The Vintage Pop-Up Shop Revolutionizing Local Fashion
With her pop-up curation of one-of-a-kind vintage finds, Worthy Rags founder Idenise Rodriguez invites you to discover your new favorite piece that is as innately original as you are. From her first Worthy Rags pop-up shop at the College Park Farmer’s Market, Rodriguez has been spreading her passion for vintage finds throughout the Orlando area.
“I went one time to LA and I fell in love with their vintage flea markets, and that’s what gave me the idea that I can do this,” Rodriguez remembers. “I find pieces and clean them up—that’s how I make them worthy. I think, I can fix this or steam it or make it new again and somebody will love it.”
Featuring a patiently-curated collection of unique items from the past, Worthy Rags represents Rodriguez’s desire to inspire women to see beauty in the unexpected and to live a life of style that portrays their remarkable individuality—and worth.
“Every year, I pick a word that would help me work on myself, and one year, my word just so happened to be ‘worthy.’ I didn’t feel like I was enough. With social media and everything, you have a standard for beauty. With Worthy Rags, I can talk about my experience as I go and encourage women.”
Rodriguez is on her way to becoming a true tastemaker in the City Beautiful, motivating women to embrace the eclectic spectrum of fashion that echoes the melange of faces and figures who call Orlando home.
“In Orlando, people are trying to pinpoint what our style is, but it’s like a melting pot—everybody from every culture coming together and trying to feed off of each other and inspire each other,” Rodriguez shares. “That’s how I look at fashion.”
This love for the people of her city has served as an influence in Rodriguez’s vintage collection, as she has experienced the joys of bringing her clients the special pieces for which they have been searching.
“When people are looking at vintage clothing, they want to go back to that era and relive it. Right now, everybody’s into the nineties, so they are trying to find authentic pieces from the nineties. How do you do that? You have to go vintage shopping.”
With such a colorful variety of decades and designers, vintage clothing is the perfect canvas for Rodriguez to capture the wide range of beauty showcased throughout Central Florida, while providing her clients with the authenticity they are searching for—both in their clothing and in their community.
“What I love about my pop-ups is having compassion for people, meeting different people… People crave that—they crave community. And that’s what I want,” says Rodriguez. “I don’t want to be just a brand that says, ‘You have to look this way in order to wear my stuff.’ I like all different shapes and sizes of people and different cultures. I love bringing in different skin colors and palettes into my photoshoots.”
Rodriguez also enjoys highlighting the city’s photographers through her promotional shoots, serving as a curator not only of statement pieces but also of local talent. Some of her Orlando-based photographers include David Lee, Johely Bruno, Chepe Jose, Faith Holden, and Luis Diaz. But aside from her amazing photographers, Worthy Rags is constructed solely from the mind and heart of Rodriguez.
“When I’m done with a pop-up, I feel full, and my heart is full. I’m always thinking, is it going to work, are people going to show up? But it always works out. People are responding to it. It’s definitely a leap of faith for me.”
That leap of faith has certainly begun to pay off. With each new pop-up, Rodriguez is watching the impact she is leaving on those who find a new favorite piece from Worthy Rags. And this impact is only growing.
“I want to at some point become an empowering brand… to empower women and people in general… Every time you come, it’s about finding that special piece. I don’t want to keep it in a box.”
You can catch Rodriguez and Worthy Rags currently popping up at the College Park Farmer’s Market, and join Worthy Rags at the Glo Up Series: Glam Sessions on July 12, 5-8pm at 1520 Edgewater Dr. Suite J, Orlando, FL.
