CLOSET SWAP: Meet Hannah Jennens
Introducing our first Costume Change guest feature!
BABES! I am really excited for this week’s issue, because today marks the first of what will be a new regular guest feature on Costume Change! Welcome to CLOSET SWAP. I may be a person with a lot of thoughts when it comes to personal style, but I am not alone in that category! I am surrounded by cool and stylish people, and I feel like I must share that goodness with the world. And so we’re off!
This week!: meet the extremely stylish Hannah Jennens— performer (the girl can DANCE y’all), owner of the vintage furniture business Make Your Bed, and eBay QUEEN.
First! A short story. Hannah and I met doing a show together on the Cape this summer, which was DREAMY. One day, a big group of us piled into two cars to hit the Goodwill circuit of Cape Cod. Can I tell you, we all scored? Very successful shopping trip (it’s where I picked up this light blue button up from the very first issue of Costume Change!). But my true score of the day was ALL THANKS to Hannah and her fierce eye.
This coat! Hannah walked up to me holding this 100% wool beauty, thrust it into my hands, and said “you must try this on.” The fit was v v good. TWENTY DOLLARS PEOPLE. It literally cost me more to get it dry cleaned. And I am in love. So when I was thinking of guests for CLOSET SWAP, Hannah was obviously high on the list. I love her, I loved our convo, and I am pumped to share it with you. In addition to chatting about how her vintage furniture business came to be, our convo also includes a deep dive into the world of online secondhand shopping, and—of course!—some q’s on Hannah’s personal style. Enjoy!
Hannah! Hi you babe! Can you give us a quick intro? And tell the people about Make Your Bed NYC?!
Hi, I’m Hannah! I’m based in New York City. I’m a performer, a vintage furniture seller, and a freaking online shopper. *laughs* I have spent the last few years in New York pursuing my performing career, which has been so incredible—more than I could’ve ever dreamed of. Performing is my one true love, and I don’t know when I’ll ever be ready to give it up. But Covid came and went, and that time for performers was really rough—I had no work, and no idea what returning to shows was going to look like—so that’s when Make Your Bed was born.
What’s the origin story there? Where did the inspiration come from to sell vintage furniture?
I’ve always loved furniture and design; my mom is an interior designer, so I think I got that from her. Six years ago, when I moved into my apartment, I really wanted to invest in the furniture. I didn’t want to shop at Ikea or Wayfair, so I started scouring the internet, and Facebook Marketplace, and Craigslist, and learning about all these incredible vintage designer pieces and furniture lines. And I started buying things for my apartment.
A friend of mine came over, and she was like “where did you get all this furniture from? This is such incredible stuff!” I told her “I got it off Craigslist.” She immediately was like, “you should be doing this for people.” That was in June of 2020. And so I spent that summer developing Make Your Bed. I sell primarily on Instagram and Chairish—mostly online. I’ve had a few pieces down at The Seaport, in a store called Club Vintage (which everyone should check out! They have amazing vintage: clothes and furniture and homewares, really all of the above). And now we’re at the end of 2023! So it’s been three and a half-ish years of Make Your Bed, which is wild.
It’s so amazing, Hannah. I’m always inspired to hear what people are working on outside of the [performing arts] biz.
Yeah! It’s allowed me to make money when I’m not performing, and it has really stretched me in other ways: learning how to run a business, manage the finances and my time—the problem solving! It’s really, really pushed me, I’ve learned so much, and it’s also a lot of fun. It’s exciting when you know that people are going to love [a piece], and I have a lot of returning clients—that’s always so fun and special. It’s a different part of my life, and I love it. I love having a project outside of performing.
Is there anything fashion-related that you’re really into right now? A shoe? A color? Something from the runway? A TV or movie character’s style?
I just watched the Beckham documentary on Netflix, and I knew that Posh Spice and David Beckham were a thing, but like, THEY’RE A FUCKING THING. Their street style in the 2000s is iconic. Their paparazzi photos?! They walked so Justin and Hailey Bieber could run. Basically anything that Victoria Beckham wore in the 2000s era—I mean she is still so, so chic—but she has really inspired me lately. (And David too! He doesn’t play with his outfits. He definitely has his own sense of style, and definitely has an eye.)
Take a quick scan of your closet. What colors make up the color palette of your wardrobe? Any one color super prominent? What items do you have the most of/love to wear?
When you look at my closet, you are primarily going to see black. Black and denim. I’m not a color girl. I feel most confident and comfortable in black—and neutrals!—but primarily black, and I love denim. I wear denim all week long. I probably have 15 pairs of Levis that I circle through. They might all look the same, but they’re each different! *laughs* They all have their own quirks and fits and vibes, and I’m always looking for new Levis. Because why not? You can never have too many!
We’re going to come back to vintage Levis in a second, but, in a sentence or two, loosely describe the aesthetic of your daily personal style right now—style is transient!
First off, I’d say comfortable—that’s very important to me. Timeless, because I feel like I’m always pulling things from different eras. Every time I walk out of the house I’m wearing at least one or two vintage items. And chic! Because I’m going to give myself that! I’m going to say that I’m pretty chic!
Hard agree! Give yourself that! Okay, okay. Let’s talk eBay. I feel kind of overwhelmed by it. How do you go about scoring on the site? Do you follow specific sellers? Set alerts for certain keywords? Hunt for specific brands?
Okay so, EBAY. eBay, Depop, Poshmark, Thread Up—all of these secondhand clothing sites can seem very overwhelming. And they are! But I think that the more that you sit on those sites, and spend a little time scrolling and searching, the more you can really curate what you want to see. I have spent a lot of time saving and liking and following sellers. Now, when I go on, I can click on an item and then scroll down and see links to another item that’s of the same vibe. If it’s a new seller, I’ll go to their page, and maybe I’ll feel like “oh, wait, I really like this person’s pieces.” I’ll follow them, or I’ll save them, and then when they continue to post new things it will come up on my feed. So I always tell people, you kind of have to spend a little time sitting, scrolling, and searching on these sites first, to see what you want to see.
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My next bit of advice is: know the brands that you’re looking for. Know the vibe you’re looking for, or maybe an era—e.g. the 90s, 2000s. Because you really want to narrow in on what it is you’re putting in the search bar. So, if I’m looking for “black heeled Jimmy Choo boots” (I am, and I currently cannot find them in my size!), I’m going to get a lot more hits than if I just search for “black boots.” And then you can branch out from there, to brands or designers that you maybe didn’t know. Maybe you find someone who was doing something similar, or a designer from the same era—but at a lower price point.
I also think—and this is a lot easier said than done but—know your sizes. Take measurements, and really read item descriptions. Especially for something like a vintage pair of Levis, you have the fit, like a 505, and also the size, as in the waist measurement. If you go to a thrift store, and you try on a pair of Levis that you like, take a photo of the tag in the back. Then you know, “I like the 505, waist 32.” That tag is iconic, it’s on every pair of jeans they make, so from there you can really gauge when you’re looking at clothes online. Also, with something like Levis, you can typically go two sizes up, if you’re looking for a baggier fit.
For the most part, whenever I buy things secondhand, I take them to the tailor. If I buy something and I have in mind “oh, I’m going to tailor this top,” then while I am trying it on, I’m thinking about how I can make it fit at my hip line, or my waist line, exactly the way I want it. Or, if you order something, and you’re like damn, this really isn’t the right size—take it to the tailor! I know it’s a little bit more expensive, but if you’re not already spending $80 on a top from Zara, and you’re instead spending $5 on a top from a thrift store, you can go to a tailor and spend $20, $25 dollars. It’s not going to break the bank, AND it’s going to fit exactly the way you want it. Same thing with vintage shoes: I have taken so many shoes—boots, heels, sandals—to the cobbler, and had the heel caps replaced, or had them otherwise freshened up. I always think that’s a really good option.
We stan taking things to the tailor! Fully endorse that advice. Are there any recent eBay (or online thrift/second hand) scores that you’re feeling excited about?
Something that I actually got recently—that I am so jazzed about!—I sourced a pair of vintage Gucci horsebit loafers off of eBay, and I just feel like I won the jackpot. I have been looking for this particular style of shoe for years. I knew I could probably buy them from a boutique for ~$350, but I just didn’t want to do it! *laughs* I want to buy everything for a steal, that’s why I buy secondhand, and that’s why I shop on all of these sites. So I found a pair that were in my size on eBay. The woman was asking for $160-$170, and I bid $115, and I won them. Gucci loafers! They’re in great condition, in my size, and they are fucking iconic. Exactly what I wanted, for $115, and they’re so good.
Wowza. Stuns. I love! I’m also very into the PATIENCE, can I say?! OKAY, so, I could talk about this forever but! Last question—anything in the back of your mind that you’ll be scanning the racks for (online or otherwise) in the next couple of months?
I really would like some new jackets. I really would like an oversized Carhartt, which is proving to be harder to find than I thought it would be. Or, I really would love a leather, oversized bomber– which is everywhere, but I really don’t want to break the bank and spend, you know, $200-$300. So I’m going to keep looking, and hit a local Goodwill to see if I can find a jacket for cheap.
You will find! I’ll put out some good vintage juju into the Universe. Hannah, thank you so much! SO fun—and hopefully a good primer for folks like me who are eBay curious. Lol. You’re the best, and I can’t wait to put this all together. It’s going to be gorgina gorgeous.
YAYAYAYAY I can’t wait!
Okay Costume Change, that’s our convo! I hope this makes the world of online vintage feel a little bit more approachable? Would love to know if you try it out! If you’re a regular eBay shopper yourself, and there are any tips we forgot to talk about, hit me up! Or drop tips in the comment section below. BIG THANKS again to Hannah for making the time to chat with me, and letting me shamelessly stalk her IG accounts—I feel like a proud mama. You can catch Hannah performing this winter in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, starting November 17th! Love you girl.
This interview was transcribed from recordings, and edited for length and clarity.
Costume Change is a styling newsletter (vs. a shopping newsletter). There’s no spon-con in the above convo—any references to clothing/shoes/pop culture, etc. are purely honest-to-goodness recommendations. Thanks for reading, and reminder to keep those comments kind!