January 4, 2008
Q&A with Lauren Messiah, the Fashion Kitty
By Denise Tong
We all need friends who give good advice—the ones who will always tell it to us straight. Lauren Messiah is that friend to thousands of women with fashion dilemmas, counseling them through her blog, Ask Fashion Kitty.
Since 2005, the L.A.-based trendspotter has not only brought her no-holds-barred advice to the masses, but has also chatted about everything from her most recent shopping sprees to Hollywood beauty gaffes to her love of Marc Jacobs, Betsey Johnson, Fred Segal, and Sephora.
Beyond the Fashion Kitty pages, she can be found on shopcasting network ThisNext as its Community Manager and blog Editor. Additionally, she is a writer for StyleDash and a contributor for FashionTribes and for U.K. blog ShoeWawa.
During a rare break from shopping and blogging, Messiah talked with CurrentVine.com about celebrity style and trusting her own advice.
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Q: When did you first dabble in fashion?
A: When I was 5 years old, my grandma taught me how to sew and I started making clothes for all of my Barbies. Every week I would go to her house and come home with bags and bags of fabric that my dad called my “bag-o-rags.” The bag-o-rags turned into a straight obsession and I was determined to become a designer.
I applied to go to fashion design school and got in. My parents told me go to a real school or marry rich. Clearly I ignored both ideas. But after four years of cutting, sewing, drawing, and designing, I realized design wasn’t for me. Ask Fashion Kitty was a way for me to keep fashion in my life. It’s been a great experience for me because I’ve always told people what to wear and how to look, so it’s nice to have a place where I can express myself.
Q: What is your favorite current trend?
A: My favorite trend right now is oversized sweaters. I love the idea of wearing a boyfriend-sized sweater with a miniskirt or a swanky cocktail dress. The whole idea of mixing super-casual with dressier pieces always gets me going.
Q: Whose look do you admire and who should try a new one?
A: Oh boy, this is a hard one. I totally obsess over celebrity trainwrecks like Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie because I love how they make casual look so chic, but if I were to choose one icon, it would have to be Gwen Stefani. Everything about Gwen just freaking rocks. Watching her style evolve over the past ten years and being able to wear her fashions is pretty incredible to me.
I wish that Alicia Keys would try a new look. Every time I see her on television or in a magazine I always think of her as that amazingly pretty girl in high school who would look freaking hot if she just put on some new clothes and maybe did something with her makeup.
Q: What is your pick-me-up outfit?
A: I always feel my hottest in a great pair of jeans. So right now my pick-me-up outfit is a pair of dark washed True Religion jeans, a tight black V-neck cashmere sweater topped with my faux fur leopard coat by Betsey Johnson. A girl must always accessorize, so my go-to pieces are my L.A.M.B. Signature Oxford Triple Zip Satchel, 5-inch Michael Kors wedges and a pair of gigantic earrings.
Q: You give advice, but have you been on the receiving end of any good fashion tips?
A: I am not one to take advice—not for fashion, not for anything. Sometimes I hear Coco Chanel telling me to take one thing off before I walk out the door. Sometimes I hear some old bat telling me to match my shoes to my bag. Then I say “fuck them both” and wear whatever the hell I want.
Photo courtesy Lauren Messiah.
