We Love Joleen Mitton's One-Of-A-Kind Thrifted Style

Joleen Mitton likes to keep busy: She is the founder of Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week, the co-founder of all-Indigenous modelling agency Supernaturals (and a former model herself), a community leader, a mentor, an activist and an avid basketball player. Thanks to her knack for blending unexpected styles together, her wardrobe is filled with a similarly varied mix, from sports tees and camo pants to ball gowns and one-of-a-kind wearable art gifted by designer friends. “I am kind of sporty, I am kind of bougie—on any given day, I can be any of those things,” she says.

Mitton, who is Cree, is also well acquainted with the thrill of thrifting; one of her favourite second-hand finds is the Nunavut-made fur-trimmed coat seen here, which she paired with intricately beaded moccasins by artist Jamie Gentry and statement earrings by Copper Canoe Woman. Supporting Indigenous makers and artists is something she does unconsciously—and consciously—through her clothes and accessories. “I take a bit of my culture with me every day.”

Here, Mitton shares her approach to fashion and how she incorporates her culture into her everyday style.

How would you describe your personal style? How did it change over time?

When I was young, I was an athlete; you would have found me in sweats and a hoodie. It's something that I want to incorporate as I get older, because I'm still an athlete. But when I started modelling as a teenager, I realized I loved big ball gowns and dresses. I love to be able to show up in a way that ignites my femininity.

My mom used to really love clothes. I feel like she did a lot of her therapy through shopping. Watching my mom shop as a little kid influenced me—she’d try on these leather mini skirts with cute matching leather jackets. It was a time of leather and big shoulder pads. I got to see this beautiful Indigenous woman wearing all these really cool clothes. So that translated over to my own personal style.

Now my style is a little bit fancy, a little bit East Vancouver, where I grew up. I’m influenced by hip hop and streetwear. I am kind of sporty, I am kind of bougie—on any given day, I can be any of those things.

Fashion lends itself to this play where you get to figure out who you are and push the boundaries with colour and fabrics and styles.

What’s the key to being confident in your own style?

You got to know who you are first. I think the big thing is not being afraid of looking weird; I feel like people are afraid to go outside of their comfort zone.

When you're not yourself, you're not your best self. So just realizing what it is you actually like and trying not to be like everybody else is really important.

What’s your inspiration when getting dressed in the morning?

It really depends on where I'm going. If I’m going to the office and I'm going to meet with people, I want them to know who I am. Big earrings, something colorful but still professional, and then maybe some ripped jeans to bring a little bit of who I am as a person into my work life, which is really important to me.

I tend to go towards organic materials so that my skin can breathe. I’m dressing for myself more so than anybody else now. If I'm listening to a certain type of music when I'm getting ready, that also kind of directs my mood and what I'm going to wear.

Do you have a signature piece?

Accessories are huge for me as an Indigenous person, and my earrings game is strong. I match them to my shirt or my pants or my shoes. I like to match things. Thrifting is a big part of who I am as a person. If I can remake something I found and then pair it with a beautiful pair of earrings by an Indigenous designer, I'm winning the day. I get to be myself.

Comfort is key as well and I tend to gravitate towards Converse or sneakers. I also got like five pairs of Dr. Martens—I love a chunky shoe or boot. I love anything camo so a good boot aesthetic is really important to me.

You love thrifting. How do you find the good stuff?

You will rarely find me in a store. And if you do, it will always be a thrift shop. I don't want to contribute to this mass environmental issue.

I like digging—it's just about being patient. Thrifters know the adrenaline rush of finding something cool. It’s like “Wow, this is something my Auntie would have worn.” I have a ton of stuff in my collection from the ’50s and ’60s.

I thrifted my white parka [worn] in Vancouver. It’s from Nunavut and I’m pretty sure it’s 75 years old. Luckily, I work in Indigenous fashion, so I know to care for it and treat it with respect. When you wear it you can definitely feel like the weight of the people who made it and the joy they experienced making it. It's a beautiful jacket.

How do you incorporate Indigenous culture into your wardrobe?

I take a bit of my culture with me every day—that's something I do consciously and unconsciously. I want to represent my community. The more I feel like myself, the more Indigenous those accents come out and that's who I am as a person.

In the winter, I get a lot of boots from Manitobah Mukluks, an Indigenous company, so I have some really beautiful waterproof boots that are easy to wear. But the moccasins I’m wearing in the photos are by Jamie Gentry. They are one-of-a-kind and so beautiful, they have a life of their own.

I wear a lot of bomber jackets that have Indigenous motifs and symbols. I try to keep it as Salish as possible because this is the territory that I'm on. A lot of fur, too—it’s a way of life for Indigenous people and rocking it in the winter feels traditional, it feels like being closer to our ancestors.

I also have a coat by Sho Sho Esquiro that’s really special [worn]. Her style is very similar to mine. It’s wool, salmon skin and fur. Every piece of it is well thought out, it’s tailored really. When I wear it, it feels very much me. It’s a gift from Sho Sho. It’s part of our culture to be gifted things and borrowing things and lending things. This jacket feels like something ancient but something new at the same time.

I reworked the pants [in] myself. I had all these T-shirts that I loved from all the different events I volunteered at. I patched the pants with them. One of the patches is a bunch of different reservations in Canada. Another patch is from the Friendship Centre I went to as a kid—it’s where I grew up, it’s somewhere that molded me and got me involved with community. If you're an Indigenous person and you go to a Friendship Centre, no matter where you go in Canada, it's where community resides and it’s a safe space for Indigenous people. That's why those patches are so cool and so important to me.