We have all heard the statement, “it is going to be legend… wait for it… dary!” And if you somehow have not, that is from television’s wisest Barney Stinson, the father of “suiting up.” Turns out, he is not the only one with an eye and ardor for fashion’s most iconic and recurring statement piece — a well-cut suit. From sunny Los Angeles, Ana Tanaka shares with us the modern day way to “suit up!”

A model and stylist by trade, from a simple scroll through Tanaka’s retro Insta feed, an innovative pairing is never few, and neither is a well tailored vintage piece. A total accident via a spur of the moment styling trick, Tanaka Vintage was born and “designer” was added to Tanaka’s repertoire. “I was styling a model and I cut up a men's shirt and pinned it into a super cute top and skirt look on set.  She posted it on Instagram and people were trying to buy them so I decided to make my outfit reconstructions from vintage Calvin Klein, Vera Wang blazers & Ralph Lauren shirts, etc.” 

“Tanaka vintage is very much inspired by early 1990’s powerful fashion — think big shoulder pads, mini skirts and impeccable tailoring. We up-cycle vintage pieces into reimagined, timeless sets for women. Each set is made to your personal measurements catering to unique body types.” But according to Tanaka there are many reasons to invest in vintage.

Zero waste.

“The benefits of up-cycling and selling made to order pieces is zero waste, turning the regular wasteful fashion production cycle on its head. Tanaka Vintage is a sustainable option for fashion lovers.”

All work and all play. 

“Personally, I have always been obsessed with vintage shopping and thrifting. It’s one of my favorite hobbies for over 10 years, so being able to fulfill this love for ‘work’ is a win for me.”

But the question we all want to know is how can we style these statement vintage sets so we can wear the pastel striped, angelic white or boss black beauties again and again? “I kept in mind ‘the girl on the go’ with my brand as some days you literally don’t have time to go home and change from a busy day of meetings to cocktails with the girls.”

THE VERSATILITY IS ENDLESS:

As If.

“You can rock Tanaka Vintage sets with sneakers, socks and a tank during the day.”

Superwomen do it in high heels. 

“Then throw on a pair of heels and a shirt to dress it up for the evening.”

Two is better than one.

“You can mix and match, so wear the jackets / shirts with jeans instead or wear the skirts with sweaters to dress it down.”

Temperatures are rising.

“I saw a friend of mine wear a bikini with her shirt set at a Vegas pool party and she rocked it!”

“I definitely wear my all black blazer skirt set the most, but my absolute favorites are always all the color — my pastel stripe shirt and my checkered plaid blazer. Next up for Tanaka Vintage is a military inspired drop which I just launched! It’s been hard keeping it a secret since December, but we have had some fine tuning to do with the design, it is actually my favorite design so far. Then for Summer we have a drop that is definitely very close to my heart and is very beautiful. This is still in the design process, but hopefully I can launch it by June. Fingers crossed!”