This Week's Challenge: A Survivor Fights Back With Force and Fashion

Veronica Cizmar

We featured Veronica Cizmar and her adorable shop Some Like it Vintage on January 1, 2011 in an article titled Support a Domestic Violence Survivor "Retro-Style."   Cizmar does not focus on her tragic experience featured here in Veronica's Story, in fact she has a host of new focuses in her life.  Not being bound by past personal experiences, she has chosen to overcome and conquer in not only her own life, but also the life of others.

Please find below a short interview with the brave and beautiful, Veronica Cizmar:

Purchase this dress now!  

Q.  Tell everyone about your wonderful shop, Some Like it Vintage and how the sales from your shop benefits domestic violence survivors?

10% of the proceeds from this dress go to domestic violence causes.  

A.  Some Like it Vintage is an online vintage clothing store. I specialize in women's vintage dresses but carry a variety of vintage garments, even for men! I happily donate 10% of all my sales to The Redwood Shelter in Toronto - more when I am able. The shelter relies heavily on private funding and donations to supplement their government grants in order to provide what is needed for their residents.

Some Like it Vintage  

Q.  You recently told me that you also volunteer your time at your local women's shelter.  What kind of activities do you partake in at the shelter?

Cizmar taking down the 4th degree black belt man.

A.  I volunteer weekly by cooking dinner for all the residents. I try to create a healthy and diverse menu, often incorporating the many traditional world holidays that arise throughout the year. I also teach karate and self-defense seminars once a month to the women, their children, staff and other volunteers who wish to learn to defend themselves against an attacker.

Another 4th degree black belt opponent feels the wrath of Cizmar.

Q.  Can you tell us about your karate experience and why you started taking karate classes?

Sparring in a tournament.

A.   I began karate as I needed an intense workout to help me overcome my own anger issues. Surviving a severe hostage experience at the hands of my former fiancé, I was left to deal with post-traumatic stress and all the emotional issues attached to it. Anger was a large part that needed to be dealt with properly and my first reaction was to release the anger through physical training. My thought was karate would be intense enough, and at the same time I would learn how to defend myself. Several years later, I have attained a 2nd degree black belt and continue to train and teach. 

Teaching karate to children in the Bahamas. A karate workshop trip.

Q.  Why did you feel like teaching karate to the residents of your local women's shelter was beneficial for them?

Demonstration of self defense techniques, geared specifically for women.

A.  There were several reasons I wanted to teach karate to the shelter residents. Since I was also a domestic abuse survivor, I could appeal to the women and children on their level and understand what they were dealing with. I could sense their emotional stresses and tap into what I felt they could benefit from, and then give my advice and knowledge. Some of my karate seminars involve more talking than actual workouts - it depends on who is participating.  Some women just want to talk, others need the physicality for stress release - either way, I am there to help. Also, the shelter had been looking for a female karate instructor rather than a male, and when it was discovered I train and teach at my local dojo, it was a natural fit. We need to take care of our bodies and when we do, our mind becomes more clear - it's a strong message I relate to anyone. It works and thousands of years of martial arts has proved it.

Support Cizmar and Some Like it Vintage.  

Q.  What other ways do you feel like we as women can do to get to the root of this issue of domestic violence and really make an impact on the men in our society?

Demonstration of self defense techniques, geared specifically for women.

A.  There are many ways we can all get to the root of domestic violence and it depends just as much on men as it does on women. Often I feel women bear the burden of trying to fix the causes of domestic violence when in reality men need to be taught the severity and the wrongness of their actions. It's a worldwide problem without limits. In other words, it makes no difference who the woman is - she could be young or old, wealthy or poor, gay or straight, any number of variables come into play. The problem is the men who violate their freedom. It is unacceptable, yet continues and unfortunately I have no single answer. Education, workshops, seminars will all help and the participation of men is a necessity - but I feel we have a long way to go. Women can help themselves by being open to the typical signs of an abuser, reading the 'red flag' moments and listening to their instincts - when something feels wrong, it probably is.

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



Purchase this coat at SomeLikeitVintage.com.



Veronica's Story: Originally Published in Romantic Homes Magazine, By: Jickie Torres

Original artwork by Meredith Cavaness Corning.

A courageous woman is no longer victimized by an abusive partner. Read how she used her harrowing experience to start an online shop and help others in the process.

Clicking away at her office computer, Veronica Cizmar's life in Toronto, Canada, has slowly returned to normal. She has her own business, Some Like it Vintage, an online boutique and consignment shop to keep her busy and fulfilled.

The site features only authentic period items, and 10 percent of the Web site's sales help women subjected to domestic violence--something Veronica knows only too well. Just five years ago, she found herself in a whirlwind romance that would ultimately leave her a victim of abuse.

In the summer of 2002, Veronica met a businessman who said he was visiting the Canadian city for a meeting. Charming, handsome and seemingly well-connected, he claimed ties to many powerful forces in the U.S. Maintaining he was a first cousin of President Bush, Bruce had all the visible merits to confirm his stories: the clothes, the belongings, the persona and, at times, the entourage.

"Bruce said he was, in fact, the head of the Bush family," Veronica says. Ominously, he told her that, "there was no divorce in his family; the only way out was by death-accident, natural cause or otherwise." By October, the two friends began dating and, swept off her feet, Veronica accepted his marriage proposal just two-and-a-half weeks later.

Photo does not depict the real Veronica Cizmar.

Almost immediately the atmosphere changed. Bruce turned aggressive, hostile and intimidating. "He had not touched me in any way yet. It was his attitude and demeanor that were becoming more and more aggressive and threatening; not just to me, but to others-waiters, concierge, strangers, family and friends," she says. Soon, he asserted further connections to the American mafia. Bruce, like many abusers, had cultivated a convincing life story and, like many victims, level-headed Veronica had been given all the evidence she needed to believe him. Despite gut feelings telling her to flee, Veronica soon became a prisoner, forced to stay in the relationship believing Bruce had the power and influence to harm her or her family.

The brutality began no long after Bruce had moved into Veronica's apartment. It was less than a month after their engagement when he came home brandishing a gun, hard proof he had the means to kill her if she ever tried to leave him. Lying on Bruce's orders, she told her family and friends that gambling and addiction problems had forced Bruce to take her on a trip to recover and rehabilitate. He sequestered her from anyone who could help her. The beating was violent and tortuous, as Bruce would systematically wear her down with hits, cuts, burns and sleep deprivation. "He would tie me to a pillar in the room, duct tape me and whip me with leather belts, make me stand at the foot of the bed and not let me sleep," she says. "This would go on for days."

It was that way for the rest of their 18-month-long relationship, with Veronica held captive alone or forced to accompany Bruce to business meetings and errands. "I had to have my cell phone with me at all time," she says. "During the last three months he was mostly out of the house, and I was too terrified to leave. When he did come home he would torture me. My house was bugged, and my internet activities and phones calls were monitored. I was in a complete state of panic."

Emotionally and physically drained, Veronica had neither the strength nor the mental fortitude to leave. It was only by chance that due to allegations by his business partner and one-time foster brother regarding fraud, extortion and threats to his own family that an investigation on those charges led police to Veronica and the subsequent awareness of her abuse. "Police officers showed up with a search warrant," Veronica says. They were on a hunt for papers that proved Bruce had been stealing money from his business, threatening others and lying about his withholdings. "As I read the warrant, everything fell into place," she says. "I was still terrified, but I was convinced to hand over the keys to a closet where all of Bruce's papers were." Veronica had finally been given access to Bruce's true identity. Instead of ties with American business dealings and political families, there was a long record of criminal activity and records indicating that, among other things, he was Canadian, married to another woman and had a second fiancee in another part of town.

"This was the day I was free from Bruce," she says. "during my seven hour interview that night I spoke for the first time about the torture and violence. That was when the police were able to add 13 more charges to his arrest."

It's been five years since the ordeal began, and Bruce is behind bars serving a 15-year sentence. For Veronica, every day has been a process of growth and healing. In 2004 she started selling vintage goods on eBay with a friend as a hobby. The next year she took the company solo and turned it into Some Like it Vintage. In addition to the funding she helps provide for local shelters, Veronica also works closely in Toronto with Redwood Women's shelter, volunteering her time to help prepare meals and talk with the women there.

Therapy for her anxiety and post traumatic stress, and karate classes to help her deal with aggression, have brought Veronica to a place where all she wants is to focus on her future. She hopes to eventually turn her online shop into a brick-and-mortar one. She wants to share her story through talks at local high schools and in a series of articles she hopes to write.

"My goal is educating women to rely more on themselves, to be more confident," she says. Though she always knew she was intelligent and self-assured, she regrets not heeding her gut. "I fell into what I did partly because of not following my gut feeling...I hope to teach people how to recognize the signs of anybody who might be taking advantage of them. The more I can do the better."

Source

                                                 

http://www.somelikeitvintage.com/veronicasstory

Permission granted by Veronica Cizmar.