How I Shop: Bronwyn Newport

We all buy clothes, but no two people shop the same. It can be a social experience, and a deeply personal one; at times, it can be impulsive and entertaining, at others, purpose-driven, a chore. Where do you shop? When do you shop? How do you decide what you need, how much to spend and what’s “you”? These are some of the questions we’re putting to prominent figures in our column “How I Shop.”

With every new addition to an established “Real Housewives” cast, there’s always the question of whether they will or won’t stick. Even in its five-season run, the Salt Lake City edition has seen its fair share of departures — whether due to a cast member being revealed as a secret Instagram troll, going to prison for wire fraud or otherwise.

After Season 4’s explosive finale resulted in a vacant slot in the group, the network cast fashion blogger Bronwyn Newport. From the very first episode of Season 5, Newport made it clear that she was here to stay, both through her ability to navigate the existing Utah gossip and by bringing compelling drama with her extravagant fashion.

“A big part of what I’m wearing is expressing who I am,” Newport tells Fashionista. For her first appearance, the 39-year-old wore a $15,000 Saint Laurent red fur jacket in the shape of a heart — a look most famously seen on Rihanna. The outfit sparked both love and criticism from the rest of the group, inspiring the premiere episode title “Costume or Couture” (not bad for a “Housewives” debut).

In comparison to the typically conservative, neutral-clad women in Salt Lake City, Newport’s style is far more playful and rooted in maximalism. In confessionals, she wears over-the-top pieces by designer and personal friend Christian Siriano (who recently shared on “Watch What Happens Live” that Newport is the only “Housewife” who actually purchases his work), a rainbow polka dot corset by Christopher John Rogers and other eye-catching pieces.

Newport’s joy-driven approach to style was greatly influenced by where she spent her childhood, including San Francisco and, briefly, The Hague in Holland. But her true fashion awakening came after working in the male-dominated finance space, where she felt held back and frustrated by the never-ending sea of navy and black suits. 

“I had complained to my then-boyfriend about not feeling able to dress like myself. He said, ‘You can dress like yourself or you can choose how people see you, but you can’t have both.’ Obviously that relationship was short-lived after that,” she laughs. “But it spurred this idea in me, that I wanted to change the idea that dressing with color or in a novelty way should not reflect on my intelligence level or capability. It’s okay to wave whatever freak flag, polka dot flag or rainbow flag you want.”

Newport’s fashion flag doesn’t stop waving after filming, or attending luxury shopping and philanthropy events, or Meredith Marks‘ Bat Mitzvah. The reality star has taken her eye for design into a limited-edition collaboration with BedHead PJs. “I’ve always considered our choice of attire — day or night — as a canvas for personal expression,” Newport says. The collection fuses her love for color, pattern and, perhaps most importantly, her pets. The sets are even available to shop in both human and dog sizes. 

And while she may wear luxury brands today, that wasn’t always the case: “When I was in my early 20s and a single mom… Money was much tighter for me than it’s been over the years. As I’ve had my own successes and gotten married, things have gotten easier for me financially. But throughout all of that, it was always exciting for me to put together a cool outfit on a budget […] The clothes don’t make the person, but they do show a lot about who that person is.”

Ahead, Newport shares more about the brands and designers that evoke joy in her wardrobe and help her tell a story — both on and off the “Real Housewives” screen. Plus, details about her enviable Judith Leiber collection, the Hermès bag on her holiday wishlist and more.

“My mom put a really big emphasis on getting dressed and showing up every day. She was a stay-at-home mom by the time I was born, and I remember sitting on her bathroom counter where she would do intricate eye shadow. She had curly hair that she would straighten and blow out every day. It was just part of this idea of respect that I grew up with: You show respect for other people by putting time and effort into the way you show up. It’s not about how you look, but rather the fact that you took time to prepare.

“I’ve always known that people responded to you differently based on how you were dressed. I still kind of hate that that’s the case and that people judge us by our exteriors. But I think I’ve grown into the idea that if people are going to judge me, I want to give them something really fun to judge.

“A lot of times when I need to feel really confident or pulled together, I will wear something that’s a little bit more form-fitting or a higher heel because it reminds me to have better posture. If you watch the show, you know I tend to have awful posture and slouch around. I’ve never been so embarrassed about it until I saw myself on TV.

“I don’t really wear jeans, but I don’t have an issue with them. My daughter loves denim and it’s her style and she looks to-die-for. My husband will come home and change out of a suit into jeans to relax and I’m like, ‘Are you a serial killer? Who watches TV in jeans?’

“My go-to outfit is a stretchy dress with a cool accessory. I love a Skims long-sleeved stretchy dress that I can add a scarf or necklace and a cool purse to. Those dresses are basic for me in the same way jeans would be for someone else.

“I love wearing a sweater or blazer over my dresses. I love layers. And lots of accessories. I never skimp on accessories. I have a necklace that has my mom and daughter on it, which my mom gave me as a gift. When I’m not wearing that, I have a Tiffany T Smile necklace with little diamonds on it. I always say that my ‘T’ makes me smile. 

“Sometimes I’ll show my husband something I purchase and he’ll be like, ‘That’s for a Los Angeles basketball game, not a Salt Lake one.’ Or, ‘You should wear that to dinner in New York.’ Sometimes I agree, but sometimes I think, ‘Nope, now I’m definitely wearing that in Salt Lake.’ I think the city is also changing.

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“I remember my first day moving into my dorm at BYU (Brigham Young University) and wearing pink opaque tights with orange fishnets over them. I thought I was all the rage. But before school even started, my parents heard one of the RAs saying, ‘She’s really going to be somebody we have to watch out for.’ And I was like, ‘I have two pairs of tights on! These are not racy fishnets.’

“People should dress however they want. I love it when people message me and say, ‘I bought my first hot-pink thing,’ or ‘I’m trying to wear more color because of you!’ That is everything to me. When people ask me about how to wear more color, I always say you have to start somewhere. If you’re always buying black items because they go together, you’re never going to have something different to wear. I don’t think I could wear a black T-shirt and jeans now if I wanted to. Can you imagine if someone caught me in a picture wearing that? Never.

“I just did an event for Stonewall Gives Back, which is the charity for the Stonewall Inn in New York. So, of course, I wanted to wear a queer designer. I was in Christian Siriano, who is a good friend of mine. The dress probably wasn’t the right piece for the weather, but it was the newest one he’d made me and I was dying to wear it.

“I always want to make sure I’m representing something. Sometimes it’s about telling a story. My husband used to be on the board of Kodak, so when we would do events with them at the Sundance Film Festival, I had this vintage camera-looking Judith Leiber purse that I would build my outfits around.

“For one of my earlier dates with my husband, Todd, he took me to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, which is really special and everybody calls it the ‘Nerd Prom.’ I picked out a beautiful blue Monique Lhuillier dress. I think he wanted to avoid a ‘Pretty Woman’ moment, but he knew I probably didn’t typically go to events like this and [he] wanted to be generous, not creepy. So he said, ‘I would love to buy you a pair of shoes or a purse if you’re getting the gown.’ I was like, ‘No, no, that’s so generous and sweet but maybe a bit odd. So he surprised me with a Judith Leiber tiger clutch, which started my collection. 

“I’ve picked most of the others myself and I think he feels like I have too many now. I have a shelf of them and he came in here laughing yesterday saying, ‘Your office is getting a little like Ariel’s cave of wonders. This is all going to fall in on you one day.’ But I love that tiger.

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“There’s a Judith Leiber sandwich [clutch] that just came out. I bought that and I got the one that’s a stack of pancakes with melted butter and syrup on them. It’s so cute. I’ve been wanting the cupcake bag for forever. It’s the one in the ‘Sex and The City’ movie when Charlotte’s daughter puts Carrie’s phone in it on her wedding day so she doesn’t know Big called her. There’s also an eggplant from the archives that I have my eye on. I’ve been talking to Leiber about that, so maybe it’ll show up on a special birthday or anniversary one day.

“All of my ‘Real Housewives’ confessional looks came from my closet. I was really adamant that I wanted to buy nothing new for filming. I wanted to be true to my style, and I felt like the only way to feel like I wasn’t pandering to the audience was to wear pieces I already had. 

“We started filming right around New York Fashion Week and I had just seen this red look on Christian Siriano’s runway. I said to him, ‘I have to have it.’ And he said, ‘Just promise me it’s not for the show.’ I told him I wanted it for my confessional look and he said, ‘Okay, fine.’ Everything else, including the Christopher John Rogers corset and eye tuxedo and orange look [both also by Siriano], are all outfits I’ve worn before.

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“I think if I did another season [of the show], I would choose my looks a little more carefully. You do film multiple times in each outfit, and I don’t know if I will ever wear that orange dress again because I’ve spent so much time going through really hard moments in it. I have to be willing to retire confessional looks.

“I follow a lot of editors on Instagram, I see a lot of stuff on the runway and have subscriptions to fashion magazines. That’s how I find a lot of the designers I wear.

“I was exposed to Christopher John Rogers through his early pieces on Net-a-Porter and I loved his use of color and structure. I wear a lot of Brandon Maxwell. I love how you can see the trajectory of his life through the colors and shapes he uses.

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“I love Wes Gordon at Carolina Herrera. We do a lot together, and he is probably one of my closer designer friends. I love the way he pays homage to Mrs. Herrera and her signature designs while putting his own modern spin on it. Once you get to work with a house or company and get to really know them, it’s super hard to not want to buy everything they make.

“I’ve been to the Gucci Labs in Florence and seen how they shape the bamboo for the bag handles. I got to meet Mr. Valentino and see the couture process in Rome. Once you feel like you’re part of it, you do, in a way, feel like they’re designing for you and it’s really special.

“Pretty much every weekday I spend a half hour flipping through what’s new on Shopbop, Net-a-Porter and Farfetch. Net-a-Porter always feels like the really classic staples for my wardrobe — a great blazer, good jeans, stuff like The Row or Gabriela Hearst that I’ll own forever. Farfetch has a bit more of a European edge and fun, quirky vibe. They have the Moschino bags and the crazy Gucci sunglasses. I keep very substantive wishlists on all of those websites.

“I definitely sit at runway shows a couple of times a year and plan out a buy, which are purchases made well ahead of time. But I also walk into stores and have a ‘wow’ feeling and just buy a lot of different things. I’ve made a name for myself as someone who buys and wears clothes, so at any given time there are 20 people texting me from different brands and stores saying, ‘We just got this in, I thought of you!’ I have to be like Whack-a-Mole and tell myself, ‘I don’t need that. I don’t want this. I can’t spend any more money today.’

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“I like to shop in person. I like brick and mortar, I like to touch things. I love shopping at Bergdorf Goodman when I’m in New York. I used to love Barneys. I like to walk into different brand stores in different cities and see the different edits. 

“I’m not a big Hermès collector, I’m really not. But there’s a special Hermès bag that is silly. Everybody wants these Himalayans and crocodile Birkins to show off this ostentatious wealth. But this one has a smiley face on it and legs that hang off of the side. It kind of looks like a child’s backpack, which is what I find so funny about it. That’s what I’ve asked for for Christmas. So we’ll see how seriously Todd takes this very unserious purse.”

Homepage photo: Todd Williamson/WBTV via Getty Images

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Source: Fashionista.com