Berriez

Jan 17, 2020 / Photo: Courtesy of Jessica Portillo

Emma Zack was thrilled when she discovered she could shop for vintage clothing on Instagram—until she started scrolling.

“I remember sitting in my apartment for hours looking through what felt like hundreds of Instagram shops and never finding anything in my size (an always fluctuating 14),” she explained. “Occasionally, I’d find a shop selling something ‘oversized’ on its page (but shown on a thin model), and I’d buy it immediately. Even if I wasn’t particularly thrilled about the piece, I was just excited there was something in my size. Or so I thought. The clothes usually didn’t fit, and none of them were returnable.”

After amassing many vintage plus-size pieces, Zack decided to resell the ones that didn’t fit her properly—and Berriez was born from there.

Berriez is “curated for curves,” offering a variety of vintage clothing that flatters fuller figures. By scouring shops and flea markets in and out of NYC, Zack finds pretty, empowering pieces for body types that are often alienated.

“Whenever I search for new items, I always make sure to look for clothing that plus-size people are typically told not to wear: bold prints, bright colors, and clothing that forms to your figure,” she explained.

She also has a penchant for fruit patters because they’re fun, vibrant and flatter every body.

Though Zack currently sells her pieces on Instagram, she’s working on launching her own e-commerce website. She’s also looking forward to several collaborates with illustrators, and other vintage shops this year.

More about Berriez can be found here.