Stars Sans Stylists: What Does it Really Mean?

[KhaoticKharma]

Lately, the cool thing, if you’re famous, is to claim that you don’t have a stylist. (Cough, Blake Lively, cough cough.) Sometimes, that’s true. But most of the time, chances are someone is likely helping the starlet make clothing decisions, even if it’s not a Rachel Zoe/Nicole Richie-type relationship.
There are some stylists who make celebrities look like they’ve done it themselves. Leslie Fremar, who styles Julianne Moore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Jennifer Connelly, and several other perfect specimens, makes her clients feel so comfortable on the red carpet that for years I fully believed Gyllenhaal did it solo.
But alas, what celebrity has time to go it alone, especially when it’s a big event like the Oscars? As one publicist told me, “I don’t think they have time to find PR contacts, you know?”
Even Chloe Sevigny, whose style is innately her own–probably more than any other celebrity–uses a stylist for big events. Ezra Woods, her sometimes-stylist, also works with Michelle Williams, who looks as effortless on the street as she does on the red carpet. (And there’s no way Woods is picking out her outfits every morning.) Perfect person Gwyneth Paltrow even started using someone after her too loose Ralph Lauren dress at the 1999 Oscars. (Although I loved it regardless.)
So what about Blake? And Diane? And January? What’s truth and what’s fiction? Here are the real stories behind these stars without stylists:

The Fashionista


I've always been curious as to who works with whom, or who is being honest when they say they "don't have a stylist". What do you guys think? Who do you think is honestly stylist free?

I don't believe for a moment that Blake doesn't work with stylists for major events; she might just have an assistant or PR person deal with the logistics (while she picks out the actual garments) for the smaller events though. I feel like the Olsen twins don't do enough outside of fashion to justify using stylists, to be honest...

 

[lucy92]

I think Blake Lively has a contact at Chanel that arranges for her to wear the chanel gowns/items etc. she may claim that she doesnt employ a stylist.

 

[The_Ida]

Of course they all have stylists

 

[sobriquet87]

*I think there are some who have stylists who tell them what to wear, how to wear it, and when to wear it (all the Disney people).

*There are others who just have really really good connections in the fashion world and therefore don't have an official stylist that they work with all the time, but still collaborate with people for specific events (i.e. Keira Knightley, Gwenyth Paltrow, Emma Watson, Diane Krueger, etc).

*There are others who just don't care and wear whatever they want (Meryl Streep, Diane Keaton, etc).

*And there are some who wish they had a stylist, but there's no one who actually wants to represent them (Snooki, Kesha, etc).

 

[NakedIfIWantTo]

^It must be pretty bad that nobody wants to style you

 

[lunabella]

I think the only major celeb without a stylist is Kate Moss - and she can style herself.

 

[before]

Both Keira and Gwyneth have stylists not just people to collaborate with. Emma has been with Caroline Sieber for a couple of years, though she isn't identified as her official stylist.

Even Cate Blanchett has/had a stylist. Before, it used to be the one who let her dogs piss on designer duds. More recently, it's been Elizabeth Stewart.

Nicole Kidman wouldn't be who she was without L'wren Scott (ie the acid chartreuse Dior). Nobody can convince me that woman has natural style that's purely her own, see her oscar appearances prior to the Dior one. She differs in that she has a body made for clothes and agreed to take risks when others wouldn't.

The only celeb that doesn't have a stylist would be Diane Kruger whom good connections apply for since she worked many years in the fashion industry.

It's fair to say that nearly every celeb has a stylist, yes, even the ones that are heralded as icons. The main difference between a Blake and a Cate is that one looks at ease in anything while the other never does. It's about cultivating a style that is fluid with your sartorial history while doing justice to the various designers. Someone worthy of admiring and emulating.

 

[isa.b.elle.]

^Agree about Diane, and maybe other girls that have a lot of connections in fashion but for the others...

Of course they all have stylists

 

[Katie123]

the one i find harder to believe is blake lively. her boobs+legs red carpet style plus anna wintour's obsession with her just scream big PR-marketing team behind her, which would include someone to pick what she wears.

i wouldn't be surprise if kruger styled herself, she used to be a model anyway. also the olsen twins can be a bit hit or miss, so i wouldn't be surprised if they only hired stylist for massive events like the met gala

i honestly doubt any ol' actress when they say they don't style themselves when they attend 2+ events a week. no one has the time to be calling up PRs or looking at look books all day

 

[Katie123]

also even those who don't have stylists are sometimes 'muses' to some houses ie january jones and versace, diane and chanel. so it's not hard to get an outfit right when you're always dressed by the same house and they blatantly offer the whole outfit for you to wear

 

[Caroliiine]

I don't believe that stars don't have stylists when brand/image has becoming increasingly important as the years go by. The pressure to look perfect increases as everyone in Hollywood conforms to look like the beauty ideal. If I was a star and could afford a stylist, there is no way I would leave it up to chance to get the outfit right. I would hire a professional so I could stand out on the red carpet because buzz is what gets you work these days.

And it's easy to see the transformation when you look at actresses that have been in the industry for decades. When January Jones first started out (known mainly as Ashton Kutcher's girlfriend in 2000), I don't think she would have had stylish as one of her descriptives. Kate Winslet is another great example of someone who has done a complete style transformation. And I don't believe that they all looked unstylish due to bad '90s fashion; women like Carolyn Bessette Kennedy and Princess Diana looked fantastic in the same era.

I understand that style evolves and you can develop a better style, but the changes are often so sudden you can tell that a stylist was hired within that period of time. And when you think about how professional stylists take years to hone their skills by working and styling every single day and pulling together hundreds of looks annually (for clients, film/TV, magazines), I find it a little difficult to believe that someone who has a full-time job (acting/singing) would be able to switch into a polished fashionista when just 2 years ago they were wearing Uggs and trucker hats just by styling less than 30 looks (unless you're Camilla Belle and you go to every event you're invited to). True, there are people have just have that innate sense of style, but they're pretty rare (Diane Kruger is probably one of them).

A person who I think doesn't have a stylist: Helena Bonham Carter.

I think everyone else does. If they don't have a hired/contracted personal stylist, they're using a stylist from an agency, like their PR firm or movie studio.

 

[sobriquet87]

^Oh yeah. Helena Bonham Carter totally doesn't have a stylist. She goes in the "don't care and wear whatever they want" category.

 

[LUXXX]

I think "I don't use a stylist" is code for "I tell my publicist what I want." Like the article says, no major star is going to be calling in their own options.

I'm certain Blake gets help from Eric Daman, the GG stylist. He seems to take a lot of credit for her look and rightly so. He pretty much made her...

January Jones obviously has an exclusive relationship with Versace now, so that solves that. But I remember when she wore another designer at The Globes this year, she said it was made for her and ready to go, so she wore it.

 

[KhaoticKharma]

^Oh yeah. Helena Bonham Carter totally doesn't have a stylist. She goes in the "don't care and wear whatever they want" category.

Definitely gonna add Frances McDormand and Diane Keaton to that list.

 

[deer_st0p]

Dita Von Teese has stated numerous times that she doesn't use a stylist...which I totally believe. She may have connection with certain houses, but she most definitely picks her looks out herself.

 

[Psylocke]

It took me about a year of browsing TFS excessively and reading all international issues of Vogue to even find out which designers and collections are trendy and relevant at the moment and I still wouldn't know where to actually get their stuff, so how would some C-list actress like Blake know so much about fashion that she could easily turn up at several events a week and always wear a suitable and 'nice' (personally I hate her style) outfit? I really do not believe that's possibe unless you've been into fashion for a long time and have a distinctive personal style already. Even if she doesn't have a stylist per se she definitely has friends or PR-people suggesting outfits for her and getting her selections of dresses to choose from, I'm sure.

 

[LUXXX]

Nicole Kidman wouldn't be who she was without L'wren Scott (ie the acid chartreuse Dior). Nobody can convince me that woman has natural style that's purely her own, see her oscar appearances prior to the Dior one. She differs in that she has a body made for clothes and agreed to take risks when others wouldn't.

The Amazing story behind that Dior dress that put her on the map...

There’s a great and true, true, true story about that memorable chartreuse Dior Kidman wore to the Oscars with the GMD in 1997. Gran was obsessed with it. She was obsessed with being the star on that carpet. Portrait of a Lady had just fallen flat, she needed to bounce back, and in the art of media manipulation and ruthless famewhoring, she learned from the best.

Per haute couture custom, the dress belonged to someone else, some socialite, and Nicole could not wear it without securing permission from the rich lady first. She was so desperate she tried for weeks to get in touch with her to no avail, and in the end she had to chase the woman up a mountain while she was skiing at some luxury resort to finally nail down the privilege of wearing it to the Oscars.

For 90 minutes she sat in that limo en route to the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. For 90 minutes she had the discipline not to move, not to shift, barely breathing, so as to not disturb the fabric, to preserve her perfection for the cameras.

http://www.laineygossip.com/Nicole_Kidman_to_guest_on_Project_Runway_.aspx?CatID=0&CelID=0

 

[silk skin paws]

In hollywood image and first impressions are everything. I believe most stars have a stylist for public events. Sometimes it's easier to have someone else choose something for you if you're under tight scheduling or super busy promoting a movie or show.

 

[Label Basher]

I still think that Chartreuse Dior dress "story" is a bit over the top. I had only ever heard the first part that it was reserved for someone else and Nicole begged the socialite but none of the chasing up the mountain part.

If I was the socialite I wouldn't have brought it or made Nicole pay for it cause she turned it into a famous fashion moment and there is no way the socialite could have worn it after that.

 

[eternitygoddess]

The socialite was Anne Bass - and she did wear the dress in public after Nicole Kidman wore it:

Bass was one of the first clients to place orders at John Galliano’s first Couture collection for Dior. In particular a dazzling acid-green mink-trimmed dress made famous by Nicole Kidman at the 1997 Oscars. Kidman chose the chartreuse gown from the couture collection, but Bass, who had ordered it first, had to give permission for the dress to be copied. When Bass eventually wore the dress to the New York City Ballet Spring Gala, it had become instantly recognizable.

thepolygot