098: CHRISTENE BARBERICH
lives in thrifted track pants and Rachel Comey.
I am embarrassed to write this but—there’s a TikTok that I think about a lot. When my style is feeling lackluster, I remember this clip from Yola, a cool gen-z whose videos always seem to start in the middle of a soliloquy. Here, she’s speaking about style ruts—how if you’re really living and existing in your style, you’re bound to look a little bland sometimes. I thought about her last night when I attended a party full of chic, young things and felt like my look wasn’t hitting. Yola’s advice is to chill out, don’t add to cart or try to force ideas, just wait for genuine inspiration.
I think she’s right. True personal style has room for a flop, or two, or twenty. Getting dressed should be a fun experiment, an exploration! Not a race to perfection. Those who follow their own nose won’t always sniff out the latest trend, and that’s just fine. Anyways, this is my current mantra.
For this week’s letter I spoke to Christene Barberich, the brains behind the substack bestseller A Tiny Apt. Christene, as many of you may know, co-founded Refinery29, where she served as the editor-in-chief for 15 years. On her substack she writes about living in small spaces, thrifting, and micro wardrobes, alongside more intimate topics like debt and infertility. Christene is the real deal—a creative visionary who isn’t afraid to take the road less traveled, and graciously tell you all about it. I really admire her and I’m excited to share our interview. Read on!
Describe your personal style.
A mashup of vintage + modern/utilitarian. I love flair but it has to be wearable and high functioning. My days of wraparound nonsense and too-high shoes are O.V.E.R.
What are you living in right now and why?
A million different interpretations of the above. I love wearing jeans or men's carpenter pants with sneakers but then it has to be paired with a cinched Romeo Gigli blazer, a big brocade coat, or something sparkly/iridescent. I will never leave the house, even for coffee or paper towels, w/out a little something weird/frou frou going on.
How often do you shop?
It really comes and goes. There’s no rhyme or reason for it, just being in the right place/right time/heeding the CALL, you know? Seeing something/reading something that inspires me, like spotting a big metal rosette on a museum poster on the street, and then I have to immediately dive into eBay to find something similar in a brooch, etc. I must admit I also love irresponsibly buying vintage or something on the pricier side when I travel…when I used to go to the Paris shows, I would always carve out time to buy something small and special from Thanx God I’m a VIP or a pair of shoes at (Phoebe Philo) Céline or JW Anderson…when I went to Tokyo I bought a bracelet at the Prada store that looked like a planetarium! I would never do that here at home :)) ...for some reason traveling makes me more susceptible to buying these totems, like mementos of the experience/that moment in time. Fashion isn’t just clothes but memories for me, I think.
Where do you shop the most?
It’s always a mix of The Goodwill, some random Church thrift shop, and eBay for basics like Levi’s, vintage tees, and old Bloomingdale's cashmere sweaters with contemporary brands I love like Rachel Comey, Jamie Haller, No. 6 Store and Prada/Miu Miu and Dries Van Noten. I do occasionally buy a special thing from Zara from time to time, too.
CHRISTENE’S MOST WORN
A now vintage Rachel Comey coat (I loved it so much I got it in a different print/fabric when she remade it a few years later…with matching pants!). She makes different long statement coats every season and they are just indispensable and flex/age so well over time. A great lightweight long coat makes everything underneath it feel more special.
A pair of GAP high rise barrel jeans that are….kind of perfect. I wear them a few times a week…like a sweatpant. They’re so comfortable and versatile. What a jean should really be.
I’ve been wearing this white tee from Rachel Comey a lot as a layering piece over vintage striped Charvet button-down shirts, of which I own/wear many. It’s boxy and a heavier weight and just feels really beautiful. The shape of the shoulders is really flattering, too.
Track pants track pants track pants! I collect them second-hand (mostly) whenever I stop in at the Goodwill and have even been known to get the waist tailored if I love the length and flare of the leg. Lately I’ve been wearing these from NO.6 a lot…they have such a gorgeous shape/cut, more like a trouser/track pant hybrid!
I bought two pairs of these silver hoops in different sizes by Annika Inez and they are amazing and so beautifully made. Fun story, back when I lived in a microscopically small studio apartment on the Upper East Side in the early/mid aughts, Annika had a slip of a jewelry storefront nearby (I mean, it was like a closet actually off the street!), and whenever I had even a little bit of extra money, I would go over there and buy myself something. Back then she was making jewelry out of the most amazing industrial materials, metals, textiles…what she does now is quite different but I admire her artistry and craft so much.
Best buy of the last year?
It’s a tie between this long vintage Yves Saint Laurent tuxedo coat I found on eBay and a pair of Finnish Karhu sneakers I found on sale at Hatchet Supply around the block from me. They are seriously the most comfortable sneakers I’ve ever worn…I can’t stop wearing them and they’re oddly/mercifully affordable, too. (The coat and the sneakers actually look good together, too!).
What are you currently searching for?
I’ve had a gray menswear style tropical wool pantsuit on my list for about a decade. I like that styled in the right way you could wear it grocery shopping or to a formal wedding…sky’s the limit. I haven’t been able to find a fit that’s slightly oversized in the vintage Armani sense but not too trendy. So far, all the suits I’ve tried have just been too ordinary or just trying too hard to be cool. I’ve got my eye on this one by Jamie Haller…it’s sold out but I heard a rumor she’s going to restock it in the fall. Fingers crossed.
What’s your go-to bodega/coffee/grocery-run outfit?
Track pants (I’ve been wearing the No.6 Store pair a lot, but most of mine are vintage), white Birkenstocks, and a long vintage Charvet striped menswear button-down with my Freaks hat. But, who am I kidding, I wear this outfit everyday.
Does your style change when you go to work?
A little bit. I mostly work from home unless I’m on an advisory assignment at a client’s office, but I have to say, I like to get a little dressed for meetings, lunches, and such. Even if it’s just a special belt or handbag or pair of shoes I don’t wear as often, I like to pull out something special that I still love a lot that doesn’t get as much everyday play. Meetings are for dress-up!
What’s your go-to out for a night out?
If I’m really simplifying here, it’s basically what I wear during the day but with a sheer silk or chiffon slip over/under it (slip can either be sheer off white or black). I love having some chiffon or lace peeking out someplace unexpected. I have about 20 different length slips I wear in a variety of ways, both new and vintage and it’s one of my favorite things to thrift for, too. I am both annoyed and delighted that this is kind of a trendy move now, but who cares! It’s a great way to play with contrast and give a closet staple some kookiness. Also, I love a giant earring for evening and wearing my hair in a slick topknot/bun (mostly so I don’t have to think about it). The earrings can’t be heavy because my lobes can’t take that anymore, but I have about four or five pairs of supersized earrings that make a favorite blazer and lacy bra feel baller.
What clothing item or accessory do you always travel with?
One or two slips, an oversized blazer that I can wear in a bunch of ways, a vintage t-shirt, lightweight slouchy jeans (nothing too tight ever), a BIP crossbody bag in silver or red, and my favorite red lipstick by ILIA.
Do you change your accessories or wear the same ones?
I tend to be pretty lazy when it comes to changing accessories. I should really get rid of most of my handbags because I only use like four of them regularly…but you know, it’s always the possibility of that ONE event of a lifetime that has me hanging on to that bonkers clutch covered in pearls! I guess the short answer is: I occasionally change out my earrings or a necklace, sometimes a big vintage cocktail ring for dinner/a party, but I wear the basics like my name-plate, vintage gold chain and vintage pearls all the time. I wear two rings on my left hand always: a diamond band designed by Suzanne Felsen in LA and a gold band on my middle finger in the shape of a huge V that my late mother in law gave me from her collection before she passed away (I heard it’s bad luck to wear a ring on your middle finger, but I’ve worn this ring for so long on this finger, I’d feel weird w/out it). And a sterling and Lapis signet ring on my right hand.
Christene is so great, thanks for this, Christina!
Two faves! ❤️❤️❤️