Vintage-obsessed millennial spends £95k on old clothes, vintage cars and furniture
A vintage obsessed millennial says he's spent £95k on clothes, cars and furniture from different eras.
Philip Westre, 28, developed his passion after attending a Great Gatsby-themed event at Berns - a historic Stockholm venue built in the 1860s.
He wears vintage suits from different periods and owns cars such as a 1930s Ford Model A.
Over the years, Philip says he's spent roughly £25,000 on clothes, £50,000 on cars, and £20,000 on furniture and antiques.
Philip, a co-founder of Landfall Games, from Stockholm, Sweden said: “I wore a vintage grey striped three-piece suit to the party, went to work the next day in the same clothes, and never looked back.
"Mostly I do it for the aesthetic - how things look visually, and I like the tactile feel of it.
“If you compare a modern suit and a vintage suit, you can really feel and see the difference. Vintage is often cheaper and looks nicer.”
Philip, who also owns a Stockholm-based tweed country sports shop, says he has “always liked the aesthetic” of vintage.
He said: “I’ve always been a collector and loved old stuff.
“It started when I was a kid and discovered history as a concept in school. Then I would go to museums and then discovered flea markets.”
Following the themed party in 2018, he obsessively researched period fashion but found the stereotype of the 1920s to be quite exaggerated.
Phillip said: “People’s view of the Great Gatsby era is a bit skewed. What’s true vintage and what's just from the Great Gatsby movie?
“Most people think it's very glamorous - parties everywhere, and everyone is wearing feathers.
“The 1920s was more boring than we think it is."
Philip's favourite era is the 1920s and 1930s, for the style and quality, but says he likes mixing items from different periods.
He said: "Everything still fits together, because people didn't just throw everything out and it would be kept for generations."
Now Philip is confident dressing entirely in vintage, but says initially he “felt scared" and thought it would “feel like dressing up in a costume.”
He said: “I just rolled with it. Then after a period of time, that feeling went away. I now keep feeling more and more confident in the clothes I wear.”
Philip says people in Stockholm are very accepting and he’s never met with judgement, but this isn’t the case everywhere.
He said: “In Sweden, the reactions aren't like those when I’ve been in San Francisco in the US, where I can’t pass a corner without every person saying something."
Despite this, he says that comments are “always mostly positive."
In Sweden, he says there's a thriving vintage car culture, and he’s acquired three vehicles from auctions in the country.
Philip said: “I have three cars. A Ford Model A from 1930 which I’d say was the first modern car. A 1929 Packard and a car from 1963 - a British one, a Daimler.
“It’s a bit of a subculture here. People love to drive vintage cars around and listen to really loud music.”
Philip Westre, 28, developed his passion after attending a Great Gatsby-themed event at Berns - a historic Stockholm venue built in the 1860s.
He wears vintage suits from different periods and owns cars such as a 1930s Ford Model A.
Over the years, Philip says he's spent roughly £25,000 on clothes, £50,000 on cars, and £20,000 on furniture and antiques.
Philip, a co-founder of Landfall Games, from Stockholm, Sweden said: “I wore a vintage grey striped three-piece suit to the party, went to work the next day in the same clothes, and never looked back.
"Mostly I do it for the aesthetic - how things look visually, and I like the tactile feel of it.
“If you compare a modern suit and a vintage suit, you can really feel and see the difference. Vintage is often cheaper and looks nicer.”
Philip, who also owns a Stockholm-based tweed country sports shop, says he has “always liked the aesthetic” of vintage.
He said: “I’ve always been a collector and loved old stuff.
“It started when I was a kid and discovered history as a concept in school. Then I would go to museums and then discovered flea markets.”
Following the themed party in 2018, he obsessively researched period fashion but found the stereotype of the 1920s to be quite exaggerated.
Phillip said: “People’s view of the Great Gatsby era is a bit skewed. What’s true vintage and what's just from the Great Gatsby movie?
“Most people think it's very glamorous - parties everywhere, and everyone is wearing feathers.
“The 1920s was more boring than we think it is."
Philip's favourite era is the 1920s and 1930s, for the style and quality, but says he likes mixing items from different periods.
He said: "Everything still fits together, because people didn't just throw everything out and it would be kept for generations."
Now Philip is confident dressing entirely in vintage, but says initially he “felt scared" and thought it would “feel like dressing up in a costume.”
He said: “I just rolled with it. Then after a period of time, that feeling went away. I now keep feeling more and more confident in the clothes I wear.”
Philip says people in Stockholm are very accepting and he’s never met with judgement, but this isn’t the case everywhere.
He said: “In Sweden, the reactions aren't like those when I’ve been in San Francisco in the US, where I can’t pass a corner without every person saying something."
Despite this, he says that comments are “always mostly positive."
In Sweden, he says there's a thriving vintage car culture, and he’s acquired three vehicles from auctions in the country.
Philip said: “I have three cars. A Ford Model A from 1930 which I’d say was the first modern car. A 1929 Packard and a car from 1963 - a British one, a Daimler.
“It’s a bit of a subculture here. People love to drive vintage cars around and listen to really loud music.”