CIRCUS was beyond thrilled when–not clothing line, but lifestyle brand–ThriftQueened reached out and proposed a collaborative photo shoot with us for their end of summer collection. To us, the collaborative effort was a match made in heaven for our audience–the urban streetwear meets custom couture, all designed by company CEO Vara Ayanna–screams Generation-Y. After all, the children of the millenium know a thing or two about being stylish on a budget–we're quite the style conscious and self-identity preserving recessionistas. Though being this generation's batch of "hipsters" has granted us the unfortunate label of seeming unoriginal (due to our latest obsession over all things "vintage" instead of creating our own fashion statements), the existence of ThriftQueened has proved that prior proclamation to be anything but true. If fans of ThriftQueened, and thrifting in general, showcase anything at all, it's that our generation is style smart. We've learned not only to appreciate and accept--rather than shun--designs before our time, but we've realized that fashion is a cyclical process, and what comes around will always go around, and will always be considered classic.

Shop all of the looks in the editorial at shop.thriftqueened.com, and follow ThriftQueened all over the social media spectrum on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr.

–photography by LATHENIA JANAE JOHNSO, FELICIA PHILLIPS, and Micah Brand

–models BRITNI SUMIDA, DANIELLE SANCHEZ-GRAVES, and MICAH BRAND

–styling by VARA AYANNA