Meet The Thrifty Instagram Boutique Creator Florrence Finds

Video by Hailee Kaske
Story by Grace Bolthouse

Victoria Alonge is a Central Michigan University junior majoring in advertising. This Mason native is the owner of her own online clothing boutique on Instagram, called Florrence Finds.

Alonge thrifts clothes and upcycles them into brand new original pieces by bleaching, cutting and distressing. Her target market is CMU students, and she thrifts a lot of CMU spirit wear into one-of-a-kind pieces.

This fashionista began in February 2018 with just six items— all sold in less than 30 minutes. This gave Alonge the confidence that her Instagram business would be a hit with local students, and she kept working everyday to create more.

Alonge has always had a passion for thrifting clothes. She remembers shopping with her mom in thrift stores as a child. When she got older, she worked at Plato’s Closet, so she got familiar with pricing of used clothing.

She has always had a dream of combining her love for fashion, thrifting and advertising to create her own brand, and with the help of her friends, she was encouraged to start her own online boutique.

The Netflix series “Girl Boss” was also a huge motivator behind her decision to start her thrifting journey. The show depicts a character who started reselling clothes in her apartment and grew into a huge success through hard work.

Growing up with a closet full for secondhand finds, Alonge found stylish looks in the most uncommon places. This showed her the importance of looking where others wouldn’t and gave her motivation to give the clothes another chance.

Throughout the journey, she learned more about bleaching, cutting and styling her favorite consignment finds to match today’s trends. Alonge loves finding new pieces and searches the entire store in order to find unique pieces for her customers.

After thorough cleaning and preparation, her designs are then listed on Instagram, sold and shipped within 3-5 business days.

Alonge proves that it is possible to be a successful business woman and a full-time student, and encourages others to start doing something they’re passionate about.