Sarah Lim in the shop’s backyard. (Photo: Ebru Yildiz)
When In God We Trust’s first location opened on Wythe Avenue in 2005, it was a modest shop with a little studio in the back. In that small space, founder Shana Tabor designed original clothes and jewelry with uniquely irreverent touches. For instance: the instant classic, heart-shaped Sweet Nothing necklace with a handwritten inscription reading “kiss me where i pee.” The inaugural shop has since closed but three new stores opened in its place.
One of those locations is on busy Bedford Avenue, where Sarah Lim, copy chief at Tumblr, lived for a few years before rounding out her six and a half years in Williamsburg close to the waterfront. Sarah, however, prefers the shop’s quieter Greenpoint outpost. We asked her why it’s worth the subway transfer.
(Photo: Ebru Yildiz)
BEFORE THIS, I WAS AT WORK. I hopped on the L and then the G to the Greenpoint stop and to the store to refill on my Burning Barbershop cologne and check out the [In God We Trust] collection from the new season that’s been slowly trickling into the stores. Burning Barbershop is my favorite scent by this local perfumery DS and Durga. Technically, it’s a men’s cologne but it actually works really well with my chemistry. So, I wear men’s cologne and I buy it here. It’s also nice to say hi to [E-Commerce Manager] Julie [Noyce] and everyone else.
I STARTED COMING HERE ABOUT FOUR YEARS AGO. This store’s the bigger one. The one on Bedford is a bit more touristy and you can’t really hang out and chat there like you can at this one. My first experience was in 2009 around when this location opened. I bought a dress. That’s how it started. I’d then come in now-and-then and check out the latest collection and slowly became friends with Julie and Shana. It’s come to the point where they come to my birthday parties, and I’m invited to theirs.
I’M A REGULAR FOR A FEW REASONS. I like Shana’s aesthetic and design perspective. It touches upon some vintage themes, and I feel like everything is timeless. I have four years worth of In God We Trust pieces, and I’m still wearing things from several years ago. It makes up at least half of my wardrobe at this point because everything is incredibly well-made, sustainable, and timeless.
IT’S LIKE HAVING A LOCAL PHARMACY OR BODEGA. Beyond getting to know the people who sell you the clothes, it’s cool to know who designs them and who makes them. I feel like everything is made with love here. You can really see that in all the pieces. And I really feel that when I wear the pieces. You could say the same thing about a local chef.
STYLE IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO ME. In the same way that people are foodies, I would say I’m a bit of a style junkie. I don’t maintain a fashion blog or anything like that but [style] has – over these ten-and-a-half years since I moved to New York – become a really big part of who I am and my relationship to the city.
ALL THE PIECES COMPLEMENT EACH OTHER. These pieces are all from completely different seasons. Sometimes when I wear a lot of clothes from the same store I wonder if it’s overkill, but then I think, “Who cares?” If you own it and you look good, then it doesn’t matter.