Bronwyn Newport is a Lot More Layered Than You Realized
Fashion historian Bronwyn Newport has thoughts about layermaxxing and getting dressed after 40
Hello, Gorgeous!
I recently interviewed Bronwyn Newport and we covered a lot of ground — fashion history, dressing with intention, what it feels like when your outsides finally match your insides and why worrying about aging is a great big waste of time. You can read the full conversation in my Yahoo column here.
What we didn’t discuss was her dating life, which has since become the internet’s favorite topic.
Newport has been seeing model Brandon Good, and because he’s 32 to her 40, the coverage has been predictably fixated on the math. C’mon people, it’s a grand total of eight years. I say this as someone who once dated a guy 20½ years younger than me, and while he was plenty cute, the age difference was the least interesting thing about him.
As to Newport’s recent milestone birthday, she playfully said that she worried prematurely. I agree. Age really is nothing but a number.
So let’s get to the part of my conversation with Newport that’s actually worth talking about. While you may know Newport best from her appearances on the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, she’s a true style powerhouse.
Newport is a fashion historian. She has an art history degree, sits front row at couture, and thinks about clothes the way most people think about language — as something that communicates without words. She’s savvy with style and with discussing the hows and whys behind a look. She said something I can’t stop thinking about:
“One of the first tells, when I look at an outfit, is if the person is comfortable in it. If they’re pulling on it, if they don’t look like themselves — if you aren’t yourself in the clothes, they’re never going to work, no matter how beautiful they are.”
Bronwyn Newport
You know this feeling. You bought the thing, you put it on, and then you spent the whole day tugging at a hem or adjusting a neckline or wishing you’d just worn the other thing. The outfit looked great on the hanger, it just didn’t look or feel like you usually do.
Newport’s point isn’t that we should play it safe. It’s the opposite. She wants us all going for it — more color, more pattern, more of whatever feels like the real you. “I just always think that fashion should be fun,” she told me. The goal isn’t to look younger or thinner or more on-trend. It’s alignment. She calls it the moment when your insides match your outsides.
The thing about black blazers
I asked Newport what she’d say to those of us (🙋♀️) who default to the same safe black every single morning.
“It has to start with what you purchase. If you’re always going to buy a black blazer, it’s gonna be really hard to put more color on your body.”
That’s it. The problem isn’t the getting-dressed part. It’s the shopping part. If everything in the closet is safe, the closet can only give you safe. Start smaller than you think — a scarf, earrings, a bag in a color that makes you panic in a good way — and work up from there.
And if it doesn’t work?
“It’s also just clothes,” Newport said, and I could hear her shrugging through the phone. “If the outfit doesn’t turn out well, you don’t wear it again.”
We really do treat getting dressed like it’s a final exam, when it’s probably just a random Tuesday. The stakes are lower than we think. Try it. If it’s terrible, you’ve got data. Move on.
Layermaxxing (and the layer nobody sees)
Newport was promoting a fun fashion concept: Layermaxxing. She’s been partnering with Degree on their new Clinical 5X line (which delivers up to 96-hour clinical-strength protection and is available at Walmart for about $9) and the concept is simple. You should probably be paying as much attention to your first layer as the top one. While you’re at it, decorate yourself in style by having fun with every single layer you wear.
I love that framing and I think it extends way past deodorant. It’s the sleep you got, the water you drank, the five minutes you took before the Zoom when you might have a chia seed stuck in your front tooth. It’s the foundation nobody else sees. Newport likened it to old-timey corsets and extra layers — the original Layermaxxing, if you think about it. She's also a Broadway producer (she co-produced the Cabaret revival) and says costuming is the part she wants to dig into more next time around. I’m so here for that!
Your homework
Your challenge, should you decide to accept it, is simple. The next time you reach for a black, gray, or navy top, choose neon green or electric blue instead. It doesn’t have to be expensive. It doesn’t have to be a statement piece. It just has to be something that makes you feel the slightest bit more interesting.
And then see if you can wear it without adjusting it all day. That’s the tell.
Do you embrace or avoid color? More importantly, what do you think of the Real Housewives franchise? Let’s meet in the comments to discuss!
Rachel, Your beauty concierge 💋
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