Feature Friday With... Chrisette Michele

It's FEATURE Friday and today's Feature is singer-songwriter Chrisette Michele.

Let me first say that this interview was a chance encounter.  I received a text message asking me if I was going to the Chrisette Michele event; No, I wasn't.  So the reply text was if you'd like, you can be my +1.  Before I got to excited, I had to check with the hubby, since the event was the next night and I had already been running for the past 2 weeks.  Obviously he said YES!  

When I arrived at the Pose and Post Symposium (which at first I had no idea what it was about), I saw a few people I'd networked with before.  I got to meet two bloggers I follow and admire, one of which I've feature before (Marie Denee of - The Curvy Fashionista.)  It was an eye opening experience.  The first two hours was dedicated to media and bloggers to have a sit-down with the soulful songstress.  Since I was a tag-along, it never crossed my mind that I would be able to interview Chrisette.  Like I said, this was a chance encounter.  Her publicist came around asking people if they
had already had their interview.  So when she approached me about interviewing The Chrisette Michele, I was like ummm Yeah!  She said then you'll be the last one. I didn't care if I was the first, last or middle one.  This was an opportunity that I wasn't going to let pass me by.

It's kinda amazing when you see people in print or on television and then you get to see them in person.  Some look totally difference, however, Chrisette is just a pretty in person as she is on tv or in a magazine.  The other part that intrigued me about "Chris" is that she was very hands on in the setup of this event.  She wasn't just dishing out commands and demands; she was grinding.

Since this was an impromptu interview I had to quickly think of something to talk to her about.  I figured most people would talk to her about her music and maybe even her being on the show R&B Divas: LA.  I decided to talk to her about one of my all time fave pastime - Thrifting.

TSK:  Do you have a favorite thrift shop?

CM: My fave thrift shop is Beacon's Closet in New York.  I prefer the little smaller non-franchise shops over the bigger stores.

TSK: Do you look for anything in particular?

CM: My favorite thing to get is what I call "Grandpa Jacket".  They look really good with a pair of skinny jeans and a "T".  I'll usually scrunch up the sleeves.  I'll also look for the worn looking jeans so that I can cut them up and make them "booty" shorts...

TSK:  What items would you say you thrift the most?

 CM: Besides the "grandpa jackets"; I really like cool vintage jewelry, accessories and sunnies.

TSK: How much of your wardrobe is thrifted?

CM: Well, it's mostly jewelry and accessories, but I would say about 12%.

TSK:  How did you come up with Rich Hipster?

CM:  So I was hanging out in New York (Williamsburg) at a coffee shop and I saw all these people living in these amazing high rises with dirty Chuck Taylor's on.  Because of the area that I was in, I knew these people had money.  It was like they didn't even care if we knew that they were rich or not.  For some people, their richness resides on the inside of them.  Although they dresses like hipsters, they were still ballers; So I called them Rich Hipsters.  Rich in spirit, yet free to be creative!