Erin Meister, copy editor

Photograph: Roxana Marroquin

Describe your personal style.
It’s a bit of a mishmash. I’ve gone through a lot of changes, fashionwise, in the past few years. I’m still in a transition period.

Tell me more.
Well, my house burned down a couple of years ago and I lost everything. At first I kind of picked up whatever I could but then I made a more conscious effort to build a look.

What’s the look?
I call it 1950s housewife on the town.

I don’t know what that means, but I love it.
It’s like when Laura Petrie gets dressed up and goes out. I guess that’s the ’60s, but whatever.

In your photo you’re wearing a beautiful blue dress. Where did that come from?
I bought that dress in a vintage store in Phoenix about three weeks ago. My husband and I did kind of a time-travel trip through Arizona, where we ended up at this trailer park that’s full of vintage trailers. You can rent them.

It sounds like you love vintage.
We’re both into it. We both have vintage glasses and vintage clothes, and every place we stopped it was like we just stepped out of a Lucy and Ricky scene.

So I bet that dress was crazy affordable.
Yeah, I got three dresses in Arizona for under $30 each. It’s harder to find deals like that in New York, but my husband’s kind of a pro vintage shopper online. We do a lot of that.

Are there any tips you can share with other vintage lovers?
The Rusty Zipper is a great site. Also, you should not be afraid of alterations. Buy something because you like it, especially if it’s cheap and on the bigger side. You can always have it taken in. And really large sizes are often cheaper.

You must have a great tailor, then.
I have a couple. There was one I liked that was recommended by the Seek editors, but their place just burned down. I have bad luck with that.

Holy crap, maybe I should review our fire evacuation plan here! When you’re not burning your tailor’s place down, what instructions do you give them?
You have to make sure they’re faithful to the era you’re emulating. A lot of tailors will just cut them to be like modern clothes.

I love your glasses, too. Is it okay to call them librarian glasses?
Yes, that’s what they are.

Good. I love the librarian look. Have you adopted that because you have a bookish job, copyediting?
That might play into it. I guess I need a tight bun and a ruler, too.

You do! Tell me what else informs your look. Are there ’50s shows or movies that inspire you?
Definitely The Dick Van Dyke Show. And I’m a huge Judy Garland fan. I’m not nearly as glam as Judy, but a lot of the dresses from her era are just classic—and so flattering!

You said you switched styles when your house burned down. What was your style before?
There were several. I go through many phases. The collection that I had before included a lot of really big polyester ’70s bell-bottoms with patterns on them. Like cherries and stuff. It was wacky and colorful.

It’s like you’re going back in time. Do you think eventually you’ll jump back to the ’40s and go with the cone bra?
It’s possible. I’d pick up the bathing-beauty swimsuit, but I’d also have a handlebar mustache.

Hot. How far back do you think you’ll take it? Will you ever dabble in chain mail?
Maybe I’ll do a Victorian thing, with bustles, and I’ll ride those bikes with the huge front wheels. We’ll see where it goes.

I’m excited for it. We’ll do an update article in a year.