down clothes for generations and I hope that more people will consider that again. That people choose more wisely and sustainable and buy with the thought of giving their clothes a long life.

Of course, I hope to see that kind of philosophy in more brands too - creating pieces that are meant for a long life and go away from fast fashion. Also changing to natural fabrics or recycled old fabrics to create some unique pieces. Fortunately, some brands already do this and hopefully, there will be more in the future.

As for styles and trends I don't have any particular wishes because everything I like was kind of already there. I don't think the vintage-inspired style is the only right one so I don't necessarily wish for everything to come back. But it's always great to see some older styles a bit modernized and I hope that people will continue getting inspired by vintage fashion.”