Maggie Wilds Brings Vintage Fashion to Life With BeFunky
Since 1999, Maggie Wilds has been curating and selling authentic women’s vintage clothing under the brand name denisebrain. What began as a deep personal love for clothing with history has grown into a lifelong mission to celebrate the beauty, sustainability, and soul of vintage fashion.
Wilds runs her business mostly solo – writing, photographing, styling, researching, and packaging each item with care. She shares her passion through her Etsy shop, long-running blog, and book Wear Vintage Now!. Beyond her business, she also serves on the board of the Vintage Fashion Guild to help preserve fashion history and educate others on the value of vintage.
Wilds' mission goes beyond fashion itself – she also gives back by planting a tree for every purchase, donating to Dress for Success, and supporting Save the Manatee Club, a cause close to her heart.
Through it all, BeFunky has been a trusted creative partner, helping Wilds bring her instinctive, intentional process to life.
The Art of Vintage Storytelling
Wilds' journey with BeFunky began more than ten years ago. A simple pop art effect introduced her to a whole new creative toolkit that perfectly fits her whimsical and intentional aesthetic – a reflection of the personality she brings to every vintage piece.
I was looking for a way to easily get a pop art look on one of my photos for a specific project. When I found BeFunky in an online search, I thought Bingo! Not only did I have a choice of pop art filters, but I found all kinds of other interesting things to try.
That signature aesthetic still shapes her process today. She often layers her favorite BeFunky filters – Chromatic 9 and Summer 1 – to enhance color and warmth before using tools such as Funky Focus, Lens Flare, and Glint to emphasize important details.
Followed by subtle retouching with Perfect Skin, Blush, and Mascara, BeFunky’s Touch Up tools ensure her model photography looks consistent and polished while keeping the garments themselves front and center.
My creative process is a little bit instinct and a lot of intention. I don’t just list a dress – I photograph it, research its history, think about how it might be styled today, and try to tell a story that honors its past while inspiring someone in the present.
For product shots, she relies on the Background Remover and Object Eraser to isolate garments, ensuring they take center stage. Adjustments with Warmer Tones and soft color balancing help each piece feel as vibrant online as it does in person. These edits don’t just improve the look of her shop – they allow each garment’s story to shine through.
Design Beyond the Shop
Wilds' creativity extends beyond listings. She regularly designs collages, banners, and more for the Vintage Fashion Guild, pairing BeFunky’s Collage Maker and Graphic Designer with cutouts, textures, graphics, and text overlays.
She also creates promotional materials for her shop and social media channels, where vintage photography meets modern design. Instagram plays a big role in that mix, featuring outfit inspiration and styling ideas that highlight the individuality of each piece while showing how it can be worn today.
Together, these visuals form a narrative that feels both timeless and relevant. BeFunky even powered the design of Wear Vintage Now!’s cover, capturing vintage spirit in a sleek, contemporary composition.
Experimenting With Style
BeFunky is more than a part of Wilds’ workflow – it’s also a place for her to experiment. She enjoys using artistic filters and the GFX Series to explore new creative directions. From painterly effects to bold comic-inspired looks, these tools let her reinterpret images in multiple ways and spark fresh inspiration for how vintage fashion can be styled and celebrated.
This playful side of her process keeps her brand fresh and imaginative, showing that even clothing with decades of history can feel brand new.
A Vintage Story, Brought to Life
Maggie Wilds shows that a career in vintage fashion isn’t just about clothing – it’s about storytelling, sustainability, and individuality. With a masterful grasp on vintage fashion and visual design, she is able to take her intentional process and give it visual impact – from refining product images to crafting engaging social media content.
If you’d like to support her work, you can purchase directly from her Etsy shop or dive into her book Wear Vintage Now! – a celebration of how vintage fashion fits beautifully into modern life.
After more than a decade together, BeFunky has become part of Wilds' toolkit for keeping denisebrain authentic, distinctive, and deeply connected to the values she champions. Ready to bring your own story to life? Try BeFunky today and see what you can create.
