Courtney Kerr on Style, Trends, Shopping and Fashion Bloggers

It’s not hard to style-crush on Courtney Kerr, the outspoken, bigger-than-life Texas girl who came to fame thanks to Bravo’s Most Eligible Dallas and Courtney Loves Dallas. Her style is chic and sophisticated, elevated by great accessories. She is a popular fashion blogger and chronicles her stylish musings on What Courtney Wore, and after spending some time with her during her sweep through Chicago last month, our style-crush may or may not have grown into an obsession. In a good way. Keep reading and get ready to be swooned, as Courtney Kerr tells it like it is.

FashionFiles: What is your go-to item for Spring?

Probably a jumpsuit. I am a big jumpsuit fan because it’s an easy built-in outfit. It doesn’t really require much thinking and as long as you find one that’s cut to fit your body — whether you’re short-wasted or long-wasted — I think it’s kind of a no brainer outfit. The only trouble that comes in with a jumpsuit is when you have to pee and then you’re like naked…[laughs] Other than that, the jumpsuit is a great year-round piece because in the winter and fall you can layer it up with a blazer and a bomber jacket and in the summer and spring you can wear it bare.

FF: How would you describe your style?

Tailored. I love white button downs, I love anything with collars and anything with structured shoulders. I like pieces that are really structured and just give shape and some sort of tailored capacity to the body.

Accessorizing is another word that is important to me. The perfect pair of shoes, or the perfect necklace, or the perfect handbag can change the whole dynamic of an outfit.

FF: What is the most important thing women should know when building their wardrobe?

To know what to splurge on, and what not to splurge on is key. That is something, I think, unfortunately, a lot of women learn with age. We have to make a lot of really bad decisions before we make the right decision, and so I think you have to buy a lot of shitty pieces and see how bad the construction of them is, and see that you’re wasting like $50 here, $70 here…etc. before you go, “Well crap, I could’ve bought a $400 blazer that would’ve lasted me five years, instead of buying ten really crappy blazers. I think understanding what you need to invest in, and what you don’t need to invest in is really important when it comes to building your wardrobe.

FF: Your closet is on fire. What’s the first thing you would save?

It would be my grandmothers fur coat. It’s a rabbit fur coat, I featured it on my blog a few times. I take it to New York when I go for Fashion Week in February. It was a piece that she’s had since the seventies and she gifted it to me for my 30th birthday. I have memories wearing it as a child and as a little girl. For my 30th birthday she had it insured and embroidered with my name. It’s a really special piece to me because it’s a family heirloom and I’ll be able to pass it down one day. Also because if my whole closet burned down, I could sell that and make back some of the money. [laughs]

FF: Whose wardrobe would you swap with in a heartbeat and why?

Olivia Palermo. She has great, flawless style and it’s very reminiscent of what I do which is very structured, very tailored, very classic but there’s always some twist — whether it’s in the shoe or the handbag choice or the sunglasses choice.

FF: Can you give us your best shopping advice?

Sleep on something for 24 hours before you buy it, especially if it’s a spontaneous purchase. If it’s something you’ve been thinking about for a while — go get it. No one should ever have to talk you into anything; it should be something you can’t live without. Don’t ever buy something on a whim. And don’t ever go shopping after you’ve been drinking. I’ll come home with high wasted pants and all these trends that are just horrible for me.

FF: Do you have any horrible shopping habits?

Drunk shopping. Which would be coming home and then getting online and laying in bed half asleep, half drunk….then a package arrives and I’m like oh yeah, I did buy that. I usually like it; it’s just the inhibitions of alcohol kind of put me over the edge.

FF: Which trends do you particularly like, and conversely — are there any that you hate?

I hate anything that’s baby doll dresses, anything that makes women look like little girls. I’m not into bows, I’m not into fluorescents and hot pinks. I think there’s a real big problem in the fashion industry right now of women who dress like little girls. Not that I dress for men, but I try to take men into consideration. I try to take maturity and professionalism into consideration and I think that when women dress like little girls they may have ‘daddy issues’ [laughs]. I don’t like cute-sy stuff, things that have caterpillars on them or embroidery, or monogram-y, cute-sy shit like that — I’m not into that. I really like, structured, tailored, collared pieces that are very bold and very dynamic and lead to the maturity of a woman. Being able to embrace your sexuality and mix it with your confidence.

FF: What trend from the past would you like to make a comeback?

There is a trend that’s coming back that I love — it is the flared jean. It’s that Farrah Fawcett, bohemian look I think it’s very sexy.Rachel Zoe does it very well. Just the big flared denim over the cool stacked wooden wedge and a white tank top, cool oversized glasses and just your bra and skin. It’s very sexy and very simple, and a no brainer.

FF: Who is your style icon?

I think Diane Von Furstenburg is really great because she really understands the woman’s body. Anyone that dresses women for women, and doesn’t dresses women as hangers, understands the female body. So much of style is confidence, it’s not about being able to look at clothes and being like, ‘oh that looks good with that.’ It’s about being able to carry [clothes] in a capacity that’s very eloquent — so anybody that does that well, is a style icon. People on the red carpet like Blake Lively or Sarah Jessica Parker, who wear stuff because they love it. I think Farrah Fawcett back in the 70s — with every decade it changes. In the 80s, people like Joan Crawford, Joan Collins, Joan Rivers, women who just really embody style and own it, I think are cool. Gwen Stefani, even Miley Cyrus, who is bat shit crazy, but she has a cool street style and she owns it. I think anybody that can do that makes them an icon in some capacity.

FF: Who are your go-to designers?

I love DVF, I really love Rag & Bone.  I also love Rachel by Rachel Roy, which is exclusively sold at Macy’s. She understands the female body and she’s a curvy girl. She gets that women dress in a way that they want to accentuate their bodies — from the fabric she uses to the textures to the prints to the cuts and styles and silhouettes. The price point is consumer friendly and she recognizes that women rotate their closets so often. The Rachel Roy collection that Macy’s has has been a go to for me for years because she understands that I might buy a jumpsuit, but I only want to spend $99 on it because in a year I might want to switch it out with another jumpsuit. I respect that.

FF: What about any high-street shops and e-retailers, or places you get your cheapies?

Zara is non-stop shop till you drop. I love Zara. I also love Target for my simple things like t-shirts, tank tops. When people are like  “I spent $95 on a T-shirt,” I’m like no, I spent $14.99 and I buy ten of them at once. I rotate them out and use them every day. I love to go to Century 21 when I’m in New York; they sell so many cool discount designers that you can get on consignment. I also love Nasty Gal. I think they do a really good job of knocking off cool stuff you see on the runway and making it street style accessible.

FF: If you are not in fashion, what would you do?

I would probably be a lawyer. My boyfriend says I’m really good at arguing.  Or I’ll be advocating for a charity or a group. I rescued a pit-bull two years ago from a rescue group and never realized how much of an advocate I would become for dogs and for rescue animals and rescue groups.

FF: Tell us something about yourself that we wouldn’t expect?

I’m super frugal and I live very modestly. I think there’s a way women can do that where you can look large, without living large. I think being able to master that has been something that I feel really proud of. You don’t have to spend a million bucks to look like a million bucks. Like having a beer budget, but a champagne taste. It’s something I’m really proud of and something I think my audience really enjoys. I think I do a good job of mixing high and low pieces. Today, for example, I’m in a Theory dress and $99 shoes that are Nine West.

FF: Not to finish on a serious note, but we are curious to know how do you feel about the evolvement of fashion blogging?

I think it’s hysterical. I think people take themselves way too seriously. I fell into this industry because it was a platform for me to post everything that I wear because people were asking about me being on a reality show. It was kind of like, oh shit, I have got this audience I guess I’m a blogger now. So I don’t mind it. It’s a great way for me to engage with people; it’s a great way to inspire women and share things that I’m finding as I shop along the way. There are so many bloggers that really don’t have any personality and really take themselves so seriously it’s comical, but do they have great style? Yes. But do I think they’re smart? No. Do they have personality? No.

It’s funny that there are a lot of girls that travel the world and are on juice diets every week, but does anyone have any clue how they’re making money? No. And they have this ridiculous wardrobe but it’s bizarre to me. I worked ten years of retail and worked my ass off before I fell into this world. And I’m one of the oldest bloggers out there, which is weird because I’ve only been doing it for four years. Most are 22-26; I’m 33 so it’s bizarre to be in this mix of people that are so caught up in it.

Isn’t Courtney’s honestly refreshing? If you want more of the Texas beauty, be sure to follow her on What Courtney Wore.

All Photography by SukiLynn via What Courtney Wore