Reese Witherspoon wants to turn you into a southern belle
Image: KGC-146/STAR MAX/IPx/Associated Press
Sometimes being a celebrity just isn't enough. Just ask actress Reese Witherspoon, small-town fashion hero...it seems. Her new life goal: Dressing women everywhere like southern belles.
On Tuesday, the 39-year old actress launched, Draper James,
a Southern-inspired sportswear and lifestyle label that includes
accessories, home and gifting, jewelry and apparel. She's joining the
ranks of other celeb-owned lifestyle businesses: Gwyneth Paltrow and her
wellness publication Goop, Jessica Alba and her mega-successful infant brand Honest Company, and Blake Lively's own artisanal online guide/e-commerce shop Preserve.
That's right — the same woman who established the "bend and snap" is
applying her eye for style with a heavy emphasis on her home-grown
Southern roots.
“I hope that it sort of opens people’s eyes to how much the South has
changed and to all of the cultural experiences happening there," she
tells WWD.
"We’re going to have City Guides, but through my eyes, the places I
love. We will have different Southern ambassadors that will show places
to buy amazing Southern antique silver or where to find hand towels like
their grandmothers had.”
Some of the saccharine items Witherspoon thinks will sell: a pair of
sweet magnolia-printed shorts called "Marry Me" and sugary accessories
like a "Totes Y'all" tote bag, among many other sweet-as-apple-pie merchandise morsels sure to cause a toothache or three. Prices range from $25 for jewelry to $400 for a dress.
“I always say I’ve been around the world," she says. "I’ve been to
Paris, lived in L.A., and have been making movies [in different
locations] for over 20 years, but what I really love is all those
traditions I grew up with. I always say to my stylist, ‘I can’t wear red
to a wedding, and you don’t wear white and you can’t wear black.’ And
she’s like, ‘Can you just give me the list of rules?’”
Because everyone needs rules for becoming the next Stepford wife. New life goals.
