At Magnum Lounge with Total Recall Vintage

© Pamela Wasabi / MFb

Braid innocence with wit, fashion with anarchism, and bodysuits with sarcasm and you get Total Recall Vintage - the most unpredictable and savvy vintage online store you have ever seen. Total Recall Vintage’s ying and yang are Christine Bourie and Patrick De Carlo. I met up with this eccentric couple at the peculiar Magnum Lounge, where I found them absolutely buzzing with charisma.

What are you wearing?

Patrick de Carlo: Creative Recreation white shoes, pin-stripe corduroy pants probably from Urban Outfitters or GAP - due to my 27” waist those are the only places that can suit me. An American Apparel tank top, a gold chain my parents got for me when they went to the Caribbean - I wear it because I want to look like John Leguizamo. And some forty dollar cheap vintage looking glasses probably an old man will wear, those have actually brought me closer to Chris - another story.

Christine Bourie: Jeffrey Campbell shoes, American Apparel pants, and a vintage plaid shirt from Façonnable. My chain and my watch are my grandmothers’.

I sense the chemistry between you two. What exactly is your relation and where did you guys meet?

Patrick: That was back in 2005, we went to school in Orlando to UCF. I was studying creative writing and Christine was studying political science. We were both part of the Students for a Democratic Society organization dealing with topics such as freedom of speech, war issues and GLB (gay, lesbian and bisexual) rights. We formed the biggest organization in the south. We were not dating back then, it wasn’t till later in 2008 when we both moved back to Miami. We reunited and now we are engaged.

© Pamela Wasabi / MFbHow does two very literate and politically active individuals end up with an online vintage store?

Christine: I was just selling stuff on Etsy. I noticed that the vintage clothes being sold online were only 50s and 60s, so I started getting together more 80s and 90s vintage pieces and sold them online. Patrick’s father is a web developer and did the site for us, and that’s how Total Recall Vintage was born in 2010.

Patrick: I’m just the guy in the house shouting out of my lungs how successful Total Recall Vintage is going to be. My part is getting us excited. I also do the photography for the site.

What else do you do besides Total Recall Vintage?

Christine: I’m a hairstylist.

Patrick: I work for a non-profit.

What’s Total Recall Vintage future look like?

Christine: Probably get the stuff out of my house and get a small boutique.

Patrick: We like the idea of having an artist share-space. An avenue for artists to get together, a place that serves a function not just of a store, but to create events, shows, et cetera. 

What’s your fascination with 80s and 90s vintage fashion?

Everything comes from Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. In his movies he is always in an airport traveling wearing a floral shirt next to a Latin woman, like in Running Man, that’s Total Recall’s Vintage style. Bodysuits, acid wash jeans, florals, cropped tops and highwaists.

Having this infatuation with the 80s, would you’ve rather lived back then?

Christine: Definitely not, if we lived back then we’d have been just like everyone else. We like it here, right now.

Patrick: What would the Ed Hardy of the 80’s have been?

Where does the name Total Recall Vintage comes from?

It’s from one of Arnold’s movies “Total Recall” - we wanted a name from a science fiction movie that resemble that grunchy 80’s futuristic vision people had back in the day.

Where do you get the clothes? What are some of the brands that TRV carries?

Christine: From Ebay but I also spent hours digging through thrift shops and stores in Miami. We carry Danskin, Jantzen bodysuits, Charles Jordan and Yves Saint Laurent shoes, among others. Designer stuff and very classy 80s clothes.

Who’s a Total Recall Vintage fashion icon?

Christine: Daryl Hannah in Blade Runner.

Patrick: Courtney Love’s nasty lips and big nose.

Is Miami a hip fashion place?

Christine: I think so. Especially when I traveled to other small cities I can notice the difference, people in Miami know how to dress. If I dress how I do in any other city I’d look overdressed.