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Welcome back to Insider Pix, where we uncover what entertainment and culture insiders are watching, reading, and listening to! Next up:
Molly Patrick Epstein
Molly Patrick Epstein is the founder of Owl Tree, a secondhand kids’ and women’s business headquartered in Brooklyn. She is a native Texan, recovering corporate fashion merchant, and mom to 3 girls.
Find back-to-school looks at Owl Tree, a curated kids’ and women’s consignment shop making it easier to build an affordably chic (and eco-friendly) wardrobe for you and your littles. Shop online and get free shipping on orders over $75. Join the recommerce revolution!
Molly’s 5 Picks
Best TV show you’ve watched recently?
I’ve been racing through Rivals! It’s great counterprogramming for parents after the kids go to bed. Think a re-imagining of a Rupert Murdoch-esque media titan, with terrific 80’s fashion, lots of sexy affairs, and a dive into British aristocracy via the Cotswolds. Very, very fun!
Best movie you watched recently?
We are having so much fun introducing our kids to stand-up comedy. John Mulaney's self-deprecating story-telling from his childhood and young adulthood, especially in The Comeback Kid & Kid Gorgeous, really hit! Sebastian Maniscalco’s misanthropic rants didn’t work as well with kids, so we’re now looking to try Nate Bargatze and Leanne Morgan as kid-friendly options. Nothing better than getting the giggles with your family.
A 5-star-worthy book you’d recommend to anyone?
On the heels of the Odyssey movie, if you haven’t read The Song of Achilles and Circe by Madeline Miller, I cannot recommend them more highly. Both novels are incredible re-tellings of ancient stories that set those story tropes entirely on their head.
I also just re-read The Hunger Games with my 11-year-old, and we were both racing to bedtime to pick back up each night, starting the 2nd book shortly. High recommendation for tweens & teens - the concept is dark, but the violence detail is minimal.
Go-to weekly podcast?
I listen to every Good Hang with Amy Poehler episode like I’m catching up with a close girlfriend. She’s a gracious, hilarious host and terrific interviewer, and as a fellow perimenopausal mother of teens, I find her framework for culture very relatable.
Pix: After 20 years in fashion retail, what did you know you wanted to do differently when you started Owl Tree?
MPE: The kids’ market is the perfect use case for secondhand clothing. Kids outgrow things lightning-quick; they take terrible care of their clothes, and often have irrational taste preferences. Secondhand makes it less expensive and less precious for kids to find their self-expression! When I started, I didn’t think anyone was doing kids’ secondhand well. I’ve brought my full-price retail expertise and standards into a resale environment in our 2 Brooklyn stores & site, through curation, merchandising, customer service, and wardrobing. Eyeing locations now in Manhattan for our 3rd location!
Pix: It’s back-to-school season! What advice do you have for parents shopping for a first-day-of-school outfit?
MPE: As a mom of 3 kids, a critical lesson in everyone’s sanity is learning when to pick your battles. It may be disappointing that they don’t want to wear a polo collar or a twirly dress for their first day, but I also now kinda miss those kooky print mash-up outfits of the kindergarten years. As long as they are dressed sufficiently for the weather and won’t shock their grandma by what they’re wearing, I won't fight too hard and instead let their self-expression reign.
That said, if they did let me pick, for their first day I would make sure it’s seasonal for both early September weather and later on with sweaters & layers. A few of my favorites from our site:
Pix: What current fashion trend are you loving right now? And which would you like to permanently shelve?
MPE: Isn’t it just delightful that women are no longer forced to wear uncomfortable heels to be fashionable? Ballet flats, loafers, & sleek low-heeled boots in classic leathers & suedes feel very modern again. Worn with soft neutral knits and 90’s silhouettes - it’s fabulous and a great time for all your classics to earn their keep. I’m going to pass on a Y2K revisit myself, and let my tweens & teens take on the low-rise denim, baby tees, and chokers.
Pix: If you could swap closets with any TV or movie character whose wardrobe you still think about, who are you choosing?
MPE: Hands down, it would be Rene Russo from The Thomas Crown Affair. Designed entirely by Michael Kors, every outfit she wears still feels sophisticated, sexy, and classic all at once.
Pix: What’s the greatest secondhand score you’ve ever found?
MPE: Ooh! I’m still buzzing from this one. This spring at a women’s consignment pop-up in Tribeca, I found a perfect-fitting, excellent-condition, current-season pair of chocolate brown Saint Laurent cargo pants for 1/8 of the retail price. I bought them and snuck out of the event quickly, feeling like I’d stolen treasure. We’ve just started selling women’s at Owl Tree, and I’m having so much fun getting deep into the women’s resale market now too!
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