“My parenting style revolves around one very important word—respect. Respect is the spine of a parent-child relationship. It has to be mutual, and allows me to listen to my kids in a way that is empathetic and helpful to them. I can pretty much tolerate anything from tantrums to bad report cards, but the one thing that really gets under my skin is disrespect. The moment anyone disrespects me, I close off. I teach my children to respect themselves, that who they are are is beautiful and more than enough. I teach them that they deserve to be respected, and in turn, they have been able to become leaders instead of followers. If you think about it, the respect of self and others is what creates true and healthy relationships on all levels.”

Christine wears a striped camisole from Christine Alcalay SS17 and Solid State Shoes. Thy-Lan, Simone, and Liem wear a combination of Zara Kids, Gap Kids, and Hand-me-downs.

“I had Thy-Lan, my eldest, when I was 24. In a way, it seems like I have always been a mother because I grew up as my children grew, as well. With every child, I experienced a different stage of emotional and personal growth. My children have made me stronger, and have helped push me towards being a better person. I have a lot riding on the person that I am. I am a role model for three children, and if that doesn’t change the way you eat, think, live, love, and grow, I’m not sure what would. The challenge is always balance. After becoming a mother, the scale gets tipped because life involves dependence of another life. With three kids, it’s hard to find the time with my husband, the time to have a quiet moment, and the time to really slow down. I’ve found that the answer to balancing in my life is to pause, really take in the moments, and feel the wonderful things and people I am surrounded by.”

“Thy-Lan, 13, is a dancer and looking into high schools. Simone, 8, loves Tae Kwon Do and is working to become a red belt. Liem loves filling cups with water and airplanes.”

“Thy-Lan has Vietnamese origin, and means ‘poetry of an orchid.’ My husband found the name in a French magazine when we first met, and we always knew we would name our first daughter Thy-Lan. The name is so fitting for her because she is graceful and poetic. Simone, our second daughter, is named after many strong women such as French writer and feminist, Simone de Beauvoir. My husband is French, so we wanted a name representing his origins as well. Nina Simone is also an artist that we love, but for me, one of the more important reasons why we named her Simone is because I had a best friend in elementary school who was extremely kind to me. I didn’t speak much English before age nine. She always played with me and looked after me even though I was so different from the rest of the class. Her kindness is something I think about all the time. We were in contact for a while, but lost touch in our teens. Simone is just as kind and loving as my best friend in elementary school. Liem is a Vietnamese name that means ‘honest one.’ So far, he is just that—brimming with honesty and such joy.”

“I love snow days. A day where we can escape from school and work. We sleep in, play with snow, make hot chocolate, and sit by the fire. We play board games, make meals together, and then watch a family movie. I love those unexpected days.”

“I don’t look up to celebrities, mostly because I don’t know their personal lives. The imagery of the perfect mom and kids is just that—imagery. I am surrounded by wonderful mothers every day. In my businesses, I am surrounded by amazing women who have children. We, as women, support each other, and talk about the ups and downs of motherhood. We share stories and pictures of our children because we have a unifying bond called motherhood. It’s my friends who are moms whom I look up to, and are icons in my eyes. Everyday women who are everyday moms, and true and living heroes.”

“Not really. They all annoy me. I’ve bought a few, but they never apply because every child is different.”

“We are similar because we are both very strong. I wear my emotions on my sleeve, where I feel my mom has learned to hide her emotions. It may be cultural, or it may be circumstantial.”

“I know that for me, my fist child taught me so much about myself. Getting to know your first child also brings up so many emotions that you, yourself, have faced. The advice that I wish someone gave me was to separate myself, my experiences, and my personal emotions from my child’s. We can easily piggyback our own experiences onto our children. Having my first has taught me how her first experiences of things belong to her, and not to me. So many things are taught, such as fear and limitations. These are the things that we sometimes pass onto our kids because we don’t take a few steps back to remove our own hangups from their experiences. Let your child experience their own sadness, happiness, heart breaks, disappointments, and lives in a way that is not laced with residual emotions that we have not dealt with in our lives.”

“Hang on. It’s going to be bumpy ride, but it’s really worth it. Heck, you might even want to go on the ride again and have number three like me.”

“I have the most amazing women around me. Having two shops in Park Slope has allowed me to make such close friends, whom have become family to me.”

“Don’t listen to any advice. Do your thing, but make other mom friends.”

“Make time for the people you love, all of them. You have to make time.”

“My husband and I have always talked about adopting when we are much older.”

“I woke up one morning in our apartment in Boerum Hill, and told my husband it was time to move. I can’t even explain it. It was an instinctual feeling I had that we needed to find a new home, and that we couldn’t grow roots in our apartment. We spent a year looking for a house that we could afford (at that time, one we really couldn’t afford). When we saw our house, it was immediate love. We could care less that it was 4,600 square feet of peeling wall paper, loose doorknobs, and dirty wall to wall carpeting. We moved in, and lived in it for a while to get to know the house, and who she was. We slowly started renovating when our pocketbooks allowed. It is a work in progress, but our house loves us the way we love her. Yes, I call our house a her.”

“It’s really a mix of things. I really do like so many elements of different design aesthetics. It’s always changing, but more recently, we’ve been loving simplistic design with a lot of character.”

“Who I am is constantly evolving, so my aesthetic changes as well. I never say never to anything because I have an easy time with finding the possibility and beauty in everything. Having children means no white sofas, but aesthetically it hasn’t changed what I like.”

“It has to be simple, functional, comfortable, inviting, and with a healthy dose of serene.”

“I cannot have my kids things everywhere. There is a place for everything, and the kids toys and things need to go back where they belong. I’m very orderly that way. It would make me crazy.”

“My girls share a large room on the third floor because we feel that they can really learn from each other by sharing a space. We live in a really large home, so it’s easy to keep them apart. But, I’ve seen how they close they are, and I know it’s because they are roommates. That will have to change because they are getting older, but there is nothing like checking in on them in the middle of the night, and seeing that they are huddled together in one bed. They have their sides, and one side has a dance bar and ballet posters, and the other side has marvel comic posters. There is a common reading area, and a ton of sunlight. I love the combination of my girls. Their room rocks. Liem’s room is on the same floor as ours because he is still small. I love how functional his room is. Train table and bins of toys are all at his level. My kids’ rooms are my favorite places in my house. There is so much happiness there.”

“The girls have a white, secondhand sofa in theirs that we’ve had forever. We read in it, talk, and snuggle. It’s not beautiful, just simple and fits us all.”

“I LOVE my kitchen because my husband and I love to cook, eat, and be with my kids. The heart of our home is our kitchen.”

Christine wears a White and Warren ivory short sleeve sweater tee, and Christine Alcalay skirt from SS17.

“A quick veggie stir-fry and rice. We also love smoothies.”

“I wish I were better at saying ‘no’. I take every opportunity that arises whether it be our home, family, or business. It can exhaust me.”

“My personal style can be described as quirky, modern classic. I love wearing clothes that make a statement in their own quiet way. I love layers and large shapes mixed with pants that are slightly too short, and shirts that are buttoned all the way up. I’m minimal with accessories, but a lover of a great hat and striking shoes.”

“Since becoming a mom, I’m much more comfortable in my skin, and have really learned to appreciate all of my flaws and strengths.”

“I love my pink Common Projects sneakers, my furry Solid State mules, my Enza Costa cotton/cashmere basics, and all of my high-rise denim. Then, I wear my pieces in the mix.”

“Well, I’m my favorite designer, but I have a weakness for denim and shoes, mostly because I don’t design them.”

“I’m loving the fringe trend. I’m surprised that I am, but it’s allowed me to bring out the hippy-bohemian in me that I didn’t even know I had.”

“I shop in my stores. I love to touch and feel things. When I’m at market or trade shows for the store, I’ll usually order things for myself as I’m working. I see a lot in my line of work, so I tend to be attracted to truly special items, or very simplistic day-to-day pieces.”

Christine wears a striped top and skirt from Christine Alcalay SS17 and Solid State shoes.

“Xiao Wang, a friend and jewelry designer has a truly special diamond ring I am drooling, swooning, and obsessing over.”

“I have a two-minute beauty routine, but I swear by Aesop’s Parsley Oil Cleanser, Aesop toner, and Vintner’s Daughter Oil. I exfoliate once a week, cut my hair once every two months, and have 40 different shades of red lipstick. It’s pretty minimal.”

“I love biking to and from work when it’s nice out. If not, I do a lot of walking and I love Barre.”

“My work as mom is the most important to me, but besides that, I have three businesses—my women’s shop, Kiwi, my men’s shop, Fig, and my namesake collection of clothes. My week is packed with market appointments, design/studio work, working with contractors, buying appointments for the shops, and making plans and decisions for the businesses. It’s really a ton to balance, but I love all aspects of the creative and business end of all three.”

“I owe so much to my experience as a child, and without it, I wouldn't be who I am. I came to the United States with my mom at the age of three. We escaped Vietnam in the middle of the night on a boat promising freedom and opportunity. We were the lucky ones because many people never made it to see land. We had nothing, and she came to New York City with a bag of dreams and the will to survive. She worked in factories, and I tagged along cutting threads, helping her out wherever she was. With younger sisters to support, she worked day and night. Growing up around her work ethic and drive to survive most definitely influenced me. When a seamstress sews and speaks the language to her child, it is only natural that the child speaks that language fluently. She planted a seed in me that included qualities such as grit, hard work, tenacity, and stamina. The passion for design and clothing that I have doesn’t come from fashion magazines, movie stars, or the glamorous light that fashion tends to be portrayed in. My love for clothing and fashion came from seeing that with hard work, what you can imagine can be designed and created with your own hands, some paper, pencil, fabric, needle, and thread. It wasn’t just sewing, though. If she was cleaning, she taught me how to clean. If she was cooking, she taught me how to cook. It taught me that I had a very important role to help as little or as young as I was. I learned very early on that life is what you make of it. It’s a personal hustle.”

“A masterfully crafted collection of modern and romantic, yet whimsical pieces meant to be collected and evolve with the woman who wears it.”

“Having my kids has made me work harder, strive more, and has cut out all of the extraneous nonsense I don’t have time for. When I’m not working, I’m with my family. I teach by example and try to be the best version of myself, not only for myself, but also for them. As parents, we influence our children just by who we are and how we live. I have that weighing on my heart everyday. The time that I’m not with them is a time where I focus all of my energy on my passion and drive for my businesses, so when I’m with my husband and children, I can be there for them. The balance is something I really struggle with. I feel that all moms struggle with it. What straightens me out is always a question I ask myself—'Will this matter in five years?’ Having children has made me work on being a better person, being kinder to myself, and knowing that the time I spend away from them is precious, so I better be making the most of it. Having my children has propelled me because my cause is no longer singular, it’s plural.”

“This is the most difficult part for me. I know that my work makes me a better mother and vice versa. Mindfulness is what I try to achieve in all the different aspects of my life. I try not to wear too many hats at once, but instead, remove one hat before putting on another. Trying to avoid the overlapping of all the aspects of life is almost impossible, but I find the key is to focus attention on what is the most pressing. When I feel pressured or pulled in many directions, I always ask myself what would matter most in five years. The answer becomes quite clear—my balance comes from the happiness of my family and my accomplishments long term."

“My favorite piece in my fall collection in my cactus print gathered sleeve blouse that can be worn from front to back. I love clothes that can be worn in different ways.”

“Art and music. Fashion goes hand-in-hand with other forms of art, as well as current events. I absorb what’s happening in our world, and try to make my version of what beauty is in the form of clothing.”

“I’m currently working on the next collection for FW 2017 for Christine Alcalay. I’m also in the process of planning e-commerce for Fig and KIWI, as well as creating a line just for the shops."

“Yes, I love Brooklyn!”

“I would be able to live in any city, as long as it’s diverse and allows for discovery.”

“The convenience of everything being so close by. There is such an array of culture and diversity that's really not available anywhere else. There are museums, theaters, restaurants, and history all around us. City kids are so lucky to be exposed to so much.”

“We love to bike in the Prospect Park, go to the farmer’s market, and make meals together. We read and talk around the dinner table. It really is dependent on weather, and what is most seasonal. In the summer, we go to the beach. In the winter, we go ice skating and head to museums. We love discovering new places to eat, but we mostly love hanging out at home doing nothing.”

"In Park Slope: AL di La, Bricolage, Community Bookstore, JJ Byrne Park, Prospect Park, Cafe Regular, Stories Bookshop and Storytelling Lab. In Ditmas Park: The Castello Plan, Lea, The Farm on Adderly, Sycamore, The Sunday Farmer’s Market on Cortelyou Road, Cafe Madeline, and Milk and Honey.”

To keep up with Christine, follow her on Instagram.