| A
collection of shoes is displayed on a rack at
television personality Louise Roe's West Hollywood
home, February 21, 2013. |
 |
LOS
ANGELES — It’s no surprise that Louise Roe, the
31-year-old model, fashion journalist and new host of
NBC’s "Fashion Star," has transformed an
entire room of her West Hollywood home into her own
personal closet space. It’s a small room, decorated
with pictures of her family, where she plays dress-up
amid racks of shoes, dresses, handbags and an impressive
collection of costume jewelry.
On
a day in late February, Roe has all of her Oscar week
outfits neatly organized on a rack. White and black
pairs of Jimmy Choo heels, a yellow pair of Steve Madden
heels and a pair of print Carvelas are laid out at the
foot of one rack. An acid yellow bag sits next to a
vegan purple crocodile clutch by Heather Belle and a
week’s worth of accessories.
It’s
a fashion lover’s paradise, and Roe is queen of the
kingdom.
She
navigates her closet as if it’s a well-organized small
department store. A large rack of shoes displays studded
heels, animal print flats, cap-toe heels and stilettos
in bright pink and yellow and teal. A prized pair of
bronze metallic sneakers sits on the floor, saved for
when "I’m feeling like a rock star," she
says. Fashion books are tucked under a small end table
covered with jewelry. Rings, earrings, necklaces and
bracelets of every style are wrapped around a jewelry
stand. She stops to point out pyramid bangles by Lia
Sophia. Headpieces from Urban Outfitters and American
Eagle litter the top of the table.
Roe
is dressed in a pair of watercolor print trousers from
her friend’s label Fennes d’Armes, a poppy-colored
top by Express and purple shoes by Carvela. She likes to
support smaller designers rather than exclusively
wearing big names, and her outfit is the perfect
expression of the way she mixes designer labels with
affordable brands for a look that’s on trend but
attainable.
"My
personal style is very bright, and I don’t know if
that’s because, well, wearing bright colors makes me
feel happier than wearing just black," says Roe as
she fiddles with her oversized Kimberly McDonald ring.
She admires the way Kate Bosworth, Miranda Kerr and
Olivia Palermo dress and looks up to designers Diane von
Furstenberg, Tory Burch and Rachel Roy.
When
it comes to beauty, Roe keeps it simple. Her favorite
products include Lancome brightening serum, a Makeup
Forever brow pencil and Maybelline mascara. "I’ve
used it since I was probably too young to even wear
mascara," Roe jokes. She favors one fragrance —
See by Chloe — because "It makes me think of
Paris."
Roe
is into prints at the moment, especially Mary Katrantzou,
Peter Pilotto and Holly Fulton out of London, and she
cites the 1970s as her main style inspiration.
"I
love that era of quite boho but bold, everything from
like Bianca Jagger’s white wedding suit to Lauren
Hutton in cut-off jeans or Farrah Fawcett in high-waisted
paints. … I just love all that." To this day, Roe
keeps a scrapbook she fills with pictures she rips out
of her favorite fashion magazines.
(EDITORS:
BEGIN OPTIONAL TRIM)
As
she sifts through her wardrobe, her fingers glide over a
bright yellow leather jacket from Reiss, a blue print
dress by Mara Hoffman and some select pieces from Zara
and Express. Every color in the rainbow is present. She
pauses when she finds a particular dress and smiles.
"It’s
from the BCBG spring collection, and it’s got a
harness on it, which was big on the runway," she
says. "Very ‘Fifty Shades.’"
(END
OPTIONAL TRIM)
Roe
brought her love of prints and colors to her
"Fashion Star" wardrobe, which she styled
herself, with help from Daniel Musto, wardrobe stylist
for the show. She replaced original host Elle McPherson
when the show started its second season March 8 and
viewers can expect to see brightly colored gowns, prints
and even a Tibi suit. Her favorite is a dress with
acrylic fins she’ll wear on the show’s finale May 10
— a dress she describes as "epic."
"Fashion
Star" is just one of Roe’s many endeavors. She is
also a designer for the site Stylistpicks.com and has
just come out with her fourth season of handbags and
shoes for the line, her favorite being an acid yellow
bag.
"I
want to eat it, it’s come out so beautifully,"
Roe said of the bag.
Once
"Fashion Star’s" season ends, fans can see
more of Roe on a new weekly show with the Style Network
called "Pop Style," slated to premiere in
April. She’ll join co-host Jeannie Mai for the network’s
first live show focused on pop culture and fashion news.
"It’s
a little bit of ‘The Soup’ meets ‘Fashion Police’
meets like a smidge of ‘Ellen’ with a little bit of
the ‘Sports Center’ idea thrown in," Roe says.
(EDITORS:
STORY CAN END HERE)
Roe
also hosts "Plain Jane," a makeover show on
MTV International that airs in 66 countries around the
globe. She wanted to make her accessories line
accessible to fans of that show, who are sometimes as
young as 12 years old, so prices for her line range from
$60 to $70 for a pair of shoes or bag.
"I
get tweets and Facebooks, and they are so passionate
about dressing up and having fun with fashion and beauty
that it just seems fair to make it attainable to
everybody," Roe says. "If you’re saving up
your pocket money for a cool bag, I just think that is
what fashion should be."
"Fashion
Star" airs at 8 p.m. Fridays on NBC.