The Warrior
of Westchester The New York Stylist shares details about her pandemic pregnancy, her new suburban life, and her tips on how to shop sustainably By Cris Pearlstein
I
couldn’t help but fall in love with Liz Teich when I saw her signature at the bottom of our first email exchange. It read like a disclaimer: “Please note that I’m a mom in a pandemic and will likely be delayed in responding to my emails. Thank you for understanding.” If these two sentences don’t capture the essence of what this past year has been—especially for moms—I don’t know what does. Of course I can relate to her sentiment, and I’m sure you can, too. What I can’t relate to though, is having a baby while in the midst of a global pandemic. But that’s exactly what Teich did—and the world took notice. An image of her immediately post-labor, breastfeeding for the first time, with her fist proudly in the air went viral, as new and soon-to-be mamas around the country were rallying lawmakers to allow them to keep their partners in the delivery rooms with them. At that point protocols were changing almost daily, but for many, just the thought of having to give birth alone was terrifying. Teich was luckily able to have her husband in the room, but he was forced to leave immediately after, as per the hospital policy. The image captured what so many women around the country were going through, and symbolized this unique moment in time. If you don’t know Teich from that fist-in-theair viral photo, then you probably know her from her gorgeously romantic-feeling, feminine blog and Instagram platform, The New York Stylist, where she doles out everything from practical fashion advice (a recent Reel teaches followers how to roll up their sleeves like a stylist. Hint: rubber bands!), to decor tips (she just moved to Westchester), to ways her readers can
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be greener when it comes to their beauty and gettingdressed routines (see sidebar). She is very passionate about sustainability, both in her personal life and when it comes to the brands she works with. In fact, this past year she even vowed to only shop sustainably and so all of her clothing purchases (along with her husband’s and kids’) have been from small businesses that employ sustainable practices, or through clothing rental services. And before making any purchase she uses the Good On You app to make sure it meets her standards. She’s a woman after my own green heart. But her Instagram feed is more than just a place for her to share style solutions and decor tips. It’s become a place where she deeply connects with other moms beyond fashion. Her platform is a lifeline for her to reach other moms going through similar experiences— whether that’s giving birth during a pandemic or figuring out how to dress your body after baby—and feel less alone in the process. She thinks of herself as a cheerleader to her almost-36,000 followers, which not only helps them, but in a way forces her to be stronger, too. It’s a lifting-each-other-up community vibe that we could all use right about now. Read on to hear about her move, her pandemic pregnancy, and her mission to spread the word of sustainability. What brought you to Westchester? How do you like it compared to where you used to live? What do you miss about your Brooklyn life? We lived in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn for 12 years when we found out we were having a second baby. We thought we’d stay in Brooklyn forever and only have one kid, but when we decided to have another we realized we were quickly outgrowing our two bedroom