Getting to Know Lauren of Dear Golden Vintage

Editor's Note: Success is always hard to measure in life and in business, but you know that you've achieved at a certain amount when people begin asking Google to tell them who the hell you are. And that's precisely the type of query that brought at least two anonymous visitors to this blog in as many months. Unfortunately, for us, these visitors weren't curious about the royal "we" behind Huzzah! Vintage, but rather Lauren of Dear Golden fame. And who can blame them, really? In addition to running a wildly successful online vintage clothing shop stocked with a seemingly bottomless reserve of timeless eye candy, Lauren also somehow finds the time to write a good-looking blog that is at once breezy and smart. It's no wonder, then, that people want to know just "who IS Dear Golden???"*

What did you do professionally before starting the insanely successful Dear Golden Vintage?

For 8 years I was a waitress, then for 8 years I was a graphic designer & yoga teacher. All of them teach you how to bite your tongue, NOT an easy "skill" to pick up (for me at least).

What's the hardest part of running your business (besides, of course, resisting the urge to keep your lovely finds for yourself)?

The hardest part is that the shop requires so many different tasks and so much time for each of them, there never seems to be enough time to be *done* with any one of the tasks. This creates a feeling that nothing is ever done and there is always something you *should* be doing, which in turn can make a person feel very tired, in general. How crabby do I sound!? Sheesh....

Hamming it up with an apple tree in a characteristically chic and easy vintage ensemble (above)

How would you describe your style in high school, later in college and today?

I started wearing vintage in high school so I'd say my style then was very much like it is now, in fact, that might be sad were it not that I was wearing vintage then and now. Since vintage is never really "out" of style, I'd say it was a smart route to take!

What one fact about you surprises most people?

What comes out of my mouth sometimes tends to surprise people, let's just say I have a biting and healthy sense of raw humor. I'm, um, to put it in vintage terms, "bawdy". Or maybe it's that I love Beowulf, I don't know.

Is there a contemporary fashion trend, in your professional opinion, that must be stopped?

Well, in my professional opinion, and oh yeah, it's very professional (wink), there are like a whole smattering of trends that make me want to scream. The newest one is probably the wearing of what seem to be semi-sheer tights as pants. Wow. I have also always shrieked at the sight of: Ugg boots, sweat pants with words on the butts, Crocs, and well, I'm not much for those sort of tribal-esque headbands worn over the hair and around the forehead.

Lauren likely bemoaning the use of her camera's flash (above left) and with BFF Duff of Jean Jean Vintage at an exhibition of Richard Avedon's work (above right)

Which would you rather: Model for a Dov Charney-directed American Apparel ad or wear an "I Love Glenn Beck" t-shirt to the grocery store?

Please no. No "would you rather" questions, my mind is so busy with so many things, thinking about painful hypothetical situations is just well, painful.

Any expansion plans afoot that you can reveal exclusively to our readers (e.g., website, brick 'n mortar store, Bravo reality series)?

Dear Golden on the moon! Of course! No, actually, I am looking to purchase a downtown building for my shop. This plan is currently in the works so send me good vibes that I get the building I have my eye on!

* actual Google query of one blog visitor. Really!