Caftans. Oversize sunglasses. Sky-high heels. Statement coats. These are likely some of the style elements that come to mind when you think of Rachel Zoe. Indeed, one could argue that the style expert has become just as known for her signature bohemian aesthetic as she has for her multifaceted career as a stylist, entrepreneur, and TV star. So perhaps it will come as no surprise that Zoe’s retro-glam style has been embedded since childhood.
“The earliest memories I have of styling myself, like in eighth, ninth, 10th grade — everyone was dressing one way, and I absolutely was dressing another,” says Zoe to The Zoe Report. “Even when I would go away on these summer things and everyone would be in, like, sweatpants, I would style myself and accessorize myself to climb mountains. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I really have always been this embarrassing person.’”
Embarrassing? No. Fashion-centric? Absolutely. In fact, it was at this early age that Zoe established some steadfast style rules that have served as a personal blueprint throughout her life. These principles have helped shape the vintage glam aesthetic that has made Zoe the fashion figure everyone knows and loves today. And they all revolve around making a statement in whatever she chooses to wear on a given day. “I was always the most overdressed in any room,” she says. “Even if I was in jeans, I also had on a belt, jewelry, sunglasses, and a red lip. I don’t remember a time where I was, like, casually dressed, put on sweats, and left the house. I don’t remember that time.”
And that’s not to say that Zoe’s style hasn’t evolved over the years. (“I will regret the ’80s forever, let’s not go there.”) Motherhood, for example, caused a natural sartorial change to occur, one that she didn’t anticipate. “Without knowing it, even when I became a new mom, my style shifted, because it’s like, ‘Wait, what can I throw on, look semi-okay in, and be able to hold my kids all day?’ There’s different points in your life where you dress different.”
In recent years, post-divorce, the style expert has experienced yet another sartorial change, one that reflects her new, “freer” chapter and self. “I don’t think it was a conscious thing of like, ‘I’m going to start dressing and showing more of my body.’ It’s just all of a sudden, I literally one day was like, ‘Oh, I’ll try that. OK.’ So it’s actually reflected more of a feeling, I think, of being more free in myself.”
Ahead, see the personal style rules that have served as a through line for Zoe throughout the years.
Rule #1: Don’t Overthink It
Considering her successful career as a stylist to some of the world’s biggest stars, one would think Zoe put the same amount of time and effort into her own ensembles. But she says this is not the case at all. In fact, the Zoe Report founder keeps it instinctual when dressing for every day. “Whatever I do, it has to be effortless,” says Zoe. “If it feels fussy or that I’m constantly fixing myself or readjusting, I can’t do it. And I think that people have sometimes questioned that about me. They’re like, ‘Oh, why is everything like a caftan?’ Or, ‘Why is everything like a wide leg?’ ‘Why don’t you wear things that are corseted and bodycon?’”
For Zoe, feeling uncomfortable in her skin affects her output, how she interacts with people, and how she moves through her day. So, for that very reason, she’ll spend all of 20 minutes picking out an ensemble, typically reaching for the first thing that naturally comes to mind for the particular event on her agenda, whether that be morning drop-off or an evening work event. “Obviously, it’s easier for me because it’s kind of how I breathe, through fashion,” she explains. “It’s the lens in which I sort of approach everything, right? Visual. But it has to feel right, and it has to be easy.”
Rule #2: When It Comes To Jewelry, More Is More
“I don’t think I’ve ever gotten dressed without jewelry,” says Zoe. “I don’t think I’ve ever not had a minimum of four, six pieces of jewelry on. Like, without even knowing it, you know what I mean? It’s not a thought of, ‘Should I wear jewelry?’ It’s like, ‘What is the jewelry?’ So I think it’s just part of my being.”
Rule #3: The Heel Should Always Be High
When asked if she ever wears flats, Zoe responds with a deadpan “No.” Indeed, on the deepest scroll through her Instagram feed, you would be hard-pressed to find the style expert in a heel shorter than 3 inches. “But that’s, like, since I’m 13 years old,” she explains. “I mean, that’s my lifelong, that’s not even new. That’s like a forever thing.”
Rule #4: Flares Forever
In the rare occurrence that you catch Zoe in jeans, you better believe it won’t be a slim silhouette. True to her vintage, boho-loving aesthetic, the fashion expert sticks to a trouser or flared style, preferably in a darker wash. “I maybe have 20 pairs of black flares in suede, in leather, in velvet, in knit, in quite literally everything,” she says. “And it’s all the same silhouette. I started making them for my collection, and I wear them forever. I mean, to me, that is my jean. Black flares for me are like denim.”
Rule #5: Don’t Forget Your Sunnies
“I wear sunnies even when it’s raining,” Zoe says with a laugh. “What is wrong with me? When I say these things out loud, I’m literally like, ‘Am I OK?’ Like, no wonder so many people make fun of me.”
Rule #6: Jackets Are Year-Round Essentials
One would assume that any LA dweller would see outerwear as an afterthought, something you carelessly grab as you run out the door in the event that the weather dips below 70 degrees. But those who know Zoe (or avidly clock her ensembles on social media and on RHOBH) know that some sort of statement jacket is a nonnegotiable, even when it’s warm out. “Be it a lightweight or like faux fur, leather, fringe, I would say a jacket is just something I never leave home without,” she says. “By the way, I was at Kaius’ school this morning at a pancake breakfast in fur. 100%, 7 a.m., I swear to God. My friend came over to me, she’s like, ‘You actually are everything that you are. You are the most authentically you person at 7 in the morning.’”
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