How I Shop: Michaela Jaé Rodriguez

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.”

Michaela Jaé Rodriguez says it herself — she’s a sartorial “chameleon.”

“I’m very body-conscious with clothing, so I love a nice, fitted, very sleek, and sexy, long dress,” she tells Fashionista. “I also love to be edgy, so if you give me a ripped jean with a high boot and a crop top shirt, I’m giving you street girl, I’ll do it all.”

When you zoom out from the context of fashion and look at Rodriguez’s life, it’s easy to apply “chameleon” to any facet of her successes: Be it on screen (“Pose,” “American Horror Story,” “Loot,” “Tick, Tick…Boom”), on stage (“Rent,” “Little Shop of Horrors”) or in music (she released her debut album “33” in September 2023), Rodriguez sees her options as “unlimited.” (Cue “Wicked” reference.)

For instance, she segued into the beauty space last year as the face of Charlotte Tilbury‘s Pillow Talk franchise. Becoming the face of a beauty brand is likely on the bucket list for many celebrities, but Rodriguez says she was sold on the “small things” that went into the partnership, like Tilbury (the person)’s likable nature and genuine “love for the people she works with.”

“She creates a very safe space,” Rodriguez shares. “You always want to feel comfortable when it comes to beauty. You want to feel like you can have any kind of fun and [Tilbury] makes it very, very easy for that. She’s also very serious about her work and advocacy through beauty, and I was like, ‘I just want to align myself with this.'”

Ahead, Rodriguez discusses her beauty philosophy, relationships with designers like Thom Browne and Christian Siriano, her shopping habits and hopes for the industry.

“My beauty philosophy is beauty is obviously in the eye of the beholder, so make what you will of it. Whatever you do with it, the world is your oyster. You can do anything.”

“My relationship with fashion is very sister and sister. I appreciate both a good and cohesive look. I love putting different types of styles together and playing with looks too. I’ve done that ever since I was younger: My mom and I were always playing with looks and she would give me styling points, so getting enthralled in fashion was something that was embedded in me since I was younger. When I started meeting Christian Siriano and going to his fashion shows or going to the Met Gala and wearing Thom Browne or wearing new and up-and-coming [designers], it was the height of what fashion meant to me and I realized how deep in it I want to be and still am in.

“Andre Leon Talley is a huge fashion inspiration for me. He was one of the founding fathers of fashion — along with some other greats — and I learned a lot from him when he was here, bless his heart. […] Also if I can give a shout-out to my stylists, Wayman + Micah. They’re really amazing and though they have been here, they’re getting their flowers like they deserve and rightfully so. Also, [I really look to] Law Roach.

“One of my favorite outfits was at my second Golden Globes red carpet. That was when Ryan Murphy had me stand up and be acknowledged. I wore Balmain, and it was so architectural, but it was still so soft and beautiful. The color was stunning and the satin that it was created in looked like I was wrapped in a cute little blue Christmas present. When I wore that I was like, ‘Oh, I feel like I’m in my element.’ I feel like the dress was not taking over me, nor was I taking over the dress. We were working in tandem — another ‘Wicked’ reference — and everything went so smoothly together.

“I like to go in as authentic and transparent as possible [when building relationships with designers] so that they already know who we are. It’s a relationship at the end of the day, so we’re feeling each other out and figuring things out.

I’m so grateful to Thom [Browne] for walking my first fashion show in Paris for his House. That speaks a lot of volumes for someone to call you in and for you to open and close their show. And then Christian Siriano was the first person who dressed me for ‘Pose’ on my first red carpet ever. He really went out on a limb. That relationship means a lot to me. And Jason Wu — I love Jason. Jason also looked out for me and invited me to a lot of fashion events, taught me and showed me the ropes. These are really influential people in my life that I will always look up to. 

“When I shop online I make sure I put everything in that cart, and when I’m looking at the cart and how much is in it, I realize I need to pull back from the cart. I have more of a limit when I’m going in person: I’m just like, ‘I can’t, don’t do it, girl, don’t put it in this cart because you’re not going to be able to carry it to the car if you do all of it.’

“Charlotte Tilbury has a fragrance line out right now that I’m in love with. It comes in a little book, you open the book up, and then there are little compartments of small books that are the fragrance. I actually have one to not touch, I’m just going to keep them there. 

“I love Coach. I’ve been wearing Coach for a long time. And it’s funny, my mom gave me a little heirloom, a Coach bag that I’ve been wearing forever. I love Louis Vuitton, especially its boots — one of my favorite well-constructed boots by a fashion house. Gucci is really, really cute. I like a belt from them. I won’t say I’ll get a dress from Gucci, but I will definitely get a belt and a nice little pantsuit.

“One of my favorite [brands] is Chanel — well, the purses. The purses are fantastic. They come in a different array of styles and they’re limited editions.

“My first designer purchase was a pair of heels by Christian Louboutin. I was doing ‘Rent’ (the musical) at that time, and I had no money, girl, but it was worth it. I walked in those shoes until the bottoms were brown. I made sure I got my money’s worth.

“I just hope [in fashion and beauty] there’s continual humanization of any human being. Especially the most marginalized individuals on this earth, which are obviously trans people, LGBTQIA+ people, people of color and the list goes on, but we need more humanizing and less sensationalizing.

We need to create space and agency for queer people, especially trans women. For us as trans people, there’s always a narrative that’s built around us, and that’s a default. So we have to continually stand out, be the examples, be the leaders that we are, show them otherwise and take up space. But don’t take up space aggressively or in a way where it’s invasive or abrasive. Instead, go into space with grace, and understanding, and if there is discourse, still address it with grace. It’ll do you much more justice.”

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Source: Fashionista.com