Style guru Lloyd Boston has been giving advice for years on television shows such as NBC Today, Oprah Winfrey, Nate Burkess and Martha Stewart. He was recently on the Today Show with an Emmy recap.
Speaking of awards, he received an Emmy nomination for his HGTV show Closet Cases and was named one of Crain Magazine's "Forty Under Forty." After writing four previous books, the author's new one has just arrived The Style Checklist: The Ultimate Wardrobe Essentials.
We ran into Lloyd at Macy's, where his Jones New York tour was in full effect.
Windy City Times: Hi, Lloyd. Are you glad to be back in Chicago?
Lloyd Boston: I love it, always. I love the fact that the weather is good.
WCT: You can wear that scarf out these days.
LB: Yes, just a touch. I split my time between New York and L.A., but coming here is nice because it is the best of both cities. It has the ease of the people in L.A. but it has that city vibe in New York without the traffic, the dirt, and the pushing and shoving.
WCT: Do you get to do anything fun while you are in town?
LB: I walked Michigan Avenue and shopped a bit. I am a big bargain hunter. You will catch me in the sale racks before you will catch me up front.
WCT: How did you get involved with Macy's?
LB: I am the style guy for Jones New York. I travel the country hosting style clinics and fashion shows like tonight where we present the trends for fall as well as the classics for any season. I shop with the guests one on one so they get a chance to get styled by a TV style guy. They last five minutes each, fun and free. We do most of the events at Macy's stores nationwide. It works out perfectly.
WCT: You prove that there are seven different ways to wear the same thing?
LB: Yes, it is a new thing we started. We started it online and it has gotten a lot of buzz, because what we found was important for people that love Jones New York is the fact that if they are going to invest in one piece we are going to show them how to wear it seven days a week if they have to.
Most women won't, but we want to give them ways to wear it for day, night, weekend, travel, business—you name it. What we are doing tonight is that we have chosen three essentials, which I feel are classic for fall. They can also play into any trend. I show these three pieces each done seven ways. It is a different kind of runway show instead of look after look we bring out small clusters of models each wearing say the crisp white shirt styled completely differently. Also, [we show it] on different body types so it could be a full-figured model or a petite model. We want to show every woman that she can wear Jones New York where she is today.
WCT: Tell our readers about your new book.
LB: It is called The Style Checklist and I reveal what I feel are the 100 classics that every woman should have in her closet. It is almost like a bucket list, if you will. There is an actual checklist in the back of the book that you can use to see how many you already own. You can see what items to invest in before you die. [Laughs] No, it's not that tragic! If you want a well-rounded closet this is what I use.
I work with women, whether it is on television or person to person, in the closets. I always have a mental checklist of what I felt every well-dressed woman should own. This is my way of revealing it to all women. If they can't get me in their closets, which they won't, I can show them what they should be shopping for and also what items they should bring from the back of the closet to the front.
WCT: What trends for men do you see?
LB: Shifting gears! For me what I am feeling this fall is no more suits. I am doing vest and pant combos. I like that because it harks back to the '30s. I love that look. Sometimes I add a newsboy cap. That might be a little forward for most guys but what a lot of people will see is a touch of the collegiate thing come back. This was on the runways, although sometimes it's hard to wear for men over 30 if they are in a professional set.
The letterman sweater all-American redux on the collegiate style of the '40s and '50s is hot. You can wear it in an adult dosage. You don't necessarily want to wear the striped cardigan, plaid pants and the Nubuck saddle shoes but you want a touch of it with a little preppy in there.
WCT: Do you think shows like the Playboy club, which was filmed here in Chicago, will have influences on fashion?
LB: I would hope so. I can't wait to see that show as well as Pan Am. Then, Mad Men comes back in January. I love the fact that we will start seeing imagery on television that speaks to a more tailored look for men and women. Women caught onto it faster, like Joan on Mad Men wearing those great sheath dresses and pencil skirts. I think that look is so timeless and really more flattering on more women than they realize. I hope that look catches on. For guys, specifically, single or double button suits will make a huge return—and double vents looks amazing and slim ties, of course. On huskier guys, you want to be careful of a tie that is too skinny.
WCT: The last time we talked, you gave great advice about not putting the wallet in the back pocket and how it can throw the alignment of the spine off.
LB: It is a huge no-no when you spend so much time putting together a great look. You have seen guys in beautifully tailored pants and they have this big third thing in the back. Either guys should slim down their wallets, carry a money clip or put it in a different pocket so it doesn't interrupt the line of their look.
WCT: What did you do for Fashion Week?
LB: I was there for Fashion's Night Out. I hosted a huge nighttime event on the kickoff of Fashion Week. I have also been covering it virtually on a hip new website called firstcomesfashion.com where a roundup of other experts and myself watch the shows live via a feed. We critique and give real life ways to wear each look as the shows are happening live. The beauty of it is that I can still travel the country with these fall tours but also have a finger on fashion week as well. It is a nice mix.
WCT: Are there more Closet Cases out there?
LB: No more Closet Cases because the Fine Living Network is no more. It is now called the Cooking Channel. I am a cook, but not that good of a cook to be cooking for 26 episodes!
Get more tips at www.lloydboston.com .
