Tracee Ellis Ross – On Her Iconic Fashion Inheritance, Shopping Obsessions and Wardrobe Maintenance Tips.

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Good Buy – Tracee Ellis Ross on Her Iconic Fashion Inheritance, Shopping Obsessions, and Wardrobe Maintenance Tips

Release Date: November 22, 2024
Guest: Tracee Ellis Ross
Hosts: Leah Chernikoff & Lynette Nylander

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of The Good Buy, hosts Leah Chernikoff and Lynette Nylander delve into the vibrant fashion world of Tracee Ellis Ross. As a Golden Globe-winning actor, producer, founder of Pattern Beauty, and a passionate fashion enthusiast, Tracee offers a compelling glimpse into her shopping habits, favorite pieces, and the influences that shape her iconic style.

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Influence of Family and Early Years

Tracee attributes a significant portion of her fashion sense to her upbringing and her mother, the legendary Diana Ross.

• Early Exposure to Style:
  "From a young age, I was... witnessing a woman that used clothing as a way to express herself and to have a sense of agency," [07:42] Tracee shares, highlighting how Diana Ross's impeccable taste and glamorous presence deeply influenced her own aesthetic.

• Shopping with Purpose:
  "I would take things out of her closet and put them in my closet to make them seem that they were mine," [09:08] she recalls, illustrating her early desire to cultivate a personal style inspired by her mother.

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Shopping Philosophy

Tracee's approach to shopping is both intentional and resourceful, balancing luxury with practicality.

• Hunting for Treasures:
  "I hunt. I don't believe in waste. I don't have a personal shopper," [04:35] she explains, emphasizing her hands-on approach to finding unique pieces that resonate with her personal style.

• Value and Care:
  "If you buy something over $100, every compliment you get knocks off $5... over $500, every compliment knocks off $50," [17:53] Tracee outlines her philosophy on valuing high-quality purchases and the importance of maintaining them.

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Wardrobe Maintenance Tips

Maintaining a well-curated wardrobe is a cornerstone of Tracee's fashion strategy.

• Regular Care:
  Tracee discusses her commitment to preserving her favorite items: "I have a really good shoe repair. I constantly am fixing the heels on my shoes... getting things cleaned," [18:26] ensuring her pieces remain in pristine condition.

• Strategic Wearing:
  "I wear things over and over again. It doesn't leave," [29:54] she notes, maximizing the longevity and versatility of her wardrobe staples.

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Favorite Purchases and Repeat Buys

Tracee shares her beloved items that she returns to time and again.

• Bottega Veneta Puddle Boots:
  "I have five pairs of those... they look like candy," [24:58] illustrating her fondness for colorful and functional footwear.

• Balenciaga Triple S Sneakers:
  Despite having an extensive collection, Tracee remains passionate about her chunky Balenciagas: "I might have about 12 Balenciaga sneakers," [26:38] showcasing her love for bold, statement shoes.

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Shopping Regrets

Even fashion enthusiasts like Tracee experience moments of buyer's remorse.

• High Heels:
  "The biggest regret buys... high heels," [18:56] she admits, balancing her love for stilettos with the physical discomfort they can cause.

• Missed Opportunities:
  Tracee laments not acquiring certain coveted items: "The balloon shoe from Loewe. I wanted it so badly. I couldn't find it," [23:39] highlighting the thrill and occasional frustration of the hunt.

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Dream and Recent Buys

Tracee's current fashion pursuits and latest additions reflect her evolving style.

• Dream Buys:
  "A belt from Alaia with all this sort of cut out leather... got all my size," [27:50] she expresses her ongoing quest for unique accessories that complement her wardrobe.

• Recent Acquisitions:
  Tracee excitedly mentions her latest purchases:

  • "Eco-friendly red leather pants from Frankie Shop... they dry clean well," [30:14]
  • "Azzedine Alaia pink nylon balloon pants," [31:17]
    demonstrating her commitment to sustainable and high-fashion pieces.

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Fashion as Self-Expression

For Tracee, clothing is a powerful tool for personal expression and storytelling.

• Creative Armor:
  "Clothing is how we wear our insides on the outside... a form of creative expression," [33:02] Tracee eloquently describes her relationship with fashion, viewing it as both protection and artistry.

• Television Wardrobe Integration:
  Tracee reveals how her personal style seamlessly integrates into her characters: "The first season... I brought my clothes in," [13:33] ensuring her on-screen presence authentically reflects her unique taste.

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Conclusion

Tracee Ellis Ross embodies the perfect blend of passion, practicality, and creativity in her fashion journey. Her insights into shopping philosophy, wardrobe maintenance, and the influence of her iconic heritage offer invaluable lessons for anyone looking to cultivate a meaningful and stylish wardrobe. The Good Buy episode with Tracee is a treasure trove of inspiration for fashion enthusiasts eager to embrace their personal style with confidence and flair.

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Notable Quotes

• Influence of Mother:
  "From a young age, I was... using clothing as a way to express herself," [07:42] – Tracee Ellis Ross

• Shopping Philosophy:
  "I hunt. I don't believe in waste." [04:35] – Tracee Ellis Ross

• Wardrobe Maintenance:
  "I take great care of them. I don't like waste or excess." [17:53] – Tracee Ellis Ross

• Fashion as Expression:
  "Clothing is how we wear our insides on the outside, you know, so it's a form of creative expression." [33:02] – Tracee Ellis Ross

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This detailed summary encapsulates the essence of Tracee Ellis Ross's insights on fashion, providing listeners with a comprehensive understanding of her style journey and the principles that guide her shopping habits.

Transcript

[Lynette Nylander]

Harper's Bazaar's the Goodbye is sponsored by Google. Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Goodbye, a new podcast from Harper's Bazaar where we invite celebrities, designers, models and tastemakers to talk shop. What they buy, where they got it, and why it matters.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Come down the fashion rabbit hole with us and take a peek inside the closets and shopping carts of the world's most stylish people.

[Lynette Nylander]

Harper's Bazaar has over 150 years of experience. Experience analyzing and celebrating great style.

[Leah Chernikoff]

And we have decades of experience as fashion editors figuring it out along the way, making a few mistakes. But, you know, I think we get it together.

[Lynette Nylander]

Hello, I'm Lynette Nylander, and I'm the executive digital director of Harper's Bazaar.

[Leah Chernikoff]

I'm Leah Chernikoff, the executive editor at Harper's Bazaar, and this is the goodbye. Okay, Lynette, what is your goodbye this week? You are always shopping more than I am. I'm like, fantasy shopping fact.

[Lynette Nylander]

I would like.

[Leah Chernikoff]

I think it's admirable.

[Lynette Nylander]

No, I don't want. Let the record stay.

[Leah Chernikoff]

She's not.

[Lynette Nylander]

She's. She's running aside. She's very busy gal. But she went to. When she. When she rests her head at night. Yes, she thinks of a few things. I.

[Leah Chernikoff]

But you click. You click buy.

[Lynette Nylander]

I click buy. I. You know, I want to. Again, I want to rest that also, I don't always click by some. I fantasy shop. I think about things. But did you ever see that Keanu Reeves quote where he says, like, you're here for a really short time, like, walk in the sunshine, do this, do that. That's the way I feel about the things I want. So I just kind of go for it. I make things happen for myself. I think this week, I like that is there is a pair of Lisa Eisner earrings. They're very beautiful. They're like a lapis stone, and they have a. Like a gold drop and they're really gorgeous. I would love those. Okay, so, Laya, what is your goodbye of the week?

[Leah Chernikoff]

Okay, I've been thinking about this, and I thought you would be very excited for me that I went out into the real world. I went into an actual store and I bought a thing.

[Lynette Nylander]

Guys, I think it's also really important to know that Leia is what we call the fantasy shopper, phantom shopper. She loves to look for things, put it into her virtual cart, add to cart. But it never quite. We never quite finished the transaction. So. So it's big news here on the.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Good and like going to a Place. Like, that's a huge effort.

[Lynette Nylander]

Let's hear it.

[Leah Chernikoff]

I did it. I went to Tory Burch because I love Tory Burch's shoes right now. And she has these little ballet flats. And I'm really a sucker for this trend. Like, I know it's been going. It's like going to end soon and. But I don't care. I want all of them. And she has these little ballet flats that have like a square toe, like a point shoe. And so I got those.

[Lynette Nylander]

That's very good. Great, great. Full transition shoe.

[Leah Chernikoff]

And they're really comfortable. I'm just, I'm really thrilled with them. And I love ballet. So anyway, they make me happy. And you can walk in them, which is really important. Our guest today is a Golden Globe winning actor, producer, the founder of Pattern Beauty, and a serious, serious fashion enthusiast.

[Lynette Nylander]

So much a fashion enthusiast that she started out in the fashion closet as an assistant alongside Harper's Bazaar's editor in chief, Samira Nasser. She loves fashion, guys. She's not afraid of it. She will wear a look. She will turn a look. She believes in a look for every day.

[Leah Chernikoff]

So without further ado, we are so, so thrilled to welcome Tracee Ellis Ross.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yes. Very happy to be here to speak about being a very serious fashion enthusiast.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Yes. So we want to ask about your shopping philosophy. Yeah, this will help.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

This will lead us.

[Lynette Nylander]

I think this is a perfect.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Okay, so tell us about everything happening here.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

So the, the treasure that is this bag is. It's the Loewe Paseo in the extra large. And I believe this color is oxblood. That's what I've been calling it. I don't know what they call it. I saw it in, in some picture somewhere in this size. And the reason I knew it was this size is cause it was standing next to a human being. So it wasn't the regular size. And I have a smaller one. And I hunted online and then I called a couple stores and they were like, no, it doesn't come in that size. I'm like, no, I'm telling you, there's an extra large and I found it.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Where? How?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I don't even remember what. Well, I have a problem with shopping.

[Lynette Nylander]

Online, which we're gonna get into. I think it's quite affirming that you.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Hunt and I hunt.

[Lynette Nylander]

There's. There would be an assumption that you kind of get gifted everything and you.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

You know, I get gifted really beautiful things. I do not have a personal shopper, as we know. I work with Carla Welch for the extraordinary, fabulous and amazing Carla Welch from red carpet and work things. She actually found this dress, which I love. But these are my earrings and my shoes and my ring and my bag. I hunt. I don't believe in waste. I don't have a personal shopper, and I am on a text basis with most boutiques. I do love to shop where I get a discount at certain designer boutiques. But I also am a big online searcher, hunter, shopper, and I've always been that person. And this is my regular everyday purse. People are like, are you going somewhere? Is that your luggage? And I'm like, it's my purse, all right. And I have a couple of trinkets on the side. So I from Loewe, have a red panda. I have a pink elephant. And then I have my Lisa Eisner good luck black onyx fringe like tassel that she gave me for my birthday. And so, yes, I love a treat, I love a toy. But the thing about the Lisa Eisner. Let me just let you guys hear it.

[Lynette Nylander]

Yeah, let's hear it. Yeah.

[Leah Chernikoff]

So good audio.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Really lovely to feel like you have angels following you. But you talked. There's two things you said. Number one, I was an intern. I don't think I could even qualify as an assistant. I was not being paid. Do assistants get paid? I would imagine.

[Leah Chernikoff]

I think that's new. And interns have to now, is that.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

So they got away with a lot of free labor from me and Samira.

[Leah Chernikoff]

That's right.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

So I assisted the market editor. And also I jumped back and forth between Leslie Johnson and Ricky Vederina at the time. And that's when Samira and I met in 1994.

[Lynette Nylander]

And how did those formative years kind of feed and shape your style now and your approach to style?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

The truth is, I think my biggest sort of shift as a lover of style and clothes and fashion came when I moved to Europe for 8th and 9th grade. I went to the American school in Paris and then boarding school in Switzerland and becoming a child of the world. And also I went to Le Rose, which is a very expensive boarding school. And there were a lot of very, very wealthy people there. And the students my age at that time were wearing little fur coats and Supergas sneakers and tracksuits. And I sort of fell in love with this mix of high and low and a sense of one's personal style versus just like wearing, like, a look and sort of dressing and using it as a way to express yourself. I was always into clothes. I was the girl who would sit in My mom's quick change booth. I mean, you can't talk about my style without talking about what I am born of. I mean, I am born of a style icon queen who just redefined all of it. And sadly, I had access to her closet.

[Leah Chernikoff]

That doesn't sound too sad.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I say that for her. So from a young age, I was. There's so many fun stories about this, but I think my. My shopping sort of aesthetic and what I love was defined from my mother and her sort of intense sense of glamour.

[Lynette Nylander]

Yeah. I have to ask, Is your mother a big shopper?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

No.

[Lynette Nylander]

Really?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Not at all.

[Lynette Nylander]

Guys, just. I will say this. Tracee Ellis Ross's mother is Diana Ross. So we're talking about somebody who has the pantheon of wardrobes. I.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

It is genuinely a pantheon.

[Lynette Nylander]

I can't. Tell me. Just tell me.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

It's, first of all, like, even her. Her. You know, the storage that has all of the old costumes and stage things. I mean, one time I went in there, and she was like, what are you doing? And I was in there, like, taking pictures of myself in gowns and dresses. My mom has had incredible and impeccable taste since she was very young. Like, many people that are in her position, there's, like, a lot of stuff, you know. So in college, I called home once, and my mom didn't answer. And then. Cause that's back when you used to get a busy signal, you know, or, like, no one would answer. There was no answering machine. Anyway, so she finally answered, and I was like, what are you doing? She said, I'm in the garage. We are cleaning out the garage for Aunt Rita to take stuff for resale. And I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Lynette Nylander]

Who won the first fly?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

No, this is what happened. My mother learned nothing could leave the house without me seeing it first. And so I would come home, and there would be garbage bags, black garbage bags, filled with the most extraordinary things, and I would decide what Aunt Rita could take, what we could sell, what, you know, whatever. And I'm still doing the same thing. And my mom just has. She has always had impeccable taste, and I have a lot of her things, and she has a lot of her things, and it definitely defined a lot of, you know, my love of. But, no, my mom isn't a big shopper. She does shop, but she's not a big shopper.

[Lynette Nylander]

I just. Well, I mean, actually, I do understand. And when you're.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I think she maybe used to be a huge shopper, like, back in the day. Yeah. My mom is 80 and you know, she has this very sweet philosophy right now that, like, she did that and she did it better than most, I.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Would say the best.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yeah. And she really just wants to be around her kids and her grandkids. So it's not really about all that stuff anymore for her. Although she's just stunning. My mom also really loved to wear sweatpants and high heels. She would wear sweatpants and Susan Ben is wore in Edwards heels. North beach leather. She used to have these north beach leather, like pencil, like a cigarette pants and a jacket in like pastel colors. She had yellow and powder blue and purple. So I was seeing not just an incredibly glamorous woman, but a woman that used clothing as a way to express herself and to be. To have a sense of agency. So from a young age, that's what I was seeing. And then I just started coveting. So I would take things out of her closet and put them in my closet to make them seem that they were mine. I learned a couple of very to answer the first question you asked without going too much. Off course. My philosophy around shopping comes from, I can give you two stories. One, I would plead a case to my mother around school shopping that she thought was hilarious because I would try and explain to her that school shopping was once a year, but that fashion came in seasons.

[Lynette Nylander]

I love that philosophy. I need to use that.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

And I was like, mom, you can't just shop once a year. Like, designers put things out. She's like, little girl, we went shopping, we did the school shopping. That's all you got. So what she said to me at that time was, if you want to buy clothes more than just when I set you up for school, you better get yourself a job. So I got a job at Ralph Lauren. And she said, you can spend a lot of money on your clothes, but you have to take care of them. And I have taken that to heart. I cherish and treasure the pieces that I buy. I take great care of them. I don't know if you've seen, but I do hand washing videos on social media. I mean, I treasure my things, and so I really do. I don't like waste or excess. I really wear my clothes. I really utilize my clothes. And then the other one is around 13 years old somewhere in there. My sister Chudney was. Her room was right next to me and she knocked on the door and I was like, I'm naked. And she was like, why are you. I said, I'm trying something on. She said, you're always trying something on. And I opened the door and I cracked and I said, chudney, I don't know if you understand, but shopping is a 24 hour, seven day a week affair. You never know when you're gonna get hit with something good.

[Lynette Nylander]

You did not say that. You remember it down to the oh, yes, ma'am.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

And I still believe this. You never know when you're gonna get hit with something good. It could be in the pages of a magazine. It could be, you know, and so those are my two, like, treasure. I work very hard for my money. I've made a wonderful living, but I know the value of the money that I make. And so I don't mind spending a lot of money on pieces. But as you can see on my Instagram, I wear things over and over again. I've brought that into my characters on tv. You have. So I repeat clothing in my clothing closets for a show. And those are. Those would be my guiding forces on my shopping.

[Lynette Nylander]

And we want to just touch on that because an amazing thing we found out when we were doing the research for your episode was that in Girlfriend, your character Joan's wardrobe was largely your own closet.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yeah. The first season, traditionally in Hollywood, black productions, productions with a black cast, or any Asian, anything other than white or sort of mainstream usually get a smaller budget for things. So we had a very small wardrobe budget. And I felt that Joan Carol Clayton should dress a particular way. So I was like, no problem, I'll bring my clothes in. And I have a lot of those clothes still.

[Lynette Nylander]

That's amazing. And where are they?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

It's very hard for me to get rid of things. There's archive closets in my garage. I don't have stuff away from me. And I often go hunting through the archive closets. I'm incredibly organized. I could probably have better, like, temperature for the archive stuff, but I have. I still wear all the same things. When I discovered what worked on my body, like, the same things still work on my body. And my size has fluctuated. And right now, at the age I'm at, like, every other day, I'm a new size. I don't even know what to tell you at 51, like, this week I'm like, oh, my God, I'm so small. Next week I'm like, wow, this is very interesting. Just you go with the flow.

[Lynette Nylander]

So on the goodbye, we are always breaking down people's purchases. You know, this buy, that buy. And I have to ask you, what was your first buy? What was the buy that made you feel like you had made It.

[Leah Chernikoff]

So we really believe, like you said, like, clothes tell a story. So when you. When you felt like you'd arrived, what did you buy yourself that made you feel that kind of confidence?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I had two pieces. Okay. And when girlfriends happened, it was the first time I started fully officially supporting myself. Like, I took over my medical. Like, my mom was no longer paying for. You know, I don't think I was on her insurance anymore. And I was like, okay, every time the show gets picked up for another season, I'll buy myself something. So after the first season, I didn't buy anything memorable. When the second season we got picked up, I had longed for and wanted forever the Vivienne Westwood pirate boot. At the time, it was something like $780. It was so much money. It was insane. But still a lot of money. Now it's still a lot of money. But think about it this way. You think about a boot like that, today would be about $4,000.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

So I'm not saying 780 is not a lot of money. It is a lot of money. But that same boot today is probably, like, $4,000. Okay? So. And at the time, and I don't know if they make the pirate boot anymore, I bought it in brown. Kate Moss had worn it in multiple pictures. It was her favorite boot that she would wear. Kate Moss was all over my wall. And they had to measure your foot and draw an outline of your foot in the store.

[Lynette Nylander]

Yeah, they used to make those boots.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

They would make them for you. And then I had to wait for them.

[Leah Chernikoff]

How long?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I don't even remember. But it was months, forever. And I couldn't wait. And I still have them. And I will tell you that a gentleman was in my closet. Cause they presented my closet. He was like, what are these? Some sort of antique fl. Is this, like an antique army boot? I said, no, it's the pirate boot. He was like. And I was like, oh, sir, you.

[Lynette Nylander]

And I will never work out.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Oh, sir, you have failed.

[Lynette Nylander]

Right?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I was like, you don't know the pirate boot. So that was the first piece. And I still have them. They're so beat up and, like, they're treasures. And then the third season, when we got picked up, I bought the very large red Vernis, the red patent leather Louis Vuitton, like, huge tote, like, about this size, which I still have. I've had the straps redone three times. It's a fabulous beach bag. It is stunning. It is gorgeous. And it's still. Every time I see it, I think. And I always wanted the Stephen Sprouse Speedies.

[Lynette Nylander]

Harry.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Oh, yeah, yeah. And I. I mean, there was no way I could afford. I was like, great. Those are amazing. Were they Steven Sprouse? Yeah, Stephen Sprouse.

[Lynette Nylander]

Okay.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

That was the. And years later, I bought one vintage, and it's gorge. I love that. Yeah.

[Lynette Nylander]

Before we move on, one thing I want to just touch upon is you bringing up your Louis Vuitton bag that you fix the straps on and everything is one of your tips and tricks, because we love to give people here the goodbye. The tips and tricks on how to not only build your wardrobe, but maintain your wardrobe. Do you think that's a big thing?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I do.

[Lynette Nylander]

Yeah.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I do. I think if you're going to spend money, because there's a lot of disposable fashion that exists in our, you know, in our culture right now. I love classic pieces, and I also try to buy things that I feel like I'm gonna wear over and over. And one of my philosophies is if you buy something over $100, every compliment you get knocks off $5.

[Leah Chernikoff]

I really love this.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

If you buy something over $500, every compliment knocks off $50. Oh, it goes up and it goes up. Okay, so. So my bag. My bag is free.

[Leah Chernikoff]

That's what I'm talking about.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

It's free. We're free.

[Lynette Nylander]

I love that.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

But I do think when you buy quality things, take care of them. Like, I have a really good shoe repair. I constantly am fixing the heels on my shoes because, you know, it sticks in something and the leather sort of rides up. Getting things cleaned.

[Lynette Nylander]

Moving on.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yes. Okay.

[Lynette Nylander]

To your regret. Buy.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Okay.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Like, have you ever had buyer's remorse? Did you ever purchase something and the next day think, like, oh, what did I do?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yeah, okay. Honestly, my house is the biggest one, but I think it's a normal thing. What the initial response after spending. I mean, it's one thing if I'm gonna spend money on a bag. If I got crazy about a pirate boot, you can imagine they gave me the keys, I closed the door behind me, and I was like, I don't want it. It's too much money. If I can't do this, do you know how many shoes I can buy? Oh, that's actually a funny story. But mostly I am consistent in my shopping. Recently, I will tell you that the biggest regret buys, and I'm really trying to train myself out of this, are high heels. As I said, I'm 51. I've always had bad knees I was a track runner, and now I have a torn labrum in my hip that I didn't want to have surgery on. So I'm working on. And I love a high heel so much like I love a stiletto. I was a so Kate girl. You know what I mean?

[Leah Chernikoff]

Those are so high.

[Lynette Nylander]

That's.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

That's a torture device. That's not a shoe.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Yeah.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

But they give such a beautiful leg. Yes.

[Lynette Nylander]

For a. Listen.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Amazing.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Intersecting.

[Lynette Nylander]

Because we have to. You know, we have this.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yes, yes.

[Lynette Nylander]

So Kate is actually a shoe that in most recent popular culture, has been popularized by Zendaya.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yeah, well, it's.

[Lynette Nylander]

Oh, okay. Oh, well, it's named after the amazing. The supermodel Kate Moss. And that's why it's called so Kate. And it comes in a variety of different sizes and colors, but it has been popularized most recently, I was gonna.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Say, I think Zendaya could be my child. Okay.

[Lynette Nylander]

So relationship between Law, Roach, and Zendaya, and she wears it famously on the red carpet with all her clothes.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

So the Louboutin so Kate I have been wearing for years, and I have been wearing honestly since around girlfriends. And genuinely for a while, was a comfortable shoe for me. I actually could wear it, but I think when you are 28. I bought a version of the so Kate. He had a crystal. It was before the so Kate, but it was a white pump that was all crystal on the outside, like, sparkly. And I decided that was my wedding shoe, so I bought three pairs of them. I still have all three pairs.

[Lynette Nylander]

With no wedding plan.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

No wedding plans. Okay.

[Lynette Nylander]

Right.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

No, I still haven't gotten married. I love that. And now I'm like, I don't want to wear that shoe. Well, you have it, but I haven't. I bought three pairs in my size to be ready. I don't know. I don't know why I thought I needed three pairs. Yeah. I was like, I love three. It's very weird. I have no idea. But I was like, I'm ready. So 2012 girlfriends, I want to say, ended 2008. They had the early version of the pump and the Socate, which dips down on the side and gives you toe cleavage. And it's a much sort of blockier point on the front. So I think my biggest regrets have been recently, I'm like, I can't wear this. Like, just the thought of it's gonna ruin my night.

[Lynette Nylander]

Right.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

But I still do for work.

[Lynette Nylander]

That feels like, actually in the air. I think, like, culturally, I can't see as many Women out on a Friday night in Manhattan in a stiletto. I think it's.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I'll tell you what, I think it was okay. It was the pandemic.

[Leah Chernikoff]

I was just gonna say we were.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

All at home barefoot.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Yeah.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Or in sneakers or flip flops or Birkenstocks or house shoes. I think similar to when a woman is pregnant and her foot spreads. I think all of our feet kind of got really used to what it feels like to be grounded to the earth, and it hard to get yourself back into it. I mean, it was hard for me to put on pants that had a zipper.

[Lynette Nylander]

Right.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Yeah, I know. I want to go back into sweatpants, but I. But on the flip side of that, like, I want a little heel again. Like, I was like, I'm never going to do it, but I want to go up, like, just like 2 inches.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

So I have found, like, Paris, Texas, has a really great heel and, like, a nice, great boot. Like a suede boot. That's great. The Prada low. And they give you a really beautiful leg because the toe is really pretty.

[Lynette Nylander]

Well, Mrs. Prada has always been, I think, a designer who has understood, like, not using women as torture devices. And her shoes, I think, tend to be really comfortable. And if there's a heel, there's a block heel, and there's like a. They make sense, I think.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I think it's a sensible, very sexy and elegant shoe. I have that little bird shoe. That was a shoe I coveted. I only got the white. The one that has the origami on the front. Yes.

[Lynette Nylander]

I, I, I have beast. I have those in the flats.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I really wanted the ox blood color and never found them. It was very sad.

[Leah Chernikoff]

We've heard it now.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I don't think they can find them. I wanted them so badly. I also really. I'll tell you a regret that I didn't purchase. Couldn't find them.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Oh, yeah, that is another kind of regret.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

The balloon shoe from Loewe. I wanted it so badly.

[Lynette Nylander]

Really?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I couldn't find it, actually. I don't understand. I think sometimes if you, like, miss the little window and I'm wearing and.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Then it's just gone.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I wear an eight. It's like everybody wears an eight.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Everybody's innate. Yeah.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

And so. Yeah. And someone had them on last night, and I was like, I love you talking to the shoe.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Yeah.

[Lynette Nylander]

Not her. That kind of tracks, actually, because you remember all of those kind of fantasy, like, surrealist shoes he did. And he had the roses. He had a makeup brush.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Remember the one that was Sitting. It looked like it was crushing a rose or something.

[Lynette Nylander]

Yes. Yeah, I have those. This is.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

That's so good. Why do you look down with regret?

[Leah Chernikoff]

I know.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

What is this? I am the friend that's gonna say.

[Lynette Nylander]

Yeah, I do feel supported in your presence. Thank you. My name's. Hi, I'm Lynette and I am a shopping addict. Moving on to your repeat buy, what do you. And this can be anything besides a.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Crystal white Louis Vuitton when you get married.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I have a lot of repeat buys. Okay. The Bottega Veneta puddle boot.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Okay.

[Lynette Nylander]

What.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Yeah.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

What is the puddle jumper? It's like. It looks like a closed clog, but it's out of rubber.

[Lynette Nylander]

Yes.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yeah, I have five pairs of those.

[Lynette Nylander]

Really? What do they do for you?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I love a big shoe. The real of it is I have very long femurs, which is the bone that goes from your knee to your hip. It's the reason I was a really good long distance track runner. But I feel my leg looks best. I'm talking in this manner because it's ridiculous what I'm saying to you. But I know that about myself. I am ridiculous. And so my knee to my ankle I feel is a bit short and uses a lift really well. So if I want a flat. Sometimes you need a bigger shoe. And people know I like a big shoe, big sole. So the puddle comes in all these glorious colors. They look like candy. So I have yellow, fluorescent green, brown, black and white.

[Lynette Nylander]

And you live in Los Angeles where there is no rain to be found?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

No, no, we find rain. Don't you know that when it rains out there, it's like a monsoon?

[Lynette Nylander]

Okay. How often does that?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Often enough. And often enough and I come to New York, I travel, travel. And I will be prepared. But I also don't only wear them in the rain. They're just great looking. Yeah, they're great looking. It does.

[Leah Chernikoff]

It's just puddle is in the name, but you don't need to have a puddle.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Exactly. And then I also over purchased. Multiple purchased. Okay. So do you remember when Balenciaga came out with the triple?

[Lynette Nylander]

Yeah, the sneaker.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I have three of the triple s. And then when we got into the other versions that were a bit lighter. So I. It's.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Are we double digits? Wow.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Guys, she has to think about it. I might have about. Not really. I might have about 12 Balenciaga sneakers.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Okay.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

It's not. It.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Do you wear them all still?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Not so much anymore. But I. I know I will get. I whipped out last year When I went to Milan, I whipped out my original first triple S. I think they were called Triple S. They were, yeah. Okay.

[Lynette Nylander]

Super heavy, super chunky, super heavy.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

You kind of have to walk all your bricks on your feet.

[Lynette Nylander]

Yeah.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Let's take a quick break to talk about our sponsor, Google.

[Lynette Nylander]

Hey, listeners, it's Lynette, one of your hosts at the Goodbye. And I know what it's like when you're on the hunt for that piece you can't live without at the right price. You've searched the stores, you've lined up for the sample sales and alas, no luck. But that is where Google comes comes in. Right now I'm on the hunt for perfect bedding and an oversized blazer. And with just a search on Google, I can track it down in my size, compare a range of prices and get the best deals all in one place. I love to feel like I can discover new things and add forever pieces to my wardrobe. And shopping with Google makes it easy.

[Leah Chernikoff]

The next segment is the Dream Buy right now. What are you hunting for?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Hmm. What's at the top of the list that's really interesting? I don't know, I think anything Alaia, Bottega, Veneta or Loewe, they're your three right now. They are my coveted holy trinity. Let's see. There is a belt that I can't seem to get from Alaia because I can't seem to find a size 40 or 42. They seem to only make a 34, 36 and 38. Won't go around my waist. It's like got all this sort of cut out leather. That one that looks like a skirt is so beautiful.

[Lynette Nylander]

It is absolutely stunning. It is stunning from last season.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Just made it in turquoise and purple.

[Lynette Nylander]

And purple. Okay, so you don't want that because I was like, I'm pretty sure I've seen the black and white one recently.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

But the black one and the white one we could not get in my size. And then I just saw it just hit the floor, the turquoise and the purple and we can't find my size, so I might have to covet it forever.

[Lynette Nylander]

So I like that Your dream buys a really buyers that if you can get your hands on, you're more than willing to like pull the trigger.

[Leah Chernikoff]

I know, I'm like, just shocked that we can't find these things.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yeah. But it's, I think that's the fun of it. That's the beauty. Right. Chase I have. It's. Yeah. The chase and the hunt. So when I was growing up. I had expensive tastes that my mother was not going to fund. And so if it wasn't coming from her closet, I had to figure out how to get it myself. And so I was a huge vintage shopper. I was Salvation army all through college. And then I just loved the hunt. I would do the Rose Bowl, I would go to Wasteland. I would. It was just like a real treat for me. And it's funny because I am not into it anymore. And it's because I can now finally afford the things that I want to buy. And I'm a big shopper, but I am always happy to return stuff. Like, if stuff doesn't work, I don't just keep. It's very rare that there's something in my closet that I didn't end up wearing. And you'll notice. I think people usually notice, like I wear stuff over and over again. It doesn't leave.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Yeah.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

And I get things repaired all the time or I sort of shift things a little bit. And you know, one of the things I know about myself, I'm not a fan of doing dishes, but I do them and I will always shop.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Okay, so this is. We're gonna come back around to the name of this podcast and ask what is your most recent goodbye?

[Lynette Nylander]

We'll take multiple.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Yeah, there's no.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I mean, I'll be honest. I really think that I just bought a pair of eco friendly red leather pants from Frankie Shop that are great.

[Lynette Nylander]

I love Frankie Shop. Affordable minimalist brand.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yeah. Really good looking stuff.

[Lynette Nylander]

Yeah.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

You know, it's not inexpensive but very well priced.

[Leah Chernikoff]

But it's reasonable.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

And they also dry clean well, which a lot of. There's a lot of inexpensive that do great fashion, but like they don't dry clean, which is really annoying because that to me feels like fast fashion because I feel like you should be able to wear things if you're going to spend the money. So they're great and they amazingly worked really well. And perfect. Same red match with a very old Celine sweatshirt of mine. Do you remember the big oversized, almost neoprene. So it looks really good with that. That pair of pants. I'm very excited about getting to use. I also, I bought the Azzedine Alaia nylon balloon pants with the balloon ruched sort of half long.

[Lynette Nylander]

What color?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

In pink.

[Lynette Nylander]

In pink. Which I believe that again to bring up. Samira. Samira has those pants. I believe she.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

That was her birthday gift.

[Lynette Nylander]

I'm gonna just say that. Did you hear that Tracy bought them for Samira?

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

It was her birthday gift.

[Lynette Nylander]

Let's all get a friend, right, Tracy, how much friends will take you buy you a liar gift.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

And by the way, with the pink, I went and fished out in the archive in the garage a Louboutin animal print. They're not the animal. I can't think of which animal it is. They're like a sandal with a lace up that looks so beautiful with the pants. And it's a heel. So whenever I wear it, I'm gonna be tortured and then I'll switch. Oh, I also bought an Azzedine Alaia poplin black cotton cropped blouse with snaps up the back, like a little mock collar and a, like a half dolman sleeve sort of, I don't know, like a really boxy. That's great looking. And like, you know, I can. I still happily show my upper, upper, upper, upper, upper part of my stomach below the belly button. We just keep that for friends.

[Lynette Nylander]

That would put the obi belt.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Exactly.

[Lynette Nylander]

Trace Ellis Ross, thank you for being a guest on the Good Friday.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Oh, my God, this is fantastic.

[Leah Chernikoff]

I know. I wanted.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

I keep going forever. I could literally talk. I could talk about this stuff forever.

[Lynette Nylander]

I can't think of anyone who's more qualified because you really love fashion and you respect it, but you're not precious about it and you appreciate the fun and the expression. And that's exactly what Harper's Bazaar is about. And this is. That's exactly what this podcast is about. It's like, whatever you want to do, just do it.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

Yeah. You know, I think clothing is how we wear our insides on the outside, you know, so it's a form of creative expression. It started as armor for me, and now it's just a form of creative expression. This is lovely. Thank you so much.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank.

[Tracee Ellis Ross]

You, thank you, thank you.

[Lynette Nylander]

Thank you so much for tuning in to this week's episode of Harper's Bazaar's the Goodbye. Rate, like and subscribe. And for more go to harpersbazaar.com.

[Leah Chernikoff]

Harper's Bazaar's the Goodbye is sponsored by Google. The Goodbye is a podcast from Harper's Bazaar. This episode was directed and produced by Alexandra Gurevich in collaboration with Edit Audio. The Goodbye is executive produced by Samira Nasser, Editor in chief of Harper's Bazaar, and Jason Eichler, Vice President of video at Hearst Magazine. It was recorded by Steph Colburn and edited, mixed and mastered by Ali Sirwa.