The Search For The Perfect Pair Of Vintage Fit Jeans Is Over

British stylist, consultant, author and zine queen Bay Garnett has collaborated once
again with London label M.i.h Jeans,
producing a dreamy second Golborne Road collection exclusively for Selfridges. Mining Bay's personal archive for inspiration, the capsule includes five limited edition pieces inspired by the vintage finds she's accumulated over the years, and also includes original vintage pieces sourced from thrift stores across LA.

We've looked to Bay and her eye for a secondhand find since the '90s when she co-launched anti-fashion zine Cheap Date, which saw her style editorials with vintage and charity shop steals. Her vision helped her procure her first magazine shoot – styling Kate Moss in Regent's Park, shot by Juergen Teller – which in turn led to consultation for designers and editors across the industry.

"My obsession with vintage began in New York in the late '90s where you could find the most beautiful things if you were willing to search for them," Bay explains. "These pieces were precious because you had found them and they were one-offs. When I started styling with secondhand clothes it wasn’t about being deliberately anti-fashion, it was because these clothes had significance, they combined different bits of style and culture and they were individual."

The collection features five new pieces inspired by vintage items Bay has "lived in and loved" throughout her career. The Bay Jean, based on a '70s denim pair styled on Chloë Sevigny and included in the first Golborne Road capsule, is back in a faded wash with a recycled leather patch on the pocket. The Bay also comes in a summer-ready cut-off short in a contrasting deep indigo denim with orange stitching. Two tiger pieces – a knit with a prowling motif and an animal-print polo – are inspired by her finds in a San Francisco vintage store, while the safety pin-printed tee is an homage to T-shirts Bay gave out at Cheap Date parties back in the '90s (Liv Tyler still has hers, apparently – you can bet we'll be snapping up the replica).

For the vintage pieces, Bay rallied her gang of LA-based friends, including actor and writer Tallulah Willis, musician Tennessee Thomas and artist Lea Marcaccini. "They all have such amazing style, so we all went shopping together to find the pieces," Bay tells Refinery29. They embarked on a road trip through sun-soaked LA, hitting up renowned vintage treasure troves in Topanga Canyon, the Valley, Highland Park and Pasadena's Rose Bowl flea market, and shooting the capsule along the way. With cacti, palm trees and vintage rides at every turn, the lookbook is enough to make us want to jump in an old school Cadillac with friends and do some thrifting of our own.

"For the lookbook, I was inspired by the thrifting expeditions I used to go on with friends – we'd take a camera and drive to Atlantic City in the US or Brighton in England, and we just had this sense of freedom and fun." With her wealth of experience, does she have any tips for vintage shopping? "Only go if you're actually in the mood, or you'll pick up things you'll never wear; only go when you have something specific in mind, and go with friends – you'll have more eyes to spot gems."

All the sourced pieces in Bay x M.i.h's Golborne Road collection have been resized and dry cleaned, so are ready to wear as soon as you get them home. We'll be pairing the silk blouses with the Bay denim, and wearing the '70s striped tee with the cut-offs. Now, race you to Selfridges – as with all good vintage, once it's gone, it's gone.