The Top 3 Styling Hacks Everyone Should Know About From Selena Gomez’s Stylist
Kate Young dresses Hollywood’s coolest “it girls” — Selena Gomez, Dakota Johnson, Jennifer Lawrence, Margot Robbie, Sienna Miller, and more — and offers us an inside look at the process...
Ever get obsessed about a dress?
I do.
Just the other day, I was obsessing about a certain vintage gown I want – and can’t track down – and reached out to my friend, Kate Young.
Photo Courtesy: Kate Young
I mean, if Kate can’t find it, who can?
If you’re not familiar with her, have a look at this:
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
She’s the celebrity super-stylist who has topped The Hollywood Reporter’s annual list of Power Stylists three times – a record.
And, in my humble opinion, Kate’s clients are the coolest cool girls in Hollywood.
Selena Gomez.
Source: Footwear News
Source: @Kateyoung on Instagram
Dakota Johnson.
Source: @Kateyoung on Instagram
Sienna Miller.
Source: Getty Images
Julianne Moore.
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Sophie Turner.
Source: Getty Images
It all looks so glamorous.
But when I chatted with Kate a few days ago, she told me about the disasters... how she deals with nervous clients on Oscar night... and the three fashion hacks every woman should know about.
But first thing’s first.
HOW YOU GET A CELEB READY FOR THE OSCARS?
ALINA CHO: Talk to me about getting somebody ready for a major awards show, like the Oscars.
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KATE YOUNG: Generally speaking, if we know they're nominated, we start getting sketches in the fall before.
ALINA CHO: From various designers?
KATE YOUNG: Mm-hmm. And if they're nominated for an Oscar, that means a number of red carpets. SAG, Critics, BAFTA — about 20 gowns.
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ALINA CHO: That’s a lot.
KATE YOUNG: There’s [also] daytime [outfits], Q&As, screenings, all this stuff. [The point of] the press tour is to get press on them.
Source: @Kateyoung on Instagram
And if they wear the same outfit, the pictures are dead.
ALINA CHO: The whole process is stressful, I’m sure.
KATE YOUNG: We all have watched the shows about brides and how stressed they get. The only thing I can liken [the Oscars] to in a regular person's life is their wedding day. It's a day that's going to be photographed. It's going to be remembered forever. You want everything to be perfect.
Source: Getty Images
Different people have different nervous reactions. Some people freak out, some people second guess all their choices. Some people are really quiet. Some people feel sick.
ALINA CHO: So, how do you manage that? Do you have a Plan B [look]?
KATE YOUNG: Depends on the client. I sort-of plan for it according to their personality.
ALINA CHO: Right.
KATE YOUNG: I tend to usually have a kind-of “fine” dress with me. If I think somebody's going to have that moment, they can put it on and be like, “How does this look?” And everybody in the room will say, “No.” It fits and it’s “fine.”
ALINA CHO: That’s hilarious. Smart strategy.
KATE YOUNG: But there are disasters, too. If somebody wears red lipstick and has a white dress on and smears red lipstick all over the front of the dress, then...
ALINA CHO: That has not happened.
KATE YOUNG: It's happened.
ALINA CHO: So, what do you do?
KATE YOUNG: Oh, God. Shout wipes? I don't know.
WHAT DO CLOTHES REALLY DO? A LOT.
ALINA CHO: By styling someone in a certain way, how does that change the game for them?
KATE YOUNG: Well, I think that the way I dress them impacts the way people perceive them. I mean it’s their work, too.
Source: @Kateyoung on Instagram
ALINA CHO: Of course.
KATE YOUNG: But there are celebs, I see them in a movie, and I'm like, “This is the greatest actress of this year,” and then I watch the world kind-of not react to her, and I think it's because the clothes are kind-of drab.
ALINA CHO: That's so interesting.
KATE YOUNG: The reason I do my job is I have this Andy Warhol love of merging pop culture and celebrity and fashion. We all really respond to the girl who's embodying the moment that we're living in right now, in the dress that’s the symbol of that, too.
Source: @Kateyoung on Instagram
When that works, even people who don't care about fashion, they don't know why they like the image, they don't know why they're so attracted to the girl, but they are. And what that is, is good clothes. It’s clothes that are exactly right. The clothes have to be pushed a little bit; it can't just be good taste because that's boring.
THE THREE STYLING HACKS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
KATE YOUNG: It’s a lot of practicalities, like, “Do we have the right underwear for this dress? Did we pack this? Does she have the right shoe? Oh, it's raining. What do we do now? She's cold.” A lot of my day has been on very practical, nitty gritty stuff.
ALINA CHO: So, what are the three things every woman should know when they’re getting dressed?
KATE YOUNG: The number one thing is the bra. It impacts the fit of the clothes. And maybe I shouldn't have said just the bra, I should have said the foundation garments. Any underwear that you have on that you can see, any underwear that makes a bump, any underwear that sticks to the fabric, is a problem.
ALINA CHO: Right.
KATE YOUNG: And those undergarments can change everything about a dress, absolutely everything. If you're wearing something important and you care about it, take it to the bra shop with you. And have somebody who knows all the inventory look at what you're wearing and show you [the best bra for it].
ALINA CHO: Good idea.
KATE YOUNG: I mean, we have just bins and bins of underwear at my office.
ALINA CHO: What else?
KATE YOUNG: CBD foot cream, like weed foot cream, is amazing for wearing heels.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
ALINA CHO: I'm buying that today.
KATE YOUNG: It's game changing.
ALINA CHO: How did I not know about this?
KATE YOUNG: It's like anti-inflammatory, so your feet don't swell. It’s better if you add THC.
ALINA CHO: And number three?
KATE YOUNG: Use a tailor for everything. I try not to use pins and clips and tapes and all the little janky tricks because the tailoring is the most important thing.
ALINA CHO: I totally agree.
KATE YOUNG: It makes you comfortable. It makes you look great. I think we now expect that we can go shopping and buy something that fits. You shouldn't think anything fits until you see a tailor put it all together.
ALINA CHO: An eighth of an inch can make all the difference.
KATE YOUNG: It makes a huge difference. It changes everything.