Courtesy of Lisa von Weise Shaw
Lisa von Weise Shaw’s life resembles a movie. More than 20 years ago, while working as an assistant at Elle magazine, the St. Louis native began styling major ad campaigns: Rolex, Mercedes-Benz, CoverGirl… She soon was styling music videos and celebrities; Bruce Springsteen and his wife, Patti Scialfa, were among her earliest clients.
Eventually, von Weise Shaw launched a blog (lisavonweiseshaw.com). “I love the immediacy and connection that comes from being able to speak directly to a woman,” she says. Through her blog and styling, she conveys years of expertise. “A powerful purchase is not only a powerful statement,” she explains, “but is tailored perfectly to her needs, without forcing it.” She often mixes down-to-earth style suggestions with blog posts about travel and culture, both of which inform her sense of fashion.
Not that von Weise Shaw is ever short on fashion inspiration. She’s married to Vogue’s photography director, Ivan Shaw. Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa designed her wedding dress, and Anna Wintour attended the wedding. While von Weise Shaw’s life may seem glamorous, she’s quick to point out that she shares the same insecurities many other women have. “In the evening, we go to a lot of events due to my husband’s job, but I have the same anxiety as anyone else: ‘Oh my goodness! What am I going to wear?’” she says with a laugh.
Her own style has a strong French influence. “French women have a certain way of dressing that combines comfort with authenticity,” she says, “and a brainy kind of sexuality that is very alluring, but never too much.” She’s also mindful of the daily demands of her schedule, navigating New York City, so she keeps things sporty and simple: lots of denim and sport separates, black and midnight blue.
Only rarely does she wear high heels during the day. In the evening, however, she likes to incorporate more color into her wardrobe. “It feels luxurious these days to look bright and cheerful and happy,” says von Weise Shaw. “It’s a gift to everyone in the room when someone comes in in a beautiful pink dress—it’s like a gift of flowers.”
Among her favorite lines for this fall: Phoebe Philo for Céline, Lanvin, and Saint Laurent. “Louis Vuitton is maybe my top one for this fall, though,” she adds. “The bags, accessories, boots—all of it. New York closets are really small, so I can only buy things I absolutely love, because I just don’t have the real estate to give up for it.”
While in town for a recent family reunion, von Weise Shaw took her husband on a tour of the city, visiting her alma maters, Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School and John Burroughs School. “I reap the rewards every day of having had the luxury of a wonderful education,” she says, “and growing up in such a safe and nurturing place. St. Louis feels very warm.”
WEB EXCLUSIVE: A Q&A WITH LISA VON WEISE SHAW
Q. Tell me a bit about what is you are currently doing and how did you lead up to it?
A. I do two different things in my career right now: One is private shopping for clients—VIP clients who want all of the expertise that I’ve gathered over the last 20-25 years as a professional stylist, and that’s really my favorite thing to do. Beyond that I still continue to work in photography, which is where I started. Originally, I styled fashion shoots and also for celebrities and portraiture and in the last few years in still life. I would say right now I’m a cross-platform stylist in that I do a little bit of everything.
Q. Which magazines have you worked with over the years?
A. I first started working at Elle magazine and that was my first foray in to the magazine world. From there I started working as a freelance assistant, and that’s when I got into advertising, which I really enjoyed as I found it so challenging. (Clients included Rolex, Mercedes Benz, Olay, Nivea, Covergirl, Evian, HBO, and Audemars Piguet.) From there, when I joined my first agency, I did a blend of high-fashion editorial and advertising, which work hand in hand in the fashion industry here in New York. Editorial is really something you do out of passion and then advertising work helps to pay the bills. You go back and forth between the two. I also did a lot of music and celebrity styling, which was fun and interesting. Bruce Springsteen was one of my first clients, and he helped me make the jump from assisting to being a stylist in my own right. I worked with him and his wife Pattie off and on for a few years. For the next 10 years I was going back and forth between fashion editorial, portraiture, and advertising. It was during the recession that I decided to make a really powerful leap to digital and include that in my repertoire—I have to tell you that I loved that. I really love digital, and I’m always happy to read articles that say it’s going more and more in that direction. Even though not everyone feels that way….(laughs)
Q. But that’s when you started your blog?
A. So that’s then I started my blog, in 2009. And at this point, my blog is really an extension of my portfolio. It’s a way to market my business, but it’s also an area where anyone can go and have the point of view of a NY editor with a lot of experience. I research everything and I check everything online, in NY, and in the showrooms. While I am out and about, I give feedback to anyone who wants to learn my point of view.
Q. One of the things I loved on your blog was a piece giving the editor’s advice of how not to make mistakes each season and buy every trend, but to buy a few key pieces. hat kind of thing is something readers love, because they’re getting advice from someone who’s in the know and in the mainstream of fashion, but it’s practical, accessible advice.
A. That’s really what I fell in love with about digital and also about VIP shopping. With advertising and magazines, I’m really working with a tight, creative crew, whereas with the blog or working one on one with a client I am going directly to that woman who I want to speak to and advise and be intimate with. That direct connection is so rewarding, and it’s been really eye-opening. Being able to write and edit photos is another way to open up rather than just being on set and working with photography.
Q. Can you tell me a bit more about working one-on-one with your clients and how much you enjoy that?
A. As a stylist, no matter what project I’m working on, I always feel it’s important to research and be up on every trend and what’s going on in the fashion industry, which generally starts with the big designers and trickles down from there. When someone hires a professional stylist to help them with their decisions, they’re really getting years and years of experimentation, research, expertise, knowledge, inside connections, just like anyone who goes all day, every day to their job, after years and years, you really know your job and the ins and outs, and that’s what I can offer my clients. The fun part is to really jump into their personal situation and of course, everyone has their quirks and their needs and their preferences, and to really jump in there and figure that out is the challenge to the job.
Q. How do you describe your own personal style?
A. For myself, the number one challenge is since I live in the city and I have to run around all the time and the streets and subways are a little bit difficult, I need to stay sporty. I’m always really happy when denim and sport looks come up—that is the mainstay of my wardrobe. But then of course, that becomes a little dull after a while so I find ways to spice it up and make things special. In the evening, I go to a lot of events, my husband works at Vogue (photography director Ivan Shaw), so fortunately we are invited to plenty of glamorous of galas and parties but I have the same anxiety as everyone else of, “Oh my goodness what am I going to wear?” In those moments you want to shine and you want to look like a million bucks. At the Met gala, I saw some people who looked like they were wearing a costume, and for someone with an extraordinary personality or an extremely extroverted person I think that works, but I think most people want to feel authentic in their communication. Being in a costume will probably induce more anxiety than if they just looked like themselves, and that purchase will last longer in their closet if it looks like them. All of that said, I am influenced by French style. I think it works for me, because French women tend to be more petite, as am I, and the silhouettes and the palette work well for me. French women have a certain way of dressing that combines comfort with authenticity and a brainy kind of sexuality that is very alluring but is never too much. It just hits on so many points for me and since, I tend not to wear super high heels, I need to adjust the silhouette so it works with my frame. A good tip for people shopping is it’s good to find a style, maybe a country or an aesthetic that sort of matches your natural looks. If you’re gorgeous and statuesque with long, dark hair, you may want something more mediterranean, a Greco Roman look, or if you're exotic, stick to an exotic template. If you’re very blonde and Nordic and chiseled, it’s better to go in that direction, something more classic—then you can play with accessories and details.
Q. What’s on your wish list for fall? And which designers are on your radar?
A. I always fall for the French, and I absolutely adore Phoebe Philo (Celine) and Lanvin. Saint Laurent is a little bit of a hard look right now, but I do like some of the silhouettes there and the '60s look they’re doing is super fun. Pheobe Philo though is probably my favorite of all-time because I think philosophically she is so great for women and it feels like she is really moving things forward. Dries Van Noten is another favorite, although Dries is probably better for somebody a little taller, as there’s so many patterns and volume. Louis Vuitton is maybe my top, top one for this fall—the bags, the accessories, the boots, all of it. It’s so easy to wear. In NY we have really small closets, so I have to buy things I really, really like and can wear. I would love to buy something this fall from Balenciaga or Alexander Wang—that’s another thing, the Asian designers, Alexander Wang and Philip Lim, they’re good for smaller women. But it’s also not about size but if you’re willing and able to wear really high heels. Running around all the time, I need to be sporty and the Asian designers totally get that look. I tend to go for darker colors, but I’m constantly telling myself I am going to stop buying black. Navy blue is my new obsession, a really dark midnight blue—it’s so much better than black. It works in the same way but is a little softer on the skin tone. I’m trying to incorporate some pinks and purples and lavenders into my palette. Right now, I think it doesn’t feel modern or joyful if you don’t have a bit of freshness. Not only because it’s spring, but also because it’s something that’s been creeping in for the last several years. That edgy, goth look that was popular a few years back drove me crazy. It’s not that skinny shapes or dark colors are being abandoned, but they need to be tempered with some feeling of joy. It’s a gift to everyone in the room when someone comes into the room in a beautiful, pink dress, it’s like a gift of flowers and it totally changes the room!
Q. Anything from growing up that drove you towards fashion and took you in the direction you are now?
A. I don’t really remember there being a ton of fashion in STL when I was growing up, but I was conscious of people looking really good and I wanted to look good too. I thought what fun to spend a little time, look fantastic and reap all the extra love and attention that comes your way when you have it together. I think I was always wanting to come up with a solution of how can I make everything work? It’s about putting in the time to make it all come together; like a good composition. Like in cooking, or in creating a beautiful home or putting in the hours to stay fit and healthy. It takes time and effort and education. Also travel was always important to me, it’s the best way to assimilate into a culture and feel how it is to live somewhere else. It’s s a great way to feel a part of a culture by dressing like them. Sweden and Paris were trips I took in my teens and I was greatly influenced by them, I was very fortunate! And falling in love with another culture and wanting to experience what they experience and see it through their eyes and literally putting yourself in their shoes.
Q. Memories of St. Louis?
A. Recently I came back for a family reunion with my husband, and we toured both Burroughs and MICDS and he was floored and so was I. Both beautiful, beautiful schools and I felt so honored and privileged to be part of this beautiful community and having grown up in such a beautiful city with the luxury of such a wonderful education and how everyday I reap the rewards of that and also from having grown up in such a safe and nurturing place. St. Louis feels very safe and warm.
