Compassion Fashion Project: This Week's Challenge: Support a Domestic Violence Survivor "Retro-Style"

Purchase this dress at SomeLikeitVintage.com.

Some designers and clothiers get mired in the frivolty of the fashion industry, never reaching the dark recesses of their creative minds where the great work hides. This is not so for Veronica Cizmar whose horrific story, read here, has spurred her to do great things in her own life as well as the lives of others. Featured in "Romantic Homes Magazine," "Hollywood Weekly E!," and "Northern Virginia Magazine," Cizmar is the proud owner of the online store, Some Like it Vintage, where she takes the garments of yesteryear and turns them into cinematically romantic threads for today's most stylish of fashion fanciers. She also has her own clothing line called Creative Vintage, fashioning retro reruns into chic designs with a modern twist. Fashionista as she may be, Cizmar has turned the sometimes frivolous world of fashion into a platform for social purpose. Each sale results in a 10% donation to women's shelters and causes.

Purchase this dress at SomeLikeitVintage.com.

SomeLikeitVintage.com specializes in women's and men's clothing from the 1930s to 1980s, new and modern items, home decor items, and her private label clothing line. Cizmar has courageously recovered from a severe abusive relationship. Held hostage by her fiancé for 16 months, he is now serving a 15 year sentence in a Canadian prison. Read her story in its entirety here! Since launching in 2006, Cizmar currently fills her time with running SomeLikeitVintage.com, volunteering at a women's shelter, conducting self-defense seminars and training in martial arts. She holds an internationally recognized black belt in Wado Ryu karate. Oh, you go girl!

Purchase this item at SomeLikeitVintage.com.

Adding to her humanitarian work, vintage is by default eco-friendly. Recycling clothing helps the environment by using little or no energy resources. Cizmar also uses bio-degradable products when possible for cleaning procedures. A wonderful way for all of us to participate and show our altruistic side on a more global scale is by purchasing vintage and incorporating it into our daily wardrobe.

Symbolic to her own life, redesigning and reconstructing vintage garments extends them a second life. Putting a modern feel to a vintage garment while maintaining respect for its history could be considered quite a cathartic activity for us all. Items are carefully chosen to incorporate function, practicality, wearability, and style. The quality of vintage clothing often surpasses anything made today and is a fun and unique way to shop.

Purchase this piece at SomeLikeitVintage.com.

Cizmar is putting something beautiful in a world where she knows horror does truly exist. Intent on spreading the message that women should earn their own livings and increase their self-confidence, she is commited to giving back while actively chasing her own dreams, even if they are decorative enough to enchant the most superfluous of the fashion industry. She gives us all a new way of looking at philanthropy, not only in fashion, but in our day to day lives.

Veronica Cizmar's Shops

Some Like it Vintage

Etsy Shop