Issue date: Dec 19, 1999
Star Jones has 400 pairs of shoes -- and counting -- and has been a fashion plate since her days in the Brooklyn district attorney's office. The co-host of ABC daytime's "The View" offers her view on the difference between fashion and style, and who's got it, in a conversation with Who's News' Patty Rhule.
How did you develop your personal style?
I grew up in a middle-class environment. Unlike most little black girls who were reading "Right On" magazine, I was reading "Essence" and "Town and Country." "Town and Country" has the beautiful stylish society ladies I wanted to be and "Essence" had the most gorgeous African-American women. I don't have hang-ups about color and body size. "Essence" always celebrated the beauty of the diversity of African-Americans. The magazines celebrated women who looked like me. To this day, those are the two magazines that I pay for.
Whose style do you admire?
Diahann Carroll. I don't think there is a more stylish, elegant, sophisticated woman that I've ever met. Blaine Trump is like a big sister to me; we're hanging buddies. Her understated elegance is what shines through. I'm someone who subscribes to the 'less is more' moniker.
Whose clothes do you like?
The Saks [Fifth Avenue] people are the loves of my life. When you are a woman who wears over size 14, you don't want to be stuck with the muumuu dresses your mother wore. You want something with style, with flair, with sex appeal. Saks has Salon Z, a whole department for large women.
Those clothes make me look the way I feel. Marina Rinaldi, Ellen Tracy, Anne Klein. For fun, kick-it wear, I love FUBU. It's got a beautiful, funky thing about it.
Starting out in the somewhat stuffy profession of law, did that hamper your style choices?
I was one of the ones that was considered a fashion plate, even at the Brooklyn D.A's office. I was putting a serious case into grand jury with a team of lawyers and the grand jurors. Because we spent so much time together over a couple of months, they nicknamed the lawyers on the team. My nickname was the chairman of the fashion police. They started to take bets on when I would repeat an outfit and I never did -- that's with no money whatsoever. It's not the amount of money, it's what you can do with the money you have.
How many pairs of shoes do you have?
Just over 400 pairs. My favorites are the Gucci heels. My favorite slinky, take-me-home-and-do-me slinky vamps are these Prada slings that nobody can touch. My favorite evening shoes are Manolo Blahnik. I saw a pair of silk-wrapped evening shoes that Blahnik did a few seasons back and I bought them in six colors. I love heels. I love Ferragamo loafers and Pancaldi loafers. I have leopard-spot loafers that I wear to and from work. I'm five foot five with heels, I'm about five foot eight.
About another TV lawyer: Could Ally McBeal get away with the short skirts in
a real courtroom?
I've never watched "Ally McBeal." You don't wear clothes to get attention. There's a huge difference between fashion and style. Style is the ability to take fashion and make it work for you.
You have a line of wigs; are there other fashion areas you're entering?
We're looking to develop my own clothing line and my own jewelry line. It's about style, not about size. It's about making you feel good. People should compliment you by saying that looks good on you, not you look good in that.
Do you have plans beyond "The View"?
I'm enjoying being with "The View." People ask me "Don't you want your own show?" I say, "I do my own show, or don't you watch?" [laughter]. On any given day, we each are doing our own show, but we are doing it together. Very rarely do you get to work with your friends and shine at the same time.
Go to the top
MTV host Ananda Lewis has a great job for a clothes horse: She gets the pick of up-and-coming young designers to showcase for her TV audience. Here, she shares her views on style with Patty Rhule.
Does MTV have a dress code?
[Laughter] Yeah, right!
How do you describe your style?
I definitely have my own style and tastes, it's kind of been expanded because I have access now to so much more. We have an incredible style department. I describe myself as an urban, grunge, glamorous cowgirl. I'm from California but I have Native American in my blood. I like headbands and leather and feathers, old boots, old leathers. My grandmother had me shopping in thrift stores when I was 3 years old. It let me find myself. She would let us buy whatever we wanted. She and my aunt who traveled around the world would bring back clothes form India and Bali. I got to choose prints that were ethnically oriented, dashikis and punjabis. I was wearing these in forth grade.
Do you go to the fashion shows, and what designers do you like?
I've been to a few shows. My work schedule is pretty hectic. Some of them I miss. Anand Jon, he's Indian, very sari-looking, long vests, short tops, beautiful colors and prints. I saw his book and just lost my mind. I really like Xuly Bet and Vivienne Tam, Christina Perrin. A store in the Village called Institute carries knits, silks, leather stuff. The big names, I love, but they're too tailored for me now. I don't do a lot of suits, I don't do a lot of short skirts and overly matching things.
Do you get to keep the clothes you get?
Some clothes I get to keep, some I get to wear for a special show and I tend not to want to keep. Some things that come in, I only want to wear on-air. I'm very hippy with lots of behind, which I love, but not all clothes fit right.
What person's style do you admire?
My mother, my father, my grandmother, my aunt. My style now is the same now as it was in junior high, I just have more access now to things. For me trends don't matter as much as what I like.
How do you make sure you look good on TV?
I have a tripod and a Polaroid camera with a self-timer. I take pictures of myself when I'm at home. The mirror's not enough, you only get to see what you see in the moment. I take a picture and look at it, and say, 'Do I like this? Do I really want to go out in this tonight?
Do you shop online?
I haven't gotten into it as much, I don't trust the credit card thing online.
What is your favorite accessory?
Boots. Always boots. Sandals in the summer. Steve Madden, a place called Chuckies in the Village. Aldo has great boots. I went shopping there and got eight pairs last week. I make my own jewelry. My aunt would bring back stones from overseas and show us how to set them. It's therapeutic for me. I've made pieces that people want to buy. At Moomba one night, everyone was asking for my coil ring.
Do you see a clothing line in your future?
Absolutely. I have problems finding clothing that fits a real woman's shape. The Twiggy thing is out. It's about having a woman's shape, hips and breasts that are yours, real. Now I've found a great seamstress, you can buy what you want and have it altered.
What size do you wear?
I wear 5/6 to 7/8, it fluctuates with the seasons.
Do you work out?
Ugh. I do crunches and thigh and hip work, so I don't get chunky. I like to be lean.
My favorite thing is working out completely naked. You get a sense of where your body is working out. And you don't have any sweaty clothes to wash.
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