Sarai Vazquez

Amaia Martínez de Santos always had an innate sense for fashion. This Basque woman, born in Vitoria 58 years ago, and a resident of Bilbao for more than three decades, began to stand out with her outfits when she was young: "We all wore jeans, the 'shitty shit' and our parents' jackets, but I already she kept other more special pieces in her closet, like a jumpsuit with an open back or a green dress with fringes». Her mother, a Rioja woman "very discreet" when it came to dressing, was the one who transmitted her passion for this world. “Fashion is very important in my life. It helps me show myself how I want to be », she assures.

He went shopping with his mother at 'Muñeca de rag', a very cutting-edge fashion store in Logroño 40 years ago, and at the department stores in Madrid. "She always told me that she beat her up because I liked everything and she was very capricious," he acknowledges. And he still remembers the purple heels she bought when she had her "first boyfriend," which she paired with her parent's 1970s jacket. But if something characterizes this mother and daughter, it is that they have always had closets full of clothes. "Over the years, I've realized that I'm more and more like her," he says. In this sense, Amaia also applies the famous phrase 'less is more' to her looks: «As a child I told her: put on this necklace, this ring… 'No, it's too much', she replied. Now, every time I look in the mirror before I leave the house, I take something off."

This green-eyed, friendly and smiling woman began studying Journalism at the UPV when she was 28 years old and her son, Daniel, had begun to crawl. After graduating with good grades, she began her professional path on television: she worked at Tele7, as a collaborator at EITB and at Canal Euskadi until it closed. "It was what filled me the most, but unfortunately it couldn't be," she laments. Currently, she is co-founder of the Bilbao communication agency Presstigio, directed by her husband, Ignacio de Diego. In her free time, there is another place that she also frequents on a daily basis: Zara de Gran Vía. «I have it next to home. I already tell the workers that they have to put me on the payroll because I know more than them », she jokes.

Her class does not go unnoticed in Bilbao, despite the fact that she would like to be "courageous" and risk more. "In Madrid or in New York she would put more things on me," she says. Living in the heart of the Biscayan capital is an incentive to prepare her looks in detail every time she leaves home, although sometimes it can be inconvenient: «I don't dress up to go get bread, but in another city I would prepare less. Here I end up crossing paths with people I see every day.

Those who know her ask the same questions: "Where does this woman keep all her clothes?", "Is everything yours?" Her infallible trick to keep all her 'rags', which she only wears a couple of times, is to use specific hangers to save space. Yes, she has a lot of clothes because of her constant trips to Zara, and for keeping clothes from more than 40 years ago. Among those pieces with her history, an English cap and a Balenciaga bag that she inherited from her parents stand out. "I'm never going to part with them," she says.

Amaia finds treasures even in the markets and in the 'souvenir' shops. "I don't look for the occasion, but she comes my way," she explains with a laugh. In her opinion, elegance knows no pockets. In fact, 80% of her clothes are on sale and have cost her 9.90 euros. And she is not impatient to release them. She can keep a skirt still with the label from two years ago in her closet until she finds the perfect blouse. Bingo! She already has the ideal combination for her next event: "You cannot attend in any way, you have to pay attention to our way of dressing and be as handsome as possible, otherwise it is as if you were going to a wedding without combing."

“Accessories are everything to me”

She defines her style as "chic-sophisticated" and her references are the four protagonists of the series 'Sex in New York'. "Sometimes I only see her because of her clothes," he admits. Dresses are his favorite garment because they are "comfortable" and "take up little space in the closet." "You can wear them with a sweater, a blazer, trainers, heels... they give a lot of play," he says. In addition, she usually falls for garments with an oriental air, such as kimonos. And as for colors, she opts for white or beige in summer and black in winter. “If they sell a garment in different shades, I avoid black. My mother kept telling me how much she disliked her," she adds.

Her accessories "are everything" to her, especially her hats. She started collecting them 37 years ago, when her husband bought her the first one. "Before it was not so easy to find them," she admits. Of course, the more they wear, Amaia wears them less: «Sometimes, I go against fashion. Over the years, you realize that it is not a question of wearing what is worn, we have to adapt fashion to our style and we have to set limits. Not everything goes." And as for her shoes, she admits that her heels make her feel more stylish.

In 2017, she opened an Instagram account focused on fashion "due to the inertia of the moment": "There was always one of my friends who told me: 'with the style you have' ...." She called this virtual space 'Blessed Closet Fund', a name that arose as a result of the comment of a follower of hers. “She asked me what store an item of clothing was from. I replied that it was from many years ago and added: Blessed wardrobe background! », She remembers. Today she has about 3,000 followers and it is her husband who is behind the camera. "He always tells me: 'if you had opened a blog when I told you about it ...'" she says. The images that she shares are a reflection of her daily outfits. Some proposals that devastate among the unconditional of her. "For women my age, Instagram has given us visibility, or we thought we could let ourselves be seen," she says.

She considers that her style has changed very little over the years. «Perhaps it is because I have also changed little. My way of life has allowed me to do so », she adds. She first promised herself to be a wonderful forty-year-old, she fulfilled it herself; and then an equally stupendous fifties. She now hopes to become a splendid sixties. She takes care of herself (not excessively) and follows a healthy lifestyle. «As for the rest, I do not undergo treatment, nor have I ever had an operation, I am lucky that I do not look so bad. I would like to improve, but I am afraid to stop being me », she ditches.