Meet the Fashion Bloggers: Christina Getachew
My love affair with fashion began in the early 80s, when my extraordinarily patient mom taught me how to sew. Most of my free time as a teenager was spent frequenting fabric-store remnant bins, searching for off-price yardage that I would transform into major fashion mishaps. Even then, I opted to skip the herd mentality of trend chasing and celebrity adulation and regarded my finished product as an art form. My early endeavors in designing, making and sometimes, regrettably, wearing my creations, shaped my perspective to one that appreciates fashion as an art and my healthy respect for well-crafted design.
After college, I set my sights on a career in the NYC fashion industry, landing a job in retail which then led to some continuing education at Parsons and then positions in buying, design and sourcing.
In 2002, I started my own business, now called Substance, with a website, shopsubstance.com, and store locations in Columbus and Cincinnati. I specialize in contemporary ladies apparel and accessories with a concentration on brands that operate in a socially or environmentally responsible way. I believe that where there is style, there should also be substance. I've worked in all stages of this industry doing everything from trend forecasting to price negotiations on the next big buy. Most days of the week, you can find me at work in one of my two boutique locations, doing what I love the most-helping women express themselves through the art of fashion.
All About Me
Age: 44
Gig: Founder and CEO of Substance
Personal style: Modern, artistic, respectful of classics
Style icon: Love Sade for her iconic giant hoop earrings and sleek, contemporary but natural style
Favorite three designers: Dries Van Noten, Natalie Chanin and Jil Sander
Favorite three pieces in your closet right now: Earnest Sewn hi-waist jeans, Fiorentini + Baker ankle boots and a giant bead necklace I call my tribal pearls
Go-to outfit: Black jeans and an organic cotton tank top or tee with Fiorentini + Baker boots and big, fun jewelry
All-time favorite fashion splurge: A visit to the Anne Fontaine boutique in Beverly Hills
All-time favorite fashion bargain: A $30 vintage leather blazer
True style is… Fashion as an art form of uninhibited self-expression