The Best Thing I Ever Thrifted With Christene Barberich

The Refinery29 co-founder (and fellow thrift nut) shares her 1970s YSL cape find

I have worshipped at the altar of Christene Barberich for years. Christene co-founded Refinery29, one of the most iconic fashion websites of the early aughts. It’s since been acquired by VICE but in its early days, R29 was Mecca for those interested in refining their style.

Christene’s influence on the digital media world is unequivocal and I have been so thrilled to get to “know” her — albeit, virtually, with a Zoom call here and there — over the years.

These days, Christene runs the fabulous Substack A Tiny Apt., where she documents her vintage finds, her musings on life, and the ins and outs of building a cabin in upstate New York for $120k.

She is a huge thrifter (the primary reason we first connected on Instagram!) and we’ve said for years we will meet up and thrift together one day. I’m holding you to that, Christene!

Here, she shares with us one of her best thrift finds ever: a 1970s Yves Saint Laurent cape, from his iconic Morocco Collection.

a sketch by Yves Saint Laurent, featuring (on both the left and right) floor-length capes

Morocco was a huge source of inspiration for Saint Laurent, who was born in Algeria and first visited Marakkech in the 1960s. He and his partner, Pierre Bergé, purchased a home there and, later, other properties — including the Jardin Majorelle, an iconic botanical garden that is now one of Morocco’s most-visited sites. (You’ve probably seen photos of it on Pinterest — the buildings are painted cobalt blue). In 2017, nine years after his 2008 death, the Yves Saint Laurent museum was opened in Marakkech. In short, a find from the designer’s Morocco collection is both valuable but also a piece of fashion history!

Now, let’s hear from Christene:

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“I’ve found so many incredible treasures over the years, but if I had to choose [my favorite] it would be a MINT vintage black YSL cape from the legendary 70s Morocco Collection (hood tassel intact!) found while thrifting at the Salvation Army in Patchogue NY with my mom in the early aughts.

We both lost our minds, and when we proceeded to check out, she found a vintage Tiffany & Co. Pearl and sterling brooch under the glass countertop amid piles of faux gold 1990s earrings (also not bad). It was a great, great day.

Christene’s 1970s YSL cape, a Salvation Army find

It was officially $9.99….and weighs a ton. Miraculously it has no moth holes either.

I keep the cape in my closet, the one I use all the time. It’s so precious to me, I need to be on top of any potential moth threat so I check it regularly.

I don’t wear it often but I have been known to wear it over a thin long Uniqlo puffer coat when it’s super cold out. It is A LOT of cape! It’s so special for a lot of reasons but mostly because it’s a signature historic piece from one of the world’s most pioneering fashion designers/artists of our time. It will also never ever date….and I just love given how scarce finds like this have become in ordinary local thrift shops. My daughter will have it to wear and appreciate someday…I hope!

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Initially, I started thrifting because of being on a budget and having such a lifelong love/fascination of fashion and midcentury designers. So over time, thrifting turned into these unofficial fact-finding missions, where I would discover interesting older labels and then do research about who they were and what they were about.

I discovered Jean Muir this way, Zhandra Rhodes, Pauline Trigere, Jean Varon, Rudi Gernreich, Ossie Clark, and so many others (in fact, I remember finding a very tattered white silk molded bra by Rudi Gernreich at a church thrift shop in Sayville, NY and I didn’t buy it because it was too deconstructed to wear. What an idiot! I still regret it!)

Christene in the cape. Oh my god. There are no words.

These days, I thrift as a therapeutic outlet, to get inspired, to be around other kind people in that curious collector state of mind. I’m still a judicious shopper, but now that I’m older, thrifting has become more about the experience of it and the inspiration I draw from it rather than just about The Stuff.

But let’s face it: the stuff is still pretty remarkable, too! Thrifting is just very healing to me. And it’s the only activity I can do endlessly — it never gets boring or physically taxing.

I can thrift all day everyday — and maybe, someday, I will.”

Huge thanks to Christene for sharing this incredible find. And maybe, someday, I will be lucky enough to thrift with her. Until then, if you want to catch up on past Best Things I Ever Thrifted, you can find them all here.

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And I’ll leave you with this…