Meet Liina Maria, a seeker of awe & a secondhand fashion advocate

Consciously, I don’t follow any trends – I follow what makes me feel good.

There’s a trend we all know: when women step into leadership roles, their wardrobes often shift to mirror masculine codes – blazers and tailored trousers. It’s a conscious decision I chose not to follow. I’ve kept the energy of femininity alive in my clothing – the unapologetic boldness of it all.

Interestingly, the punchline about my fashion choices is that I’m half colourblind. I can’t always distinguish certain shades – blue and purple can blend into one, red is difficult to see among green. In other words, I wouldn’t be able to spot a strawberry in a field, though blueberries I can find. This actually leads me to something quite delightful: I don’t always know exactly what colours I’m wearing, which means I sometimes dress even bolder than I know.

One would think that being half-colourblind would make you shy away from colour, but it’s the opposite for me. My love for colour has been with me for as long as I can remember – and playing with colours has become part of who I am.”

But my work has often dictated that I need to be professionally presented. One moment I am on a stage as a speaker and another, taking part of business meetings in different countries.

Overall, for me, the common corporate attire lacks excitement, so I have found my ways to dress around it and I test the limits in these settings. The international roles have also pushed me to really test my style limits, one extreme example being my business visit to Saudi Arabia.”

But I must admit, in the end it did feel like my identity is being killed. Especially, because I couldn’t really wear anything expressive – no colours or even exciting earrings. Not to mention, that you cannot even speak your mind before you are spoken to.

Such experience made me understand how much I express myself through clothing and colours.”

A recent favourite has also been the 2024 documentary about Leni Riefenstahl – a controversial figure, of course, but one who dressed with an undeniable sense of style. Painted lips, dramatic hats – she maintained her elegance even in Nazi Germany. This, particularly during the cold months, reminded me that when it’s gray outside, dressing well is about feeling well.

I’ve also started this playful habit I call camouflaging (in Estonian, sulanduja) – the art of blending into my surroundings. Whether it’s a piece of furniture, a car or a work of art, I often discover myself to match some part of the environment and capture it in a photograph. It’s a fun way to play with colours.”

I avoid clothes that wrinkle easily! Previously, looks were more important to me, but now comfort comes first.

When shopping secondhand, I only buy thing that feel 100%. My recent absolute favourite is the same yellow cozy jumper I am wearing right now.”

I really didn’t care about the clothes. But when the Soviet era ended and we got access to the “new”, the happiness about anything new was unreal at that point.

After the re-independence, there was a period of feeling undeserved shame for having worn old clothes for a long time. I can see my mom has been influenced by that much stronger, but she is now good at combining new and old.

But a little later, when my daughter was born, I got tired of looking like everyone else, which was the result of all the “new trends” at that point. So secondhand gave me access to something that helped me to be unique and find true variety that you can’t get from the “new”.

The first store I visited at that point as USA Today.”

I still have some fast-fashion items in my wardrobe from years ago that, until this day, are the ones that serve me every time I’m not sure what to wear.

Take another example – for 5 years I’ve been attending the Estonian yearly entrepreneurship awards gala. And all of my outfits for these events have been from secondhand sources. That includes earrings, bags, shoes and clothes, of course.

I often get compliments for my outfits at such moments and I always proudly state that I got it secondhand.

There is a stigma reply stating that I somehow know how to find items from secondhand but others don’t. It’s absolutely not true though.

A good example is also a recent welcome ceremony at the Estonian president’s reception, where me and my daughter both wore secondhand dresses. The same goes for the opening event of PÖFF”.

I also love to go secondhand shopping when I travel. I usually navigate cities going between 3 places – secondhand shops, specialty coffee shops and middle eastern restaurants. It’s an excellent way to discover new cities – you will discover a lot more than staying just on the main streets.

I’m glad to say I have rubbed that mindset off my daughter Frida as well.

A good example is a vintage black leather skirt I bought from Rome – I am probably going to wear it forever. Secondhand clothes bought from travels are something that I link memories to. For example – my glasses frames are from Paris.

I also find that buying exclusive items, Estonian design for example, from secondhand is an excellent idea. Buying something new from just one time wear is sad, but if you buy it secondhand, and know you can pass it on, it’s a whole another experience. I do love and appreciate local design, but it’s not sustainable to buy even something like this for only one time wear.

When it comes to physical stores versus online stores, I find shopping in physical stores a lot easier.”

I also love my green silk shirt from Fankadelik.

The most difficult to find are jeans – finding the good fit is challenge. Jeans are something I wear to shreds, so I always go for a similar model.

As a secret tip – consignment-type secondhand shops are especially good – you can choose the railings of the sellers, that match your style and size the best and go from there. This is really good for someone who is always in a hurry, like me, and wants to optimise their time.

In Estonia, Bazaar is a good place for shopping like this. When you find the person’s railing that matches your style, you can easily leave the store with multiple items.

Another tip is to follow the colours that you like. For me, it means starting from the most colourful pieces.”

Here’s a funny story. I had a dream about how I was visiting friend at country side. And I wanted to make an impression, so I took golden velvet pants out of my bag and wore them. After this dream, I travelled to London and accidentally found golden velvet pants from a secondhand store. Of course I had to buy them. How often do you see golden velvet pants in secondhand? This is also a story I love telling my friends about these pants!”

But I don’t really bother with the opinions. I make it an honour thing. Let’s be honest, we can all go to a Zara and buy a nice piece from the trendy rack. But if you find something cool from secondhand, that’s an achievement. You’ve taken the rough route.

Now I am at the point, where people come to me and ask “well, that’s from secondhand again, right.”. It’s about nudging with tiny steps.

A good trick is to ask your friend, who is already good at shopping secondhand, to guide you through the beginning. For example, I’ve had my friend, who never goes to a secondhand shop alone, ask me with excitement, if I’d come visit one with her that she saw on her journey. This is a big shift in mindset to notice!

For someone completely new to secondhand shopping and wanting to browse on their own, I would recommend starting with small boutique-like secondhand shops – these are the ones where it’s exciting and comfortable to navigate through, especially compared to the crazy large thrift stores, where you can get lost in the overload of clothes.”