Second Vie was founded out of a desire to bring a “second life” to vintage items. Our founder, Charity Schweiger had long been an avid thrifter and was constantly crawling the secondhand shops of every city she traveled to. Her family kept telling her that one day she would have to grow up and “stop playing dress up”. But this commentary only sparked her to ask the question, “What if you could play dress up in real life?” Why does dressing up have to be associated with play or with costumes? What if that same sparkle and zest that comes from making an amazing look could be incorporated into dressing every day?

After exploring shops, estate sales, and flea markets the globe over, Charity began to develop a unique aesthetic and sense of style that has helped her to curate each individual piece offered at Seconde Vie. An avid traveler, Charity has brought her trained eye to cities from Paris to Austin and acquired unique pieces that deserve another life out on the town. It doesn’t take much imagination to see the life that these jewels had before and they’re just begging to be worn again.

Charity loves the power of a good story and seeing each of these costume jewelry pieces from the mid-century era has drawn her into researching the cocktail culture and events of the past. Everything from a good party to a wedding fascinates her. She has made it her mission to present these pieces to the modern world as a way to bring these beautiful gems into the present and begin writing new stories.