TIDBTW Guest: Ivana Perbi, founder & personal shopper at ROBE
Talking fashion with the woman who's constantly rethinking how we're buying things. And I almost lost it over ballerinas. It's hot, people!
Come 30+ degrees, dear TIDBTW friends, my mind melts away. I’ve literally been all over the place this week, trying to get dressed. I’m not a summer body to begin with, but this season is just extra tricky (I know I’ve indicated otherwise last week, just never take any feeling for granted). Now I must confess a severe lack of cute tops, good (long) skirts and nice flat shoes. What have I been doing the past two decades? No sunny capsule wardrobe anywhere near to be found. And then Lil Bulgac struck again, posting her cool feet in a cool look:
Don’t even get me started on those capris. So rude! Within minutes I got lost in the realms of Cos & Co, looking for a release in terms of ballerinas. Me! I dislike them! (Not on others, more like, well, on me). The instagram effect is not dead: I am THIS close to go with these gauzy Arket babies, although the last thing I find appealing is my toes touching Berlin’s concrete grounds.
Apropos ballerinas. In my attempt to make the best of my existing clothes, I started a hysterical search for my Chloé ballerinas from circa 2012. If anything, I wanted to go for my OG flats. They are nowhere to be found. I have a vage memory of putting them in the bin, maybe last year. Who does that!? Me, apparently. Might have been another heatwave. Or it was after I felt like there was absolutely no chance I would ever wear them again (they were down through to their second renewed sole) or find someone who would (they were a tiny size 37). So I decided their run was over. At least that’s what I think has happened, because I have no actual recollection. It’s like a fashion crime mystery and I’m trying to piece it together. I don’t even know if I would wear them, but now that I can’t (after not even looking in their direction for 10+ years) I really really really want to.
Well, not any time soon. The only person who could now possibly present me with some Chloés of the same era, is this week’s TIDBTW guest, Ivana Perbi. When I first met Ivana she was just about to launch her fashion rental service, Wardrobe Affaire. I was smitten by her drive, excitement and the brave attempt to lead a fast fashion focus group onto a slower path. Today we know that the audience in Germany is not yet ready to give up on ownership, as pioneers with similar sharing ideas also had to close or downsize. I found some interesting thoughts on how other countries do the rental business in Fashionopolis, an equally enlightening and alarming read by
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Since stepping back from her original plan, Ivana is still very much occupied with wardrobes – moving on to her private clients’ closet affairs. While she hasn’t given up on the idea of conscious consumption, she roams the world’s flea markets and second-hand shops to check off their vintage wish lists.
On September 1, Ivana will co-host the second edition of the fashion suite, a flea market for vintage lovers in the luxury lifestyle hotel SO/ Berlin das Stue. Another beautiful rendezvous with the location that you, dear readers, are already familiar with since BFW, and a date you might wanna save in your calendar.
I was curious to hear where her head is in terms of buying these days and, as she had me scrolling for Margiela tees for a good while afterwards, her influence is immediate. I hope you enjoy the following little conversation <3
We’ll speak again after my summer break; I might even go wild and buy something, who knows!!!! Back mid August. Have a blast x
TIDBTW Guest: Ivana Perbi, founder & personal shopper at ROBE
Things I didn’t buy this week: Who are you and how did you arrive where you are right now?
Ivana Perbi: I would describe myself as an entrepreneur in circular fashion, always striving for new formats to boost sustainable fashion consumption. By day I work as Visual Merchandiser for Chanel and by night i.e. weekends I shop second-hand treasures for others and showcase them on my platform ROBE. It used to be a fashion rental platform named ''Wardrobe Affaire’’ that I was running until mid ‘23. Before my full-time self-employed journey started with Wardrobe Affaire I was trained and already worked as a Visual Merchandiser, so currently I enjoy the best of both worlds.
TIDBTW: How did you find your personal style and how would you describe it?
IP: I found my personal style through a passion that I share with my mother, which is going to flea markets and thrifting in general. I’ve been doing this ever since I can think and it really helped finding and developing my style early on from a young age. Someone once described my style as slow fashion with a wow effect, and I think that pretty much sums up my passion for second-hand designer and vintage statement pieces.
TIDBTW: You established a platform for personal second hand shopping, how has your work affected your style?
IP: My work didn’t really affect my style but I’d say the decision to personally only buy second hand fashion very much did. Before quitting fast fashion my style was very much trend based with a lot of influence from what everyone else was wearing. Since the decision to never shop at a fast fashion store again, I rediscovered my love for one of a kind pieces, which I find too many of, so I now even share them by sourcing for everyone who wants to consume more consciously.
TIDBTW: I personally love buying vintage or second hand – can you tell us a bit more about the second hand shopping community – what is their motivation? What is the most requested piece (if you can share :) )?
IP: I think the main motivation for shopping second hand clothing is getting pieces with a great quality for a lower price point than a comparable item at retail while being environmental friendly. There are many requests for pieces from Scandinavian brand Ganni and generally for pieces that are on trend at the time, based on what I see on clients’ Pinterest moodboards.
It's a lot of fun to source a whole aesthetic, because most of the time the desired style already existed at some point and I get to rediscover it.
TIDBTW: Best garment you ever found for a client?
IP: I recently sourced an amazing black Jil Sander leather jacket but my best find was for sure a “Supreme x Stone Island’’ bucket hat that I found for my partner.
TIDBTW: Before ROBE you offered a rental service for clothes – which is an idea that I love! – how was your experience with that?
IP: I’m still very much in love with the idea of not needing to own every piece to be able to experiment and have fun with your fashion style. However after three years of trying different ways to establish fashion rental on- and offline we couldn’t ignore the attitude-behaviour gap when it comes to fashion rental, at least in the german market. Anyway I’m so grateful for this experience as it taught me so much about business, the importance of a strong mission, and that the best ideas can’t thrive without a solid community.
TIDBTW: Speaking of community, does Berlin affect the way you dress?
IP: Totally, because most of the clothes I’ve been wearing recently are from flea markets in Berlin, so my wardrobe has definitely been affected. On the other hand, my style has only evolved slightly over my time living in Berlin so I wouldn’t dress much different if I lived somewhere else.
TIDBTW: You also work as a Visual Merchandiser, so you are constantly around new collections – how would you describe your relationship with buying (new) things?
IP: For some time, especially in the transition phase of quitting fast fashion and buying new items it was really hard to work in an environment that pushes out new collections so frequently, although working for a luxury house does makes a huge difference because there’s so much craftsmanship behind each piece which makes it a true investment. But once you realise impulse purchases don’t come with lasting satisfaction, it’s actually pretty easy not to make them and the feeling you need to just buy something will disappear. Sometimes I catch myself justifying second-hand pieces simply with the fact that I’m saving them from landfill which is true, yet at the end of the day it’s still consumption. That's probably also why I started the whole personal shopping venture, because there are just way too many gems out there that need to be worn, and I can’t do that all by myself (editor’s note: That’s true fashion lover’s math <3)
Editor’s note: Speaking of landfills, I realized that I’ve missed a whole documentary on Berlin’s sustainable leaders in fashion, broadcast last winter. In it, Ivana spoke about her personal work and motivation:
I highly recommend watching, and getting to know the local scene. You still find it in the ARTE mediathek here.
THINGS YOU DIDN'T BUY - BUT THINK OF
TIDBTW: Are there some clothes in your past that you didn’t buy, but still think about?
IP: I tried on a white Jil Sander leather coat in a vintage store in Berlin a while ago which I didn’t buy but still think about and a black Maison Margiela Blazer with a waist belt and a cut-out detail, in which my waist looked better than ever lol .
THINGS YOU BOUGHT AND WHY
TIDBTW: Can you name your highlight purchases of the last few years – or ever?
IP: I usually buy things on flea markets or in thrift stores whenever I’m traveling so my last highlight pieces were a biker leather jacket I found in a vintage store in Prague – I’m so in love with the fit, and continuing to wear a jacket from the 80s makes me love it even more.
Another highlight purchase was a pair of Chanel sunglasses I found on a flea market I randomly passed by in Paris, as well as a Dries Van Noten Dress I found at a flea market in Berlin. Also, one of my most worn pieces are my Margiela Replica Sneakers, which I had as my work uniform 6 years ago, and I still wear them on a weekly basis. I would always reinvest in them!
Editor’s note: I thought these were cute (and tiny), so if you have small feet, walk with me here:
WISHLIST 2024
TIDBTW: Is there something on your wishlist for this year?
IP: Not really, I go with the flow this year and buy whatever sparks my eye in the weekly great flea markets we have in Berlin, and wherever I travel to.
TIDBTW: What is sustainability in terms of fashion to you?
IP: For me sustainability in fashion really starts with the material of the fabric, the garment workers, and the conditions in the factories. I always look for a version with natural fibers, if available, and would prefer a vintage no name piece over fast fashion, even second-hand. Also, by being conscious about new purchases, valuing quality over quantity, and just trying to keep every piece in circulation for as long as possible by handing it down to family & friends, reselling it online or at your local flea market.
TIDBTW: Thank you so much for sharing <3
Things I didn’t buy this week: 1
ARKET mesh ballerinas, God damn it: 139,00 €