Stylist Kate Young for Tura | Pop-In Goes Poolside

We visited Kate Young on the bright, sunny morning immediately following the Met Gala and not long before all the craziness of Cannes, and that right there is all the metaphor you really need. Every day in the life of this ultra-cool celebrity stylist is the day after something really major. And probably the day before and during something really major, too. Kate Young … she’s just major.

Celebrity stylist Kate Young showing us some of the tools of her trade
on the morning after the Met Gala this past May; image by Kirby Calvin

But that doesn’t necessarily mean you know her by name or that adorable, blonde-fringed face. As a stylist and brand collaborator/consultant, her genius and finesse live largely beyond the camera’s gaze. Not our camera, mind you. No, Kirby Calvin and I brought our lens right up to Young’s downtown NYC office and talked to her about Kate Young for Tura, the collection of super-chic sunglasses she made in collaboration with the New York City–based eyewear brand and available now at Pop-In Goes Poolside.

Kate Young’s office; image by Kirby Calvin

Here’s what she who dresses Naomi Watts, Natalie Portman and Sienna Miller has to say about summer style, swimming holes of the eastern United States and how frames frame your style.

For Young, there are essentially five kinds of girls with five kinds of style: relaxed, sexy, classic, fashion-forward and dramatic. In her book about eveningwear, Dressing for the Dark, she talks about how each of those styles gets dressed up.

With us, in Lower Manhattan, we edited those down to three and applied them to the art of rocking a pair of shades.

SEXY

The icon: Angelina Jolie
The eyewear: Kate Young for Tura 55mm sunglasses with geometric hardware
“The wide shape hides your eyes, so they’re extra good when you aren’t wearing makeup. My mom loves these.”

CLASSIC

The icon: Natalie Portman
The eyewear: Kate Young for Tura 56mm sunglasses with gradient lenses and goldtone stems
“All of our glasses for Tura were made in Italy with really high-end elements and the best manufacturing.”

FASHION-FORWARD

The icon: Keira Knightley
The eyewear: Kate Young for Tura 59mm cat-eye sunglasses
“These are based on a pair of 1940s sunglasses from Shanghai.”

The stylist’s favorite swimming pools:
1. Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc in the South of France. “We did a commercial for Dior there; from the diving boards it’s like you’re diving right into the ocean.”

Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc on Young’s phone; image by Kirby Calvin

2. Her husband’s friend’s house in Greenwich, Connecticut. “We eat guacamole and chips and drink Palomas when we’re there—but we don’t call them Palomas because that sounds like a girl’s drink.”

Kate Young’s summer 2015 swim style:
“I’m into one-pieces; I have one that’s like Old Hollywood but also ’80s sportif.”

Favorite thing to rock après-pool:
“I like a long, really soft and washed-out men’s shirt. It’ll make your legs look long but also hide your ass. People like to hide their ass for some reason.”

On being a stylist vs. being a guest designer for Tura:
“Styling is like curating, and I love it, but I really love making things. Collaborations are so fun, and my rule is always if I wouldn’t want it, I won’t make it. The girls who work for me have great taste; I want real girls like them to want the things I make. I just like being busy. I prefer to feel overwhelmed.”