Dream Closets: Teresa, Greenpoint

By

In “Dream Closets,” I’ll be documenting my favorite closets around New York and the personalities behind each of them.

If you happen to be moseying on up Manhattan Avenue in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, and spot an impeccably dressed woman whose face is almost entirely shielded by a turban and expansive black hair, with a chicken wing in hand that she occasionally tears at with her teeth — well, don’t be alarmed. It’s just Teresa.

In New York, as hordes of kids try to distinguish themselves with unbearably conspicuous attempts — loud prints, loud accessories, anything, really, to catch the eye of a street style photographer — Teresa is one of the rare few who stand out effortlessly. She’s the perfect confluence of high-brow and low-brow. Think Popeyes meets Schiaparelli. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, she possesses that innate ilk of Southern sass — one of the only indications that she is indeed from the South aside for her devotion to fried chicken and the occasional “y’all.” A former employee at Opening Ceremony and the Ralph Lauren archives, Teresa’s now at Dover Street Market New York, where she works as a Tricot Comme des Garçons specialist and has amassed a closet that’s more enviable now than it was to begin with, if that’s even possible.

“I started getting into hats when I lived in Georgia. It wasn’t until I moved up here, to New York, that I realized how Southern I am.”
“Cool story behind this piece. It’s Comme des Garçons Good Design Shop and was the jacket everyone wore who worked the CDG Spring/Summer show in ’86. Then, this year, they brought the jacket back for a limited collection.”
“My dream hat is any Prada turban (I already have the black one)
and this Yohji Yamamoto hat from the Spring 2012 collection (pictured above).”

Comme des Garçons Tricot skirt.

Comme des Garçons Tricot dress.

Alexander McQueen suit from ’97.

Comme des Garçons Good Design Shop jacket.

Vintage dress.

“The best part of working at the Ralph Lauren archives was getting to see all the beautiful Edwardian and Victorian pieces.”

Issey Miyake top with tail.

“My favorite pieces in my closet include this distorted Issey Miyake top with tail. Also, my Schiaparelli turban with little berries all over it and this giant fur hat with a tail that I got from Unclaimed Baggage, this thrift store in Atlanta that has all the unclaimed baggage from the ATL airport.”

Junya Watanabe pants.

Vivienne Westwood dress.