Meet Vernalisa

I’m Vernalisa, a stylist and curator whose work blends new and vintage clothing into looks shaped by memory, intuition, and lived experience. I’ve always believed that style isn’t fixed. It’s fluid. Expressive. Something that evolves as we do.

My relationship with clothing began early. When I was nine, I entered a school pageant simply because the other girls were doing it. I didn’t have a dress, and my family couldn’t afford one, so my mother turned a peach bedsheet into my very first pageant gown. She used a paper pattern, sewed it by hand, and added lace at the sleeves and collar as the final detail. I put on my white stockings, stepped into that dress, and walked onto the stage absolutely beaming.

I wasn’t the prettiest girl there. I didn’t have the most elaborate dress. But I wore what I had with confidence, enthusiasm, and genuine joy, and placed first runner up. More than anything, I felt the thrill of transformation. The excitement of being seen. The power of creating something meaningful from what already existed.

That moment stayed with me.

Growing up with limited means, much of my wardrobe was made, altered, or reimagined by my mother using thrifted finds. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but I’ve come to realize that my instinct to edit, change, and reinterpret clothing came from those early experiences. I wanted to stand out. I wanted something unique. I wanted to create new memories from pieces that had already lived a life.

I never learned to sew the way my mother did, but I learned through experimentation, using scissors, glue, pins, and instinct to create new looks. Even now, I rarely leave a piece exactly as I purchased it. Whether it’s vintage or new, I’m always adjusting, styling, or refining it until it feels personal and intentional.

I approach clothing the way an editor approaches a story, keeping what matters, refining what doesn’t, and letting feeling lead. Every piece I style or release is considered, and paired with a song, because memory, like music, is central to how clothing stays with us.

That same excitement I felt at nine years old, the joy of dressing up, of playing a role, of stepping into confidence, is still what guides my work today. It’s why I believe the right outfit doesn’t just change how you look. It changes how you feel.