TV’S Kristin Cavallari tries her hand at design
Laguna Beach star creates new shoe and jewelry lines
Kristin Cavallari may be a new mom, but she still aims to be as put together and stylish as she did pre-baby. It’s part of her job these days.
The 25-year-old former reality TV star — who welcomed with fiance, Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler, son Camden in August — partnered with celeb-shopping website OpenSky.com with Cavallari acting as a curator. She’s designing a new shoe line for Chinese Laundry, and she’ll launch a jewelry line in February with jeweller Pascal Mouawad, who has worked with Nicole Richie and Kim Kardashian.
“If you would’ve asked me five years ago if this is what I’d be doing, I probably would’ve said, ‘No way,’ but I’ve had so much fun, and it’s great because I can (design) from anywhere. It’s been perfect with the baby,” said Cavallari in a recent interview.
Cavallari talks about fashion, style, sports and reality TV shows.
Q: Have you always had a knack for fashion?
A: I think just being in the business you learn, you pick up different tips, and I’ve worked with some great stylists over the years. But, no, coming out of high school I wore like those platform flipflops which were awful, and jean skirts, so I had no style, really. Or that black choker I always wore was awful.
Q: Do you feel pressure to look good when you go out?
A: I have a great balance. In Chicago (where she and Cutler live), no one cares about what you look like and there’s one paparazzi who’s around randomly, so I really don’t put too much effort into what I look like in Chicago. When I come to New York or L.A., where I know I’ll be photographed, it’s fun to go that extra mile and get dressed up and get my hair and makeup done. I actually enjoy it then.
Q: Would you ever want to design clothing?
A: I’m having a lot of fun designing just accessories. Maybe eventually one day. I really want to do things that are more organic to my life at the moment. I obvi- ously just had a baby and I’m breastfeeding, and what I realize is there are no cute nursing bras or tank tops. So I want to do a nursing bra or tank top line and do something with that. Designing clothing is nowhere on the horizon as of now.
Q: On Laguna Beach and The Hills, you were portrayed as more of a mean girl to Lauren Conrad’s nice girl. Did that do you justice?
A: (Laughs.) The one thing people always say when they meet me is, ‘Wow, you’re actually really sweet!’ Someone one time actually told me the best advice they could give me was to meet as many people as possible because I’m so different.
Q: Does it ever bother you that people have that perception?
A: It really bothered me at first. The first episode of Laguna Beach, I cried and cried and cried. I was so upset. Now it’s been so many years I’m used to it ... It’s got me where I am today so it’s working, I guess.”