- 3 days ago
Erin Walsh is the stylist behind some of Hollywood's best-dressed celebrities, including Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez. Now, after years of styling some of the biggest names on the red carpet, Walsh is sharing all her coveted knowledge in her new book The Art of Intentional Dressing: Your Essential Style Guide for Manifesting a Magnetic Life. On this episode of Nice Talk, she discusses all the details that went into creating this book, the closet-clean-out tips she swears by, and the surprising subliminal reason you may not be attracting a romantic partner into your life. (Hint: It has to do with your closet organization.)
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00:00Especially at this time when there's so much AI coming out and all these different trend, you know, tools and
00:06styling tools that it feels deeply problematic to me that people are jumping to those without first looking within and
00:13at themselves.
00:18Erin Walsh, welcome to Nice Talk.
00:20Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited.
00:22I am too. I'm going to give you a little intro for the viewers at home.
00:26Erin is a celebrity stylist with an impressive roster of celebrity clients, including Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez.
00:34She's one of the most important power players in styling and has been named one of the Hollywood Reporter's most
00:41powerful stylists.
00:42In addition to her styling work, she's also the author of an upcoming book called, and I want to get
00:47this right,
00:49The Art of Intentional Dressing, Your Essential Style Guide for Manifesting a Magnetic Life, which hits shelves in May.
00:56So, Erin, I'm thrilled to have you here. Should we dive in?
00:59Yeah, let's do it.
01:00Okay.
01:00I'm so excited.
01:01All right, let's go back to little Erin, early career Erin.
01:05I want to talk to you about what your relationship to style was like when you were growing up.
01:11I grew up wanting to be an actress, which is why I went to NYU for acting.
01:15But always as a little girl, I remember lying in bed dreaming of outfits and what I would wear the
01:22next day, even costume-wise.
01:23It was like a language to me that it was always on my mind.
01:26And my grandmother was this incredibly elegant woman, and so is my mother.
01:30So it was always around me.
01:32And my grandmother was always talking about the importance of, like, dressing part and not being a matter of luxury
01:38or expensive things, but a matter of how you put them together and how you give yourself tools to walk
01:42in a room.
01:43So it's always watching that, always aware.
01:46Yes, always watching.
01:47I feel like I grew up somewhere early where you just have, like, stylish people around you and you just
01:51observe.
01:52Yeah, exactly.
01:53So you mentioned that you came to New York to go to school for acting.
01:56Yeah, I did.
01:57So at what point did you decide to pivot away?
01:59So I graduated from NYU, from Tisch School of the Arts, which is a wild way to come to New
02:05York.
02:05It's like bright lights, big city.
02:07Because you're, like, in conservatory.
02:09You're going to the theater all the time.
02:10They're, like, sending you to all the museums.
02:11You're, it's basically a school and learning how to be alive, which is, I'm so glad I did it, even
02:18though I didn't end up acting.
02:20But basically, I graduated, and I panicked.
02:24I couldn't see a path to success.
02:26I didn't know how to get an agent.
02:29I didn't know how it would work, like, lining up actual work.
02:32Besides, like, now that I have mastered the how to act part, it just, it seemed so foreign to me.
02:38And then I pictured myself without a path to success, which, you know, for better or for worse, I'm very
02:44ambitious.
02:44And I want...
02:46For better.
02:47For better.
02:47For better here on Nice Talk, okay?
02:49But, like, because I couldn't grasp a tangible version of how I would make this work, my intuition was, like,
02:56nope, that's it.
02:57And I quit immediately.
02:59It was, like, within two months of graduating.
03:00Oh, wow.
03:01I never gave it a real chance.
03:02Okay.
03:02And I worked in retail.
03:03And then I worked in PR.
03:05And then I got a job temping at Condé Nast.
03:07And I immediately got a job as an assistant at Vogue.
03:09And that's how I got into fashion.
03:10It was very fast and kind of just crazy.
03:14What did working at Vogue teach you?
03:17Like, what was that training ground like?
03:18It's so timely right now, right?
03:19Yeah, I know.
03:19With all the books and the nostalgia and all the things.
03:22Vogue, an important element of it, it's like a boot camp to be, like, the best kind of worker you
03:29can be.
03:29Because you're learning how to be a producer, in a sense.
03:31It's essential to be able to always connect all the dots and to see the bigger picture.
03:34So it's not just about, did you do this in the market?
03:36And did you get this piece of clothing?
03:38It's like, did you master the budget?
03:40And did you take care of all the essentials to do something?
03:42Are you, like, my first shoot was on set with Irving Penn.
03:46So in that kind of studio, it's, no, but it's like learning how to read a room, learning all the
03:52nuances of each exchange, and also learning to really respect an elevated nature to all of this.
03:58Because starting there, I developed this respect for the process and for the world that, like, all of this has
04:05the possibility to be.
04:07And more importantly, how it can really, really inspire people to hopefully, at its best, better live their lives.
04:14And the other very important Vogue lesson is that you never take no for an answer.
04:17Yes, okay, I was going to ask about career advice that you got during your time at Condé Nast.
04:24Like, what has been some of the best career advice?
04:26And on the flip side, like, what were you happy to leave?
04:28I mean, that was essential because that never taking no for an answer in terms of, like, someone telling you,
04:33well, that's not possible.
04:34Or, you know, you can't have this.
04:35Because it made me develop the mentality of, what's the solve?
04:39How do I fix this?
04:41Because it's never not that there's not an answer.
04:44It's, what's the answer?
04:45How do I get there?
04:47So that was crucial.
04:49And then I think also, for me, I think one of my strengths as a stylist and in fashion in
04:54general is really zoning in on this intersection of accessibility and aspirational.
04:59It really gave me this library of tools to learn how to connect those dots because, for me, storytelling is
05:05about connecting with someone.
05:07So whether that's what you wear and what that's telling to them or the person that you become when you
05:11wear something, which, like, it all has the potential to be something so great if we let it.
05:18Was there any advice that anyone gave you either back then or as you were coming up in your career
05:23that you were like, actually, I'm not listening to this at all?
05:27Oh, my God.
05:27Oh, bad advice.
05:28When I went off on my own as a stylist, I didn't stay at Vogue very long.
05:32I didn't get along with my boss.
05:34I was, like, too soft, probably.
05:36Yeah.
05:36And so I went on and I assisted several freelance stylists, including Samira Nassar, who I consider to be, you
05:43know, guardian angel of sorts.
05:45Absolutely.
05:45And when I decided, I had such an impatience to, like, get out on my own and start doing it
05:50on my own.
05:51And at the time, I literally would email everybody and, like, make these ugly portfolios of work that, like, made
05:57no sense.
05:57And I had so many notes.
05:58I couldn't get an agent.
05:59Like, nothing was working.
06:00Yeah.
06:00And so I remember the first time I shared my portfolio with an agent.
06:04He looked at it and he was like, well, like, basically, what is this?
06:08You're like, you're a loser.
06:09You're not here.
06:09Yeah.
06:10And I got used to hearing that, but I just wouldn't let it in.
06:14It's a good thing you did it, right?
06:16Still here.
06:16Still standing.
06:17Yeah, exactly.
06:17I want to talk about your book that I mentioned at the top.
06:22As I said, it's coming out in May.
06:24It's called The Art of Intentional Dressing.
06:25Can you tell us a little bit about it?
06:27I knew I wanted to write a book at least 10 years ago.
06:29I didn't know exactly what it was going to be.
06:30Have you always been a writer?
06:32I've always loved writing.
06:33And incidentally, when I got the job at Vogue, there was an opening in the fashion department, but I really
06:38wanted to be in features because I loved writing.
06:40But there wasn't an opening there, so I was like, oh, maybe I'll sneak into fashion and then, you know,
06:43segue into features.
06:45That never manifested.
06:47And it wasn't that I wanted to write a book just to prove that I could write.
06:50It was this sentiment that I kept coming across.
06:53So whether that's women, celebrities that I work with, or my aunts in the Midwest, or any woman that I
06:59met, they had this relationship with style where getting dressed made them feel bad about themselves.
07:05Going to get dressed in the morning, going to an event and not feeling one with their choice ruined their
07:11night.
07:11Or, you know, and ultimately how you spend your days is how you spend your life.
07:14So that was the sentiment.
07:16I'm like, how do I unpack this in a book?
07:18Wait, how you spend your days is how you spend your life?
07:20Absolutely.
07:20I love that.
07:21I love that.
07:21It's why this act of getting intentional about every single thing is so, so necessary.
07:28So with the book, I realized in the making of it, I didn't know this at the onset.
07:32And then I realized, it's funny, I had a different agent at COVID.
07:36I got an agent because I wanted to make a book.
07:38And I was getting kind of heady with like where I wanted it to go because I think really big.
07:42And for me, like the interesting thing about fashion is the intersection of style and substance.
07:48Like I didn't want to make a celebrity style book.
07:50I didn't want to make a fluffy book about getting dressed and playing with clothes.
07:53I wanted to create a movement that would fundamentally shift the way women think about their own possibility in their
07:58lives.
07:59And this agent I was talking to, who wasn't the one who sold my book, she said to me, well,
08:04why would people consider you to be an authority on like helping themselves or, you know, like self-empowerment?
08:10And it's so good.
08:12Why wouldn't they?
08:13Exactly.
08:14Why not you?
08:14Why not you?
08:15Why not?
08:16It was just a seed that was planted.
08:17And so like I created the method in the book by learning to live this way.
08:22And the ways that I had worked with clients for years that I was unconsciously doing, and I've always considered
08:26myself to be a fashion therapist.
08:28I'm just a stylist.
08:29Because I deeply want to connect with somebody and like reveal essential things of themselves that they want to reveal
08:35through the clothes.
08:36So anyways, when I switched agents, sold a book, and was figuring it out, I realized I was creating a
08:41method.
08:42Tell us about the method.
08:43The method I create is called the CREATE method, and it's an acronym for clarity, which is getting clearer on
08:49how you want to feel and the woman you want to be.
08:52Ritual, which is a means to recalibrate, reboot, and reset, both at the beginning of the day, which we all
08:58wake up and we're, you know, at the whim of how we feel and our emotions and our bodies, etc.
09:02But also like during the day, every woman I know plays so many different roles.
09:05How do you shift?
09:06How do you recenter?
09:07Or it's essential.
09:08And these rituals and ceremonies also honor ourselves and kind of elevate how we feel in our bodies.
09:14Editing is about editing your closet because most women I know, their closets are like cemeteries of the past selves
09:20they used to be, and they don't resonate with the person they want to be.
09:24And so instead of just like letting that be the case, so when you get dressed in the morning, you're
09:27like, what the F do I wear?
09:28You go through your closet and you make sure that every single piece resonates exactly with a particular feeling.
09:35So that that red sweater you're wearing, like you look at that and you're like, oh, that makes me feel
09:39empowered and joyful.
09:41And this gray, you know, shoulder top that I'm wearing makes me feel empowered and elegant, you know?
09:48Like, so when you go and you look at something, you're like, that's what I need today.
09:52So then it becomes an arsenal.
09:53The alignment, that's the A in create.
09:56And that's about really harnessing the energetic systems of your body, you know, whether that's the chakras or your nervous
10:03system or parasympathetic, and learning how to balance yourself by harnessing clothes to do that.
10:09So whether that's silhouette, texture, color, et cetera.
10:12Truth is learning to align, like live more integrity by aligning your essence and the person that you are and
10:20have always been with the person you want to be and using clothes to do that storytelling for you.
10:23And then expansion is obviously learning how to take risks, but not risks for risk's sake.
10:28It's learning to keep growing in your choices because I don't expect anybody to finish the book and be like,
10:35I'm healed forever.
10:36Like, my closet's good.
10:37Like, it's a commitment to yourself and to being on the journey.
10:41How did you come up with this method?
10:43Do you know what's so funny?
10:44And a friend of mine asked me when I was interviewing him for the book, he's like, were you always
10:47doing this with clients?
10:48The answer is like, yes and no.
10:50Like, I've always thought thoughtfully about how I work.
10:54It was never enough for me to just be like styling in the sense of like getting someone dressed.
11:00Like, how do we make you feel supernova?
11:03How do we make you feel great?
11:04And in terms of the actual method, the name, I literally, I was sitting at a cafe waiting for a
11:09friend to come in.
11:10And I'm scribbling in my notebook, you know, in the middle of working on the book.
11:13And I already knew the things that like I would be a part of it.
11:16But I wrote out the word create.
11:17It just came to me.
11:19And then I started like writing possible words.
11:22But there wasn't even that many takes of it.
11:23Because I knew that I, it's about getting clear.
11:25I knew that rituals and weren't essential because it's that idea of ceremony that's so important to me every single
11:32day to just feel softer and calm and more in alignment with that person I want to be.
11:37I know people say this sort of thing, but I'm very genuine when I say that a lot of this,
11:43it's just like it poured out of me.
11:45And it just came from how I am and what I do, but also something bigger than me.
11:50It's why I see it as a movement because I want to move with people.
11:55I'm just so excited that it's coming out there because it's a genuine white space that I know most people
12:01don't know how to solve it.
12:03And it's especially at this time when there's so much AI coming out and all these different trend, you know,
12:09tools and styling tools that it feels deeply problematic to me that people are jumping to those without first looking
12:17within and at themselves.
12:18And not seeing what makes them vulnerable and why.
12:22Yeah, just thinking about it for a second, like stopping to think about it, as you said, to like do
12:26the rituals, to get clear on what it is before like a computer tells you what it is.
12:31The podcast is going to air at the top of the year.
12:34And I think the top of the year is one of those times where everyone's like, I'm starting over.
12:38I'm editing my closet.
12:39I'm cleaning things out.
12:40I want to talk to you a little bit about the sort of like editing of the closet process.
12:45I loved your Substack piece about closet editing where you said like my dream is to create, as you said
12:49earlier, a closet that isn't a cemetery of our past selves.
12:53It's the library of feelings I want to feel, vibes I want to embody.
12:57My closet is a passport to my very best self, even when I might not be waking up feeling very
13:03much like her.
13:04That is so wise, really, I think, to your point.
13:08Like the closet is, can be like reminders of bad times.
13:14It's so triggering.
13:14It's so fraught and triggering.
13:16Yes, absolutely.
13:18Absolutely.
13:19But people are also so hell-bent on holding on to those triggers.
13:24It's funny, right?
13:26But look at it in the same way we look at our body and the way that our body like
13:29holds different kinds of traumas.
13:31And not just, you know, capital T trauma.
13:33Even like that person who pissed you off in the morning, like you're holding on to it in your neck
13:37or whatever.
13:37The more you see the synchronicity between like who you are and the things you allow into your life, whether
13:43that's clothes or the rooms you enter or how you enter them, like they just all go together in a
13:48very magical way.
13:50So, yeah.
13:50What are your tips for people who want to do like that top of the year closet clean-out?
13:55I mean, I think you need to look at everything.
13:57Like I've always been-
13:59Are you going to like take everything out at once, go like chunk by chunk?
14:02I know, I know.
14:04Some people suggest that.
14:05No, I think you have to go through it slowly.
14:08I'm someone, I edit my closet a lot, but I'm also a fashion editor, so.
14:12But I think that's wise though.
14:14Like why only do it once a year?
14:15Why not do it a quarter or every month or something?
14:18I think quarterly is really wise.
14:19Like every week or month is probably too much for most people.
14:22I think you have to like take a day and like photograph yourself in looks.
14:28But number one before that, you need to go through every single piece and do this exercise.
14:33That's like number one.
14:34And I can't tell you, like I'm a sentimental person and I like have a bleeding open heart.
14:40But like with the clothes, I've gotten so ruthless about it.
14:43And they just go.
14:44Like with the exception of, you know, like my grandmother's dress or like things of my mother's and that sort
14:49of thing.
14:49But like designer stuff, like if it doesn't resonate, what's the point?
14:54Like what are you holding on to and why?
14:56And if there is something they're like, I can't, like why?
14:59What's that telling you about yourself?
15:00That's also like an investigative process too, right?
15:03That is very true.
15:04My fiance is ruthless.
15:06He's like, throw it away.
15:06Get it out.
15:07I don't care.
15:07Like it's fine.
15:08And I'm like, no, but I bought it.
15:11I mean, now we share a closet.
15:13So I have gotten better.
15:15And we went through a moment where he was like, hey, I live here too.
15:18And I was like, okay, I will make space for you.
15:21Like that is.
15:23Energetically, he was right.
15:24Because if you're imbalanced, then that's tipping the relationship.
15:28The interesting thing with feng shui too, like even in your closet, like if you want to say call in
15:32a husband or a partner or whatever, you can literally like make some space and put some empty hangers there.
15:38Or like make a, like you have to be so conscious of energetically what you're putting out and what you're
15:43making space for.
15:44And people wonder why opportunities aren't coming in if their closet's like crammed.
15:47Like forget if they don't even like anything there.
15:50If it's super tight and you can't see what's going on, like you're not going to be clear at all.
15:54You will not remember the woman you want to be.
15:56You said that you were a sentimental person, but you're willing to let go.
16:00Is there, how do you like walk yourself through that, like letting go of things though?
16:04Oh, what a good question.
16:07I think, I think it's, it starts with clarity because whether that's a person in your life or a thing
16:15in your life, it goes back to the intention.
16:18Who is the person I want to be?
16:19How do I want to feel?
16:21What do I want to offer the world today?
16:23Like micro and macro for the rest of my life.
16:26Like I'm thinking of like certain jackets in my closet, but like, especially like maybe the one of a kind
16:30designer ones.
16:30Some of those I give like a green card, even with things that I liked deeply at one point, I
16:36just don't see the point in holding on to something that's getting in the way.
16:41Oh, that's getting in the way.
16:43Yeah, like your time is your most valuable asset.
16:46And having that piece of who you used to be, even if you can offer compassion to that past version
16:53of yourself, you can love that piece for what it is.
16:55It doesn't mean it needs to stare you in the face every morning and remind you of, because it's funny.
17:00Change is essential and it's what we're doing every day.
17:03But reminding yourself every day of the person you used to be is not getting you to where you want
17:07to go.
17:08Yeah.
17:09Okay.
17:09So once you've edited and you maybe have like the shoppies and you're ready to replenish the closets, like do
17:15you have any tips for finding those new pieces that will feel sort of like they can slot like right
17:21back in?
17:21I'm so excited.
17:22I can't say too much about it now, but I'm developing an app that's going to like do this with
17:27you.
17:29So I'll have to come back and tell you about it.
17:31Yes, for round two.
17:32But in terms of tips for shopping, I think, again, it goes back to that question.
17:37If you look at like, and it's an exercise, and I talk in the book about this a lot, like
17:41you really have to like try on different scenarios and see.
17:44Because it's not just about the piece later, then it's about the looks and how they resonate and how do
17:48you embody certain vibes that you want to feel.
17:50But I think like in terms of investment, you'll start to see like what you're missing when you put together
17:57what makes sense.
17:58Right.
17:58I feel like I'm always searching for like more white t-shirt, like perfect, silly essential things that you like
18:05wear on repeat.
18:06Yeah.
18:06It's important to look at how often you wear something too.
18:08And people talk a lot about like price per wear.
18:11Yes.
18:11But I think like when you look at what you don't wear, then like why?
18:15Like what do I actually want?
18:16What do I need?
18:17What were times where you didn't feel like you had the tools at your disposal and what might have served
18:22you better?
18:22I think you're using the right word there too when it comes to clothing is that it is a tool.
18:28And a lot of people don't think of it that way.
18:30They just think of it as like whatever you put on your body.
18:32But I've always said that, you know, I personally don't love like super complicated or fussy clothing because it can
18:39get in the way of what I need to do in the day because I see my clothing as tools.
18:45Like they are tools to make me feel empowered, make me feel like myself, make me feel ready to come
18:50in and talk to you or to like talk to my team.
18:53And I think that more people could stand to look at clothing that way.
18:57What I really liked about doing the book, I talked to my friend, Jen Hyman, who started Rent the Runway
19:02in the book.
19:03She said, you know, people, they think that fashion is a luxury, but everybody has to get dressed at the
19:08beginning of the day the same way they have to brush their teeth.
19:10So I think like losing that idea that fashion isn't for you, like unless you literally are naked every time.
19:19Right, unless you live on a naked commune, fashion is for you.
19:22You have the choice to get intentional about yourself.
19:26And intentional doesn't have to mean expensive.
19:29No.
19:29Right?
19:30Like it can just...
19:31At all.
19:31There's so many like inexpensive options.
19:34Yeah.
19:34I want to switch gears for a second and talk about your celebrity client work as well.
19:39It's, as I mentioned at the top, like it's really incredible and such a testament to the amazing work that
19:45you do.
19:46I want to talk about Anne and Selena.
19:49Like tell me how you started working with them and like what are, like take me back to those days.
19:53With clients, they just kind of, usually they sort of come up and you meet with clients and then you
19:59see if it's going to be a good fit.
20:01And you're always like, you're not meant to work with everybody.
20:03There's going to be people that you don't mesh with just because you don't.
20:07Like it's a collaboration.
20:08And my best like experiences with clients have, they're deeply collaborative because it's the process of me trying to unpack
20:18what do they need?
20:19Like how can I serve the story they need to tell?
20:22And for actors that like, that's many different boxes to hit because it's not just how do you want to
20:27feel?
20:27It's like it has to do with the roles you're cast in the career you're making outside of your career,
20:32what you're doing.
20:33And everybody has different tangents to their careers now.
20:35So it's just looking at all those moving parts and seeing the bird's eye view of it as opposed to
20:40just like that day.
20:42And obviously like it's the elevated thing.
20:44Like everything kind of is a big stake if you give it that power.
20:47And not to say to get all sweaty and nervous about it, but like just giving it like a gravitas,
20:53it makes it feel essential.
20:55Yeah.
20:56For the like true, true fashion lovers who are listening to the pod, they're going to remember these like sort
21:02of standout looks that you have created with your clients, right?
21:04So I'm thinking of Selena and her Golden Globes looks for only murders in the building.
21:10She was nominated and wore that like light blue Prada gown.
21:13That was exquisite.
21:14What was your process for landing that?
21:16It was like this laser vision.
21:18And I love the people that Selena works with and they were really instrumental in, I think like if you
21:25talk through like goals and how you, because it's an award season you want, that's all about elevated and honoring
21:33the moment.
21:33So with the whole award season, it was very old Hollywood and crystal clear.
21:39How do we like make this woman shine?
21:43And how do we, it's not about what's fussy.
21:45It's not about the fashion, even fashion's a tool.
21:47But none of the looks that she wore, if you look at them, were about the fashion.
21:51They were about the woman.
21:52You started your career in a time where all of this feedback did not exist.
21:56Yeah.
21:57Not to say that I brushed that right off my shoulders because I'm human and I'm deeply vulnerable too.
22:02But I think if you focus, again, to bring it back on the intention and what I know to be
22:08true in my relationship working with someone and whether something worked or whether it could have worked better, that's what
22:15matters.
22:15It's not what some noise out there that wasn't in the room and doesn't understand the process and doesn't understand
22:19what the bigger picture of what we're doing.
22:22So it's there, but the same way that like there's so much in the world we can't control.
22:27I can't control that.
22:28So it's kind of like the serenity prayer.
22:32Serenity now.
22:33Yes, 100%.
22:34We talk a lot about work-life balance on this podcast.
22:38Many people don't believe in it.
22:40I would love to hear your feelings on it because you do have so many in-demand clients that you
22:44work with.
22:45You're a mom of three.
22:46You're going into not just Golden Globe season, but Grammys with Selena and has a huge year for 2026.
22:55What does that look like for you?
22:57How are you sort of like juggling all of the things?
23:00I think like one of the reasons I wanted to put this book out there was like means to provide
23:06alignment and calm so that all these – I do have a lot of balls in the air.
23:10I'm trying not to drop any.
23:13But if you do, is it fine?
23:14Are you okay with it?
23:15If I do, I offer myself grace and you go into the why and you get back up.
23:19I was listening to an interview Michelle Obama was doing right before I came here and she was very honest
23:24saying like, you know, when you're not here, like when you're here, you're not there.
23:28And Shonda Rhimes has talked a lot about this too in terms of like being a mother and a working
23:32mother and when I'm present with the client, am I still present with the kids?
23:36One thing that's always been important to me is instead of keeping them separate, I really try to weave them
23:41all together.
23:42And there's a different energy, say, being on set with someone or me, you know, working than perhaps when I'm
23:49at home.
23:49But I'm still the same person and bringing the same integrity to every situation.
23:52And the other thing is since my kids were little, I've brought them in and out of fittings and photo
23:58shoots and they meet all my clients.
24:00I know there's a lot that I miss and I'm not, you know, there for school pickup every day and
24:06I'm not a room mother and, you know, other things.
24:10But I also know that they love seeing me do something that brings me purpose and makes my life feel
24:18like it's impacting people for good.
24:20And they ask questions about it and I share so much of the process and I'm always honest with like
24:26where I am and why.
24:28And I hope that they can find a vocation that does the same for them.
24:32It is not perfect.
24:34There's things that I miss that don't feel great.
24:37I know that as a mother, I'm killing it.
24:40But I know that I'm not the same kind of mother as many of other people.
24:44And that's okay.
24:45And that's just about grace.
24:47For me as a mother, what I've decided, because perhaps I won't be able to give them all the time
24:54because I'm in many places at once.
24:56But my goal was to give them all the love every second.
25:01And every second that I'm with them, I have to be deeply present.
25:04You know, offer them grace for their feelings if they are feeling, you know, like they're missing me or upsetting.
25:09And I sound like I'm gone all the time.
25:11I'm not, like I'm around a lot too.
25:12No, but it's, I mean, it's just the reality of what you, you are a mother of three who works
25:17and whether you're gone all the time or you're not gone all the time, like the feelings are still valid,
25:22right?
25:22Like you're still going through this thing.
25:23And I think specifically for this podcast, people will love to hear just the honesty about it and how you,
25:31how you've discussed about like alignment and being present.
25:34And I think it's just a really good reminder and it's a way, I think, for the listeners and for
25:38the viewers to be reminded to extend themselves grace as well.
25:42There's enough people that will judge you.
25:44You don't need to get in the business of shitting on yourself.
25:47No.
25:49No way.
25:50I have to ask you about Anne Hathaway, who wrote the foreword of your new book.
25:56I will tell you what I love about what you and Anne have created is that Anne looks so good
26:01when she hits the red carpet and you can tell she's feeling herself.
26:04You can always tell when a woman is feeling herself.
26:07I love it.
26:08I love it.
26:09What is the journey like dressing Anne over the years been like for you?
26:12What I think is so cool is it's been several years now and, you know, we're both working moms.
26:19And I think it's just like this incredibly intuitive, it's kind of like making music together in a way.
26:26Like there's just this riff, like what about this and this and that.
26:29And like I always try to operate like by setting my ego aside.
26:33So it's not if they ask, what do I think is best?
26:36Yes, obviously.
26:37Then it's merited.
26:38But the point should be about the result and like and how they feel and how they look and not
26:43like I try to keep the ego aside.
26:45With Anne specifically, though, I feel like it's it's just been so much fun.
26:49Yeah.
26:50And so wonderful to watch like viral and wild, like inclusive reactions, because for someone like her, she has a
27:00spectrum of fans that go from when she was a little girl.
27:02Totally.
27:03And to like the ones, say, with with Princess Diaries, the ones who came on board with Devil Wears Prada,
27:08the ones like in in all these later films.
27:12I was having the kids.
27:13We watched Batman when she was Catwoman.
27:15Oh, my gosh.
27:16And they were very impressed.
27:18Like, whoa.
27:19But it's just cool because there's so many kinds of fans.
27:22And I love this with all the kinds, all the women that I work with, because you take the inspiration
27:27from what resonates with you.
27:28Are you thinking about the press run for for Devil Wears Prada, too?
27:32Or what can you tell us anything?
27:35I think like with that movie specifically, you have to really rise up to the occasion.
27:40And it should be like a fashion extravaganza.
27:43A fashion extravaganza.
27:45I'm working on it.
27:46Oh, I love it.
27:47I mean, yes, I can't wait to see it.
27:49That is one of the movies that and it's funny that you worked at Vogue.
27:52It's one of those movies that really does just resonate with so many people.
27:56The first film came out when I was assisting at Vogue.
27:57It was funny.
27:59Oh, my God.
28:00I can imagine what that was like.
28:02Well, I've read a bit about what that's like.
28:04But it's all everything feels very meta right now.
28:07Right.
28:07It's funny.
28:07Yeah.
28:08What's old is new again.
28:09It's very funny.
28:10Obviously, we've discussed sort of like how you dress a lot of other people.
28:14But I'm curious about what you like to wear personally, especially when you want to feel powerful and confident.
28:20Like you were saying, I don't like having to spend too much time thinking.
28:24Well, I don't have the time to spend too much time thinking about it.
28:28So I really rely on systems.
28:30That's like silhouette systems.
28:32For me, a bold shoulder just always works.
28:35I have like bold shoulder.
28:37I love a singed waist.
28:38I love a wide leg trouser.
28:39I love a chunky shoe.
28:41These are very like empowering pieces that make me feel like I can do all the things I need to
28:47do, but also feel a little supercharged.
28:49I can't wear flats if I'm going to work.
28:50Anytime I've tried.
28:52That's very Vogue.
28:52Even in a sneaker.
28:53That's very 2000s Vogue.
28:54I can't.
28:54I feel like you shouldn't trust me when I'm wearing a flat.
28:58But like in the summer, love my life flats, but like not really, if, even if I was wearing them
29:03to work, I would change my shoes.
29:05Yeah, yeah, yeah.
29:05The same way watching my mom growing up and like to court, she would, she was a lawyer and she'd
29:10have to wear like nylons and like certain length skirt and heels and all of it.
29:13And just, yeah, it's like I'm allergic to that cushion.
29:16And not to say like, oh, she's so fussy because I'm not.
29:19But like, I think to play certain roles, you need certain tools at your disposal.
29:23Absolutely.
29:24So those are pretty good too.
29:25I'm loving like easy sets and suits right now too.
29:28It just feels like no brainer.
29:29Right.
29:30I was going to ask, like, I know that you have sort of mentioned in the past that you don't
29:33love a uniform, but that you have like formulas that work for you.
29:38And I have like variations on uniforms that work for me.
29:41But with the book, it was important to me not to say like, these are the 10, you know, pieces
29:45that you need in your closet.
29:46Because the idea with creating a method is that you make your own method in the same way that an
29:51intuitive or a psychic that I might talk to.
29:54The idea is not that you keep going back to the healer, it's that you learn to heal yourself.
29:58Oh, yeah.
29:59Anyone who's been listening to this podcast long enough knows my feelings on capsule wardrobes and how I do not
30:04like them because they're so prescriptive.
30:06And I don't think that's fair to.
30:08It's not fair.
30:09It doesn't work for everybody.
30:10It doesn't work for everyone.
30:11Like, what is in my capsule wardrobe doesn't work for what may be in your capsule wardrobe.
30:16But it's more of the philosophy or the system.
30:18Yeah.
30:18Yeah, exactly.
30:19What are you willing to spend money on?
30:22Like, shoes, coats, pants, bags, accessories?
30:25So I have a weird job that I get access to a lot of this stuff.
30:29But if I was going to advise someone.
30:31Yes, yes, yes.
30:32I would invest in great jeans.
30:34I would invest in blouses.
30:37And the funny thing is, even with suits, I think, like, those kind of sharp accent pieces are crucial in
30:44coats.
30:44But they don't have to be expensive.
30:46It's not about the price.
30:48It's about the texture and the proportion and how it, like, if you're going to invest in something, invest in
30:54a tailor who's going to tailor pieces to you so that it's the clothes are about you and not the
31:00clothes.
31:00Right.
31:01I also want to hear your thoughts on, like, any trends that may be popping up.
31:05Are you into trend cycles?
31:07I'm aware of trends, but I hate, I'm not wed to them.
31:10I like to tap in, like, obviously, I need to be, like, an authority in this space.
31:14Totally, totally.
31:14So I'd like to know about it.
31:15But I use them as, like, something to be aware of to make sure that I'm still expanding and growing
31:22and, like, expanding what's possible.
31:24I like to listen to trends to see, like, what I might take from that into my secret sauce.
31:29Yes, 100%.
31:30But only for that.
31:31Like, I'm not a trendy sneaker girl.
31:34Like, I never will be.
31:35Yeah.
31:35But I can offer those tips to people who like that.
31:38Of course.
31:39Yeah, we always say that at Marie Claire, like, our woman is trend-oriented.
31:43So she, like, she wants to know.
31:44That's cool.
31:44She wants to know.
31:45She's aware, but she's not going to, like, follow the trends off a cliff.
31:48It's, like, too prescriptive.
31:49Yeah.
31:49Absolutely.
31:49I will say, though, in some of the recent collections, like with, say, Chanel, for example, what struck me the
31:56most, obviously the clothes are extraordinary, but was the joy.
31:59Yes.
31:59This was an exercise in bringing joy back into the process of getting dressed.
32:06And it just felt so unabashedly joyful.
32:10And, like, that's where possibility happens is when you find that heart center.
32:14Yeah.
32:14It just, it felt, like, not prescriptive.
32:17It was an offering.
32:18Yeah.
32:18It was an offering.
32:19And there was, I saw a bit of ease to it as well.
32:24Please, that Subway show.
32:25Yes.
32:25Oh, my goodness.
32:26It was so cool.
32:27It was so cool.
32:40It was so cool.
32:41And that's not about the trend.
32:43That's about the feeling that he created in the show and the world.
32:46Because the best designers are creating worlds that you want to be a part of.
32:49Yes.
32:49And that's the same thing for the red carpet.
32:51Somebody on the red carpet.
32:53What are they embodying that I would like to be?
32:56Yeah.
32:56Like, what element of what she's wearing would serve me?
33:00Yes.
33:00Okay, so by the time this also airs, Fashion Month is going to be on the horizon.
33:05Are there any, we mentioned Chanel, but are there any other brands, designers that you have your eye on that
33:11you're loving?
33:12I mean, Lueve, I'm so excited for what they're doing.
33:15And that was another very joyful exercise.
33:18Like, just such a great exploration of color and context and choices.
33:24Like, getting very specific about what you're putting out there.
33:26And you mentioned Michelle Obama.
33:28I love that.
33:28Oh, my God.
33:29She's killing it.
33:29I love what she and Meredith do.
33:31It's so cool.
33:32Just a joy.
33:33Yeah.
33:33And she's, like, having fun.
33:35And I love what she said about that arc of, you know, going from the rules of being a first
33:41lady to not having to listen to those rules anymore.
33:43And my hope with the book and this movement is that people learn how to write their own rules.
33:48Yeah.
33:48And not just rules to keep them safe, but rules that expand what's possible for them.
33:53Yeah.
33:53And then other designers, yeah, I love what's yours, killing it.
33:58It's so cool.
33:59There's so many smaller designers that I'm so excited for, too, who are emerging.
34:05Yeah.
34:05I mean, Christopher John Rogers, I've always loved what he's doing.
34:08Willie Chavaria is brilliant in suiting.
34:10Yeah.
34:10Like, it's cool to see the masculine-feminine possibilities, too, when the overlap happens in the collections.
34:15Yeah.
34:16Before I let you go, we always like to end this podcast with a quick lightning round about money, style,
34:22and power.
34:23Money, style, and power.
34:24Okay.
34:25I hope that by changing your relationship to fashion, all of those things feel better in alignment for all the
34:31listeners.
34:31First and foremost, yes.
34:33Okay.
34:33So I'm going to ask you three questions.
34:35Yeah.
34:35You tell me immediately what comes to mind.
34:36Okay.
34:36I'm scared.
34:39Okay.
34:39What's one thing money can't buy?
34:42Joy.
34:42If you could trade closets with anyone, and you have a good closet, I'm sure, so think about it.
34:49If you could trade closets with anyone, who would it be and why?
34:52I feel like either Lauren Senta Domingo has, like, brilliant taste, and also my friend Jennifer Fisher, the jewelry designer.
34:59Oh, I love Jen!
35:00It's an excellent closet.
35:01And she's always at the forefront of what's new, and she never looks too trendy.
35:04It just looks like, oh, that's a new way to think about that.
35:07Yes.
35:07Like, she's always been that way.
35:09I love that.
35:09Two extremely stylish women.
35:11Yeah.
35:11Okay, so lastly, what's your go-to song when you want to feel powerful?
35:17Oh, powerful.
35:19Okay, hold on.
35:20Hold on.
35:20Part of me thinks instantly to that Sex and the City song about, gee.
35:29Glamorous by Fergie.
35:31It's funny, because I used to work with Sarah Jessica, and I, in college, was obsessed with Sex and the
35:36City.
35:37So, when I watched, when the film came out, there was something that just felt so, like, turn up the
35:41volume and, like, supernova.
35:43Yeah.
35:43That would be one.
35:44That's a good, like, get it going.
35:46Beyonce, always.
35:47Yeah.
35:48Like, when you, Empowered 2 is, like, the same as set songs.
35:51Like, if you want to feel empowered on set, you put on Beyonce.
35:54Yeah.
35:54Well, Erin, thank you so much for joining me on Nice Talk.
35:58This was so much fun.
35:58This was so great.
36:22This was so much fun.
36:27And Natalie Thurman.
36:28Our production assistant is Raven Yamamoto.
36:31Our editor is Natalia Perez.
36:33Our audio engineers are at Treehouse Recording in Los Angeles, and our music is by The Math Club.
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