Reaching Out to Houston
Whitney Port consoles Erica Rose on Bachelor Pad 2, calls Tootsies "the coolest"store for her line
Whitney PortPhoto by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Port says her fall collection has a distinctly West Coast vibe and can be worncomfortably in any season
Writer Caroline Gallay with Whitney Port
An olive-green jumpsuit from Port's fall collection
Port's style is about comfort and elegance
Whitney Port, star of The Hills and her own spin-off series, The City, is more fashion designer than reality starlet. But that doesn't mean she doesn't tune in.
When Port introduced the fall collection of her label, Whitney Eve, at Tootsies on Thursday, we had a moment to chat about her reality future and what show she's watching now.
Port had tweeted her condolences to Houston's Erica Rose following an especially humiliating episode of Bachelor Pad 2, and tells CultureMap that she felt "so awful" for the Houston socialite.
Port says that she agreed to do The City only to gain publicity for her burgeoning fashion career, which had been long in the making before she was ever cast on The Hills.
As for her own reality TV future and the recent rumblings about a Hills movie, Port says she's not been approached, but does confirm that a film version had been a dream of producers from the get-go. And while she's not opposed to being on television in the future as a personality or fashion/style expert, Port says "I'm kind of over reality TV [...] I'd never do anything as intimate or invasive as before."
In fact, Port says that she agreed to do The City only to gain publicity for her burgeoning fashion career, which had been long in the making before she was ever cast on The Hills.
Whitney Eve is currently only carried in boutiques and specialty stores, and Tootsies is the only place in Houston that fashion-forward ladies with an eye for a steal can access the line. The line is so reasonably priced — think $55 and $65 pieces — that Tootsies staffers initially worried that items had been mismarked.
Of the iconic store's glistening new West Ave location, Port admitted to applause, "This is probably the coolest store my stuff has ever been in."
Port tells us her favorite piece from the fall collection is a slate colored wrap dress. "You don't have to have a size zero frame to wear it," she says, and it's easy to accessorize.
Our favorite is a chunky Aztec-inspired sweater, which has us excited for fall (it's coming eventually, right?) so we can pair it with leggings and tall flat boots. (Although Port was on-hand to introduce the fall collection, Tootsies will carry the full line, which runs true-to-size from zero to 10.)
In the meantime as we wait for temps to cool down, Port has some tips for Houstonians who are finding themselves more hot than haute. "The least amount of clothes as possible," Port says frankly, and recommends sticking to dresses, like the loose coral tank number she had on. Other must-haves for heat are blotting papers and Evian spray mist, Port says.
When she isn't wearing her own line, Port credits favorite design influencers as Alexander Wang, Phillip Lim, Isabel Marant and Diane von Furstenberg, for whom she used to work.
Next up for Port? The spring 2012 collection of Whitney Eve will be shown at Coterie in about a month. And the ink isn't dry, so she wouldn't reveal her partner, but fans of Whitney Eve can expect a jewelry line in time for the holidays.
