Confessions of an Heiress Read online

  I go to lots of fashion shows, too. My favorite in Paris and Milan is Versace, both couture and ready-to-wear. I love Donatella’s clothes; she always gives Nicky and me the most beautiful dresses to wear to her shows and after-parties. And she has the coolest crowd. I love Tommy Hilfiger’s shows; there are always hot guys modeling his men’s collections. Hey, guys go to fashion shows to ogle girl models, why can’t I go to look at boy models? Anyway, Tommy’s really nice, and I love his look. It’s preppy in a very cool way. I like Catherine Malandrino’s shows, too. She did a cool American-flag theme a few years back. Diane von Furstenberg’s collections are amazing. Her dresses are beautiful; I must own at least fifty. She always has the most exciting people in her front row, and she totally gets it about socialites and heiresses. And I’ve been in Heatherette’s shows, which are so much fun. I’m their muse, which, of course, I love. Their clothes are cool, funky, and crazy—all about clubbing, since they’re former N.Y. club kids! I love really theatrical shows.

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  Fashion magazines can help bring out your inner heiress. Used to be, their pages were filled with gorgeous models in gorgeous clothes. But who is in the front row of all those fashion shows? And who do you think can afford those clothes? Heiresses, of course. Well, the magazines finally figured that out. Now all the fashion magazines feature socialites and heiresses almost as much as celebrities and models. Hint: Not all those socialites and heiresses are the real deal; they just know how to act the part. And they can often get store discounts—if they’ve got the nerve to ask for them.

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  But I don’t know if I could handle being a full-time model. After all, you have to keep a straight face, and I LOVE to smile. I show up with fast food and the models get upset; they wish they could eat it.

  Anyway, the audience is often a lot more interesting than what’s on the runway. What’s the point of going to a fashion show and getting all dressed up if you can’t people-watch? Some of the best action happens off the runway, between the socialites, the editors, and the guys who hit on the models. There’s so much gossip flying around at fashion shows, it makes my head spin.

  My Crowning Glory

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  Heiresses always have good hair in public. They always have their hair done, no matter how long it takes. Models can turn up with scrunchies in unwashed hair, but heiresses can’t. I may run around in sweatpants, but my hair always looks awesome, even if it’s in pigtails. Because an heiress is always on.

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  Here’s one of my major secrets revealed: I have curly hair. I get it blown straight all the time so no one has to know. I would look like Shirley Temple if I didn’t blow it out. When I was a child, it wasn’t curly. But I can’t get it professionally straightened because it would fry my hair. So I have to go to the salon a few times a week. Oh well, that’s just how it turned out. Nicky’s hair is naturally straight—that makes me insane, too.

  I love changing my hairdo almost more than I love changing clothes. There’s a reason you rarely see my hair look the same way twice: I get creative. I love to look different, and changing my hairstyle is a great way to accomplish that. I go to lots of different salons in Beverly Hills and New York, because getting my hair done by different stylists is a luxury I never deny myself. (There are others, of course, but this is the hair section.)

  I go from a choppy bob to long hair, then back again, all the time. I love long hair, but hair extensions do hurt. Chris McMillan in L.A. cuts my hair—he’s the only one I trust to chop it. He does have a huge waiting list, but, he manages to fit me into his busy schedule. When I want an amazing ’do or a supersexy cut, I will also go to Guy Riggio at Sally Hershberger for John Frieda salon in L.A. Guy is a genius with hair. I also like Prive, Jose Eber, Cristophe, or Frédéric Fekkai in New York or L.A. Yukimi Kakumo Smith of the Kenneth Salon in the Waldorf-Astoria has been my hairstylist for years and gives the best haircut and blow-dry in New York. A true heiress always has many hair salons at her disposal. One is definitely not enough. After all, every hairdresser will have a different vision of you.

  As for color, well, blondes have more fun! And I’m living proof. We stand out more. My color is done mostly by Michael Boychuck, the head colorist and director of the Canyon Ranch Salon at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas. He flies to L.A. for me, and he brings his head hair-extension person, Antonia Ravenda-Stilianessis. They know how to do my hair so that I’ll love it.

  In New York, I go to Parveen Klein at John Barrett, which is located on the top floor of Bergdorf Goodman. I love that the salon is at Bergdorf’s, and Parveen is the best with blond shades. (They didn’t call that book Bergdorf Blondes for nothing.) She’s the one who dyed Nicky’s hair brown, and look how great she looks. I like to put hot-pink pieces in my hair, too. Parveen can do anything.

  Yes, it’s hard to believe, but I do sometimes have bad-hair days! If I’m tired of my hair and I don’t have a lot of time, I’ll wear a hat. A hat changes your look really fast, and you definitely get noticed. Hats are cute. I like berets; they add a little international flair.

  I find hair salons to be so relaxing. If all else fails, and you aren’t getting your minimum daily attention requirement, a hairdresser can not only fill in nicely for a boyfriend, but is also a great person to gossip with. He or she is being paid to be all about you. And going to a stylist is tons better than going to a therapist. You get to talk while someone plays with your hair. It feels good.

  I don’t really like waiting or sitting around, though. Who does? For photo shoots, styling can take four hours or more if they do hot rollers and teasing. To kill time, I’ll read magazines or scripts, cruise the Internet, browse eBay, or look for the latest pics on WireImage.

  My Beauty Secrets

  MAKEUP

  My favorite lip gloss is Prrr by MAC. It’s a cute, shiny light pink, and because it’s inexpensive, you can buy tons of it and carry one in every handbag.

  I’m partial to the smoky-eye-and-light-lip look, which I don’t stray from very often. If it was okay for Brigitte Bardot, it’s okay for me. I love black eyeliner and fake eyelashes—the individual ones. That’s my look: bronze skin, pink lips, blond hair. While it’s fun to change your hairstyle, your face is your trademark. Not only that, heiresses are by definition a little subtle. Have you ever noticed that no one who grew up rich wears a lot of makeup? It’s just not classy. Red lipstick makes me look like a clown. And if you’re going to wear colorful clothes, you’ve got to tone down the makeup. Besides, guys don’t like girls who wear a lot of makeup. It just gets on their clothes.

  I try to have my makeup done by a professional when I go out because it makes such a difference. It looks better on camera and lasts much longer. You can even sleep in it, and it won’t look that bad in the morning. And yes, you can sleep in fake eyelashes—they will still be there when you wake up. Heiresses and divas know that trick.

  SKIN CARE

  When it comes to keeping a year-round Saint-Tropez-looking tan, Mystic Tan is key. It gives you a great glow that you can’t get from bronzer. I’m over tanning beds, because I really don’t want to get skin cancer. By the way, have you ever seen a pale heiress? I think not. Even in New York in February. Especially in New York in February.

  I have to admit, I’m really bad about washing my face and using skin products. A lot of my friends have these really strict beauty regimens, but I’m pretty lazy about that stuff. It should alt look like it comes naturally for true heiresses. I’ve actually found that sleeping in makeup can be good for my skin. It makes it look kind of dewy. And then I don’t have to do too much in the morning.

  Of course, I live in fear of pimples. Who doesn’t? Now, if you do break out, or have circles under your eyes after a late night, a great makeup artist can fix it in a second. It’s worth paying a lot of money for. And never, ever point out your pimples or circles to anybody—certainly not a guy, and not even to a close girlfriend. Chances are they won’t notice when the rest
of you is so fabulous.

  Even Heiresses Have Flaws

  Okay, I admit it—I desperately hate one thing about my body: I have size 11 feet. I can’t believe people care what shoe size I wear! I mean, I’m not a guy, so it doesn’t mean anything! Yeah, it sucks. But really, I don’t even care anymore. It sucks because in stores I see all these supercute shoes like Guccis, YSLs, and Manolos. And when they’re brought out in my size, they look like clown shoes on me! I can’t wear flats because my feet are too long. At least high heels shrink how long my feet look. But forget about ever seeing me in ballet slippers or tennis shoes: I’d look like I was wearing canoes!

  I do, however, love Ugg-style fuzzy-lined boots, especially the light pink and blue ones with pom-poms or sequins that Steve Madden makes. I started wearing them at the Sundance Film Festival because there’s a lot of snow in Park City, and now I wear them with my velour sweat suits all the time. At least Ugg-like boots are so wide that no one can tell the size of my feet in them. Plus, they look really cute when you tuck your pants into them. So my advice to girls with big feet like mine: Wear very high heels, or Ugg-style boots.

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  I know this diet is not for everybody, and I’m not even sure you should try it at home. But it works for me. And I think there’s some Dr. Atkins-type stuff in here. Wasn’t he all about eating fat?

  • Don’t be afraid to eat fast food as often as you can. Always order the largest portion of French fries. Otherwise, you’ll just want more.

  • Eat pasta as often as you can. I cook the best lasagna at home. Who says heiresses shouldn’t know how to cook? Just because you grew up with a staff doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to surprise the pants off your friends by cooking a great dinner once in a while.

  • Eat sushi, because the coolest and best-looking people eat sushi.

  • Eat as much chocolate as you can. Chocolate seems sinful, and therefore makes you happy.

  • Eat popcorn at night. In fact, eat all carbs at night. In fact, ONLY eat carbs at night. Never listen to what diet doctors tell you.

  • If you’re in L.A., eat at Johnny Rockets or In-N-Out Burger as often as you can.

  • Never take diet pills!

  • Do what you want. Life is too short not to enjoy it. Just keep busy, go out at night, and dance away the calories!!

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  Try to keep your shoe size out of the papers. If you can’t, then just get over it. Fast.

  How to Shop Like an Heiress

  Contrary to what you might think, I’m not a snob about shopping. Sure, I like Barneys, but I also like a lot of funky small stores in L.A. and New York too. I’m loving the Tracy Feith store on Melrose. Tracey Ross’s store in the Sunset Plaza is another one of my favorites. And I live for the T-shirts at Kitson on Robertson in L.A. It’s the best place to buy gifts for birthdays, et cetera. I don’t need all designer clothes, except for premieres and events. And usually designers just lend me their clothes, because once I’m photographed in them, I can’t ever wear them again. So what’s the use of owning them? I’d just wind up giving them to a friend. Or to charity. That’s the true heiress thing to do.

  I never let anyone in a store tell me what looks good on me. To me, it’s important for a person to figure out her own sense of style, rather than have it imposed on her. By the age of eighteen, every girl needs to know what her style is and what looks good on her. Most salespeople just want to make money off you and will sell you anything. They’ll talk you out of jeans and into a gown in a heartbeat. Not only that—who wants to dress like them? I make sure I go shopping with Nicky, a stylist, or by myself. Shopping with your boyfriend is a good idea, too, because he’ll communicate how he likes you to look by smiling and staring at you; guys aren’t too good at telling you that in words, though. They don’t know how to talk about clothes. If they do, well, you should probably make him your boyfriend in about two seconds.

  And I also like to buy things off photo shoots, because stylists bring hard-to-find stuff I like. Lately, I’ve been feeling like I want to change my look, to all really high fashion. Or couture. To me, that means “lady” in public and fun in private.

  “Always be more important than your clothes.”

  MY WARDROBE DOS AND DON’TS

  • SHOW OFF YOUR NAVEL AND BELLY. I do. Everyone thinks guys are all about boobs and legs. I think they’re really into stomachs.

  • IF YOU WEAR JEANS, WEAR THEM REALLY, REALLY LOW-WAISTED. I know everyone says they’re over, but I don’t care. I think they’re hot.

  • TO ME, ANYTHING GOES. But that’s me. I once wore a tutu with a down parka at the Sundance Film Festival! And stilettos in the snow! The only time anything doesn’t go is at the Oscars, where you have to wear something more couture. I’d go with Badgley Mischka, like I did this year, or Valentino. You need to look like a lady at the Oscars. Otherwise, Joan Rivers will tear you apart. Then again, you aren’t really anyone till Joan Rivers tears you apart. So wait until you are someone, then dress like a lady at the Oscars. I’ve been on Joan Rivers’s worst-dressed list many times, but I don’t care what she says.

  • DRESS SUPERSEXY WHEN YOU DON’T HAVE A BOYFRIEND, OR IF YOU WANT TO MAKE YOUR EX-BOYFRIEND JEALOUS. Except you don’t want to make him jealous for no reason. Wait till you have a reason. Then go all out.

  • THE ONLY RULE IS DON’T BE BORING. DRESS CUTE WHEREVER YOU GO. Life is too short to blend in. There are too many cute girls out there not to be making an effort. I don’t understand girls who leave the house looking ratty. Are they really that lazy? Or maybe they don’t know that punk ended—in the ’90s, I think.

  How Low Can I Go?

  I love low-riding pants. Really low. I hate jeans that go up too high toward your waist; I can’t wear them! Brazilian jeans are the best because they’re cut so low. I like Frankie B jeans, though they’re not quite as low as I like. People tell me they’re not trendy anymore, but I’ve never been one to copy the trends.

  I Love My Stilettos—the Stairway to Heaven

  I love Chanel shoes, Jimmy Choos, Manolo Blahniks, Christian Louboutins, Sergio Rossis, and Gina Londons. To be funky, I’ll wear shoes by Hollywould—she’s my friend. Sometimes, I’ll go to Hollywood Boulevard and buy those cheap high heels—REALLY high. Some of the designers don’t make them high enough—although YSL and Gucci do. I love those shoes. It’s easy for me to walk in high heels; I’ve been doing it forever. I can run better in high heels than tennis shoes!

  Sweat Suits

  They’re basically the L.A. uniform, and I like them really, really soft, in cashmere or velour. They should be very feminine, and only in colors like red, pink, or blue. Don’t wear boring athletic-gray ones; otherwise, people will think you’re working out, and to me, that means you might get sweaty. When I’m home, I always wear cute sweatpants by 2BFree or Juicy Couture. And I’m also working on my very own sweat suit line.

  Speaking of which, never talk to guys about going to the gym—they get so bored. They want to think you’re naturally gorgeous. I see so many girls telling guys about how much they work out and all the beauty stuff they do. It’s boring to talk about that stuff, even with your girlfriends. If I did work out, I would never talk about it, because people should always think you’re perfect and it’s effortless. After all, you’re an heiress.

  Fur

  Yes, I wear furs for fun, but mostly they’re fake. It’s important for me to wear as much fake fur as possible, and I like it even more if it looks fake. The faker the better! I love animals so much. There are such good fakes out there, I can’t understand why anyone would buy a real fur. There’s no need to.

  Some people might say I’m a hypocrite because I eat burgers but won’t wear fur. My response to that is: Heiresses don’t need to be consistent.

  My Favorite Colors

  To me, the only bad colors are red, black, and gray—worn together, they remind me of Freddy Krueger. I love orange. I love purple, though too much purple can make you
look like Barney, so you have to watch it. I love yellow. I love blue. I love all colors. And as I’ve said, I don’t like black. Black is boring.

  PINK

  Pink reminds me of Barbie, who is one of my fashion icons. And pink’s so girlie.

  I AM CURIOUS IN YELLOW

  I love yellow. It’s sunny and happy and cheers me up.

  MY BLUE PERIOD

  My favorite blue is baby blue. It brings out my eyes.

  Bad Photos

  Yes, it does happen. Even heiresses can take bad pictures—if the lighting’s not good or you get distracted. Sometimes I see pictures of myself and I wonder what I was thinking when I wore certain outfits. Sometimes a picture will remind me of a bad day or they’ll run a picture of me with my eyes closed. I hate that. Try never to close your eyes when a camera’s around. And try to keep certain editors from hating you, although it’s inevitable if you’re an heiress and, chances are, they’re not. (Heiress editors only work at Town & Country and Vogue; Nicky has done a little guest editing for Marie Claire.)