Welcome to Unstyled. I'm your host, Christine Barberick, co-founder and global editor-in-chief of Refinery 29.

Each week, I invite a notable person to come in and talk with us as we explore the funny, inspiring,

sometimes heartbreaking tales of life, work, and love, as told through the things that we wear.

Connie is here today to talk about the uncommon connection we both have to making style relatable to everyone. Not something to be feared and intimidated into, but embraced and explored with joy and

veracity. Connie is from Minnesota, but she went to school at UC Berkeley and graduated in just

three years. I love that fact about her. I also met Connie when she was young enough to have a

totally different style and vibe than she does today. She was 22 when she arrived in our Refinery 29 offices to interview for the associate blog editor role.

She became employee number six, and over the past seven years, she's risen through the ranks to fashion features director,

a role she was, quite honestly, born for. I love Connie's style. I love her sense of

humor, and more specifically, I love her peaceful, wide-eyed way of seeing the world. She is a Zen

master in unique clothing and ugly shoes. That will make sense later. Hi, Connie. Hi, Christine.

Welcome to Unstyled.

Thank you.

I'd love to talk with you first about growing up in Minnesota.

First of all, I feel so lucky to have grown up in Minnesota.

All of the rumors that you hear about Minnesotans being very nice are very true.

I can't remember a single time that I was bullied, which is so

rare and I think special, and I'm so privileged to have grown up in that kind of environment.

But that's not to say I didn't feel different. Me and my family were one of the few Asian families

in a predominantly white, very, very white upper middle class neighborhood in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. I already felt

different, just walking straight out of my house knowing that we were the only family on the

block who were Asian. When my dad would mow the lawn, everyone would slow down, everyone would wave,

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