Vibing vintage 'I LOVE MY RETRO LIFE!'

Op-shopper Natalie's embracing the fifties and its Happy Days!

- Fleur Guthrie

Managing a rare illness that often leaves her housebound, Natalie Robinson-Tantin, 37, decided she would curate her home as an ode to yesteryear that reflects her passion for all things vintage. The Auckland mum co-runs Facebook group "V is for Vintage", where 4000 members share their retro op-shop finds, post articles and show off spaces they have decorated.

When I was a teenager, I actually dressed as a goth. All my clothes were black for a long time. It seems weird now because my brightly coloured vintage print dresses are the opposite vibe of goth, but it's still about expressing your style or having an identity.

I've always been into op-shopping for clothes. At 16, I discovered some vintage pieces and that got me into collecting.

My late Grandma Haruko was Japanese, so she had a lot of retro Japanese items in her house, which I always loved as a kid. She moved to New Zealand in 1955, after meeting my granddad in Japan, when he was there with the Navy. When she died, I got her large wooden Kokeshi doll, which was my favourite thing in her house.

In my twenties, I started scouring second-hand shops and online stores for vintage clothes and items.

My husband Tyler is really into the search and hunt for things as well. But as a sound engineer, his interest is more in vintage microphones and audio equipment.