
Mother Stories
A Fashion Family With Three Girls (!) Invites Us Over
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Photographed by Maria Del Rio
Mar 8, 2016
A family with three girls is an interesting dynamic in itself. Add in the fact that both parents work in the fashion industry, and that they come from Brazilian and German backgrounds (respectively), and we just had to see this household for ourselves. Thankfully, Fiftytwo Showroom owner Ana Lerario Geller and her designer husband Robert Geller welcomed us with open arms. Here, the matriarch of the bunch talks about style, work, and life with her three little beauties, Luna, 5, Anis, 3, and Blanca, 1.
- "We started looking when Luna, our oldest, was around 8 months old. We used to live in the Financial District, and looking for houses in Fort Greene became our weekend 'thing.' We'd walk across the Brooklyn Bridge at the time of Luna's first nap, look at homes all day, and walk back while she was still on her afternoon nap. It was really fun. It took us two years to renovate it and we have been living here for a little over three years now." Ana wears a J.Crew sweater and Lerario Beatriz dress and pants. Anis wears an American Apparel dress.
- Tickle time with Anis, 3!
- "It's modern, classic, and cozy."
- "Both Robby and I are really specific about what we like. We are lucky that our tastes crossover a lot. As long as we both like it, anything goes!"
- The (only) man of the house. Robert wears all Robert Geller.
- "Robby's mom used to collect the work of Christo and Jean-Claude in the '80s. We have a really beautiful drawing of his that I love. But my very favorite artwork are the ones made by the kids."
- Another tickle attack!
- "I get claustrophobic with clutter. We just accumulate so much! Every now and then I clean up and organize everything. We do have a play room, but of course the kids want to be where we are, so the house has slowly become a giant playroom!"
- For when mama—and dada—needs a drink.
- "You realize your life is not just yours anymore. You can't meet your friends whenever you want, you can't go for drinks or dinner straight after work. If you go out partying you pay a high price the next morning! The weekends completely changed. Oh, and let's not forget the sleep deprivation! I really thought that I would never sleep again. This is especially hard when you first become a mother. Eventually you realize that things go back to normal. It’s a slightly different 'normal' than you were used to, but it’s more beautiful and meaningful than before. Now I want to rush home after work. I really miss my girls if I'm away from them for too long!"
- "I overcame a lot of my own fears and became a better person in order to be the best mother I could be. I found a strength I didn't know I had. I also became much more patient. Every day is an exercise and there's always a chance to do better." Luna wears a hand-me-down top, J.Crew skirt, pants from Brazil, and American Apparel socks. Anis wears an American Apparel dress.
- Monkey business.
- "Seeing my girls grow and develop and helping them during this process."
- "That I will mess up somehow. I really want them to be happy, kind people. I want them to be friends and to look out for each other. I get nervous that somehow that won't happen. Oh, and the teenage years!"
- "For our first daughter, Luna, we needed a name that worked in three languages—English, Portuguese (my mother’s language), and German (Robby's mother’s language). We were looking for a romantic name, and we couldn't agree on anything. My mom suggested Luna over dinner one night and we both fell in love with it. We didn't know if she was going to be a boy or a girl. When I was in labor, Robby and I went for a walk by the river to speed things up. It was around 3 p.m. and there was a beautiful moon in the sky. Right then, I knew Luna was about to come! Our second daughter is named Anis. My great aunt had a fennel bush in her backyard when I was a kid and I would love picking from it when I'd spend the day with her. One of my good friends once had a boyfriend named Anis, and I always loved his name because it made me think of my aunt. She was really special in my life. The name of our youngest, Blanca, comes from a character in Isabel Allende's book The House of The Spirits, which both Robby and I love." Ana wears a Rodebjer top and Osklen pants. Blanca wears a Monoprix top and Nununu pants.
- Lift off!
- "Luna and Anis sleep in the same room. Blanca sleeps in the nursery, but eventually we will open the wall and create a bigger room for all of them. I think sharing a room creates a special bond between them. They also learn how to respect each other."
- "Luna's favorite thing is the shelf with all the toys and books."
- "Anis’ favorite thing is the wall where they can stick whatever they want on it. It's amazing and I wish I did a better job registering the ever-changing art installation."
- "Everyone wakes up after 7:30. We all get ready and go down for a nice breakfast. We go to the park, spend time with friends, and have a cup of tea. We have a nice lunch, and then maybe an art project in the afternoon."
- "Yes. Between that and work I'm going crazy!"
- "Don't feel bad if things are not going as you planned. Everyone is always talking about how incredible it is to be a mom, and how delicious newborns are (and it's true). But nobody talks about that fact that you'll also be a mess. You'll be exhausted from the labor and in pain from the birth. If breastfeeding goes well, lucky you! Chances are that it will hurt more than labor itself. Every three hours! Then you have all the hormones making you feel up and down. It's normal. It gets better."
- Fairyland.
- "If you asked me that after my first child, I'd tell you a bunch. Now, I see that a lot of things they teach may not work with your kid and then it gets really frustrating and obsessive. Just educate yourself with some basic ones (I like The Baby Whisperer for some things) and follow your gut. The Happiest Baby On The Block video is also great. Right now I'm now reading Raising Girls and it seems like a great one."
- "I was born in Brazil. The culture there is very different, especially over 30 years ago. My dad wasn't involved at all. My mom always had help, wouldn't cook our meals, and was always able to take guilt-free afternoon naps! The entire family lived close by and there was always a ton of people around. It’s very different than our situation. I'm much more involved physically and in tune psychologically with my kids. I don’t think they even thought about that back then. I also let my kids take more risks. My mom was super protective of us. We are similar in the sense that we are both very loving and giving."
- "I think the most important thing is that you both agree on the basic parenting style and rules. I never correct my husband in front of the kids and vice versa. If there's any subject that we don't agree on, we talk about it after the kids are sleeping. We have a very strict (and early) bedtime routine, so we can have time for each other every night. I think that's key. We try not to 'divide and conquer.' We do things together as much as possible: playgrounds, parks, birthday parties. At least for us, we feel more united and understand each other better when we do things together."
- "They are different, but some of their interests overlap. We love doing art projects together, like building and decorating a house or a train made of cardboard, decorating empty tea cans, covering them with ribbons and sticks that they find in the park, etc. We all love playing table games, like Memory, Bingo, and Go Fish. They also enjoy drawing and painting. We go to the park and build playhouses out of sticks, bark, and pebbles."
- "Seeing their personalities unfolding. Doing all the things together with them. Listening and understanding them. Learning more and more about myself in the process. Having a house always full of laughter. I hope when they get older they will be close enough to lean on and trust each other."
- "Absolutely not!"
- The home office.
- "In Brazil, this generation still keeps many of the same old habits. Of course, I can't generalize, but fathers are not as involved. People count a lot on nannies to raise their kids—days, nights, weekends, holidays. There's a lot of 'paid help.' A lot of people think I'm really weird because my kids go to bed at 8:00 p.m. and don't eat a lot of sugar. Germany’s parenting style is more similar to here. Again, I can't generalize, but they are not as health conscious as New York parents."
- "We are very close to the Brazilian culture. We listen to Brazilian music, I only speak Portuguese to them, and we cook Brazilian food almost everyday. I pray with my kids every night I put them to bed, which is something that my mom did with me and I always thought was really nice. We read all the old Brazilian and German tales. In regards to Germany, we have the language. Robby only speaks German to them. We go to the park a lot, which is something that Robby did growing up. We let them get dirty and Robby is always playing very physical games with them."
- "It's pretty hard! I keep a lot of it. I just throw away the ones when she has made 100 versions of the same thing!"
- "I'm very spontaneous when it comes to dressing. I mix up a lot of patterns and pieces that normally wouldn't go together. I also love being comfortable."
- "The comfortable part! I also breastfeed my kids for a long time. So far I have spent three years and three months having to wearing nursing-friendly clothes!"
- "Black leggings, button-down kaftans."
- "For my basics I like Uniqlo. I love Adriana Degreas for big statement kaftans. Samuji uses beautiful colors and textures. There are two new brand I love. One is called Grei, and has some great and special basics. The other one is called Svilu and has more forward pieces. Of course, I always wear pieces from my husband's line, Robert Geller."
- "I don't shop much, but when I do, I like looking at the pieces and trying them on. A lot of my favorite designers are from my showroom, Fiftytwo. I also love Maryam Nazir Zadeh’s store on the Lower East Side, Steven Alan, and Bird in Brooklyn."
- "Very simple. I clean my skin morning and evening. Because I'm still breastfeeding, I don't like using anything that is not natural. At night I have been using coconut oil. In the morning I use a moisturizer from Caudalie and Coola SPF 30. I don't wear make up, but occasionally I’ll put on eyeliner or red lipstick."
- "I do Pilates twice a week." Ana wears an American Vintage top, Topshop skirt, and necklace by Scosha x Robert Geller.
- A really nice naughty chair.
- "I have a sales showroom called Fiftytwo. I represent menswear, womenswear, and swimwear designers and sell their collections to specialty boutiques and department stores, such as Barneys, Saks, and Intermix."
- "Before becoming a mom, in addition to the showroom, I had my own brand called Lerario Beatriz. It was sold at great stores and I showed on the NYFW calendar. After Luna was born I decided to close it. The showroom was a much bigger business for me and I wanted to dedicate enough time to my child."
- "It has been really crazy since Blanca was born. I want to make sure that the three kids have enough time with me and I also need to take care of my business. Luckily, I have an amazing team of people that work with me and they have made my job easier."
- "I have a babysitter that we all love. She is an amazing help. Besides that, the other moms from Luna's school help me a lot. They know who they are and they are my village!"
- "If I'm really in a hurry, scrambled eggs, cherry tomatoes, peas, and quinoa. You can even throw in the quinoa before you scramble the eggs. Less messy and you can guarantee that it will be eaten. I also blend plain yogurt with spinach, add olive oil, salt, and pepper. You can also mix in a can of tuna. It's delicious!"
- "I like that it's always renewing itself. Every few months there are new collections in for sale. It's exciting to analyze what works and what doesn't. It's nice to work with beautiful products and creative people."
- "I have so many plans. For now, I'll focus on my girls and Fiftytwo."
- "That the streets are not crowded. We see so much sky! We live two blocks from the park and it's so nice to be able to go whenever we want. We always run into friends on the streets and it really feels like a small town."
- A portrait of Robby.
- "I don't have a typical day anymore. Everyday is different, depending on the kids’ schedule. But most mornings I take Luna, and sometimes Anis, to school. From there, I either go back home to feed and hang out with Blanca and Anis, or I go to the office. If the girls have a special class I take them there, watch it, and bring them home."
- "Fort Greene Park and Camel Park. I love hanging out with the girls at Hungry Ghost Cafe. Sometimes we bring watercolor, paper, and pencils and spend hours there just painting and drawing. Both Luna and Anis learned tic-tac-toe there. My favorite coffee and chai tea are from Bitter Sweet. As far as restaurants, Roman's is a favorite. Great restaurants to go to with the kids are Dino, Paulette, and Colonia Verde."
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