Do. You. Die?  Do you SHUT. IT. DOWN?  If you watch Bravo’s runaway smash Rachel Zoe Project, chances are you do.  One of Hollywood’s most famous stylists to the stars, Rachel Zoe is becoming a household name in her own right. 

    Why?  Mostly because she’s a character herself, fawning over vintage earrings, swooning really, the diamonds dripping off her fingers, sighing—‘I die.  Put me in my coffin right now with these earrings on!’  In her chaotic but chic,  understated and hip, trendy but not too much, mid century house in the Hollywood hills, Rachel Zoe is to fashion what Willy Wonka is to chocolate.  That’s right folks, Rachel lives in her own little world, complete with what fashion insiders refer to as ZOEBOTS.  Think oompa loompas of the fashion world. 

    Rachel’s home is a kind of factory really.  Like a candy store for fashion, overflowing with iconic pieces from Halston,  Chanel,  Michael Kors and Stella McCartney, Rachel’s definitely got it, with shoes and bags to match.  But not in such an obvious way is the thing.  Rachel’s aesthetic tends to lean toward the less considered, that grab a coat on the way out the door throw away, everyday kind chic.  That’s where her genius lies actually.  Though her signature looks come off as casual and tossed together like a last minute salad, her creations can take weeks of planning. Trips across the globe with her cranky but adoring assistants in tow.  Countless meetings with makeup and hair stylists,  vintage jewelry dealers, photographers, and so on.

    Who was it that said something on the order of, ‘It takes a lot of money to make me look this cheap?’  That’s kind of the effect here in Rachel’s world. You want the finished look to ‘feel’ a certain way, but you don’t want it to scream it.  Though the stars are the ones wearing the ensembles, walking the red carpet, posing for cover shots, it’s Rachel’s genius, behind the scenes, driving the look, to the tune of somewhere in the neighborhood of oh, say, six thousand dollars a day or so.

    But think about it.  Who sees those looks?  Producers? Directors? Casting agents?  If your game is your image, then hiring a stylist like Rachel can up your ante considerably. The more intriguing the look, the more photos taken, the more photos, the more hype, the more hype, well, maybe the more hype is all.  Though maybe not.

    Style is style though.  It’s an art, an illusion, a fantasy. It’s bananas, as Rachel might say,  and yet it’s real, among us in the everyday, whether we’re walking down the sidewalk sipping an oversized latte, or thumbing through our blackberries while waiting in line, style is out there, among us.  We watch it, and we know it when we see it.  And Rachel Zoe has a sense of it, in spades.