Season Six Reunion: No thorns, just roses

How I selected my first Real Housewives of Salt Lake City reunion dress

How on earth can anyone be prepared for a Real Housewives reunion?

By focusing on what I love! Fashion!

I knew for my first reunion I wanted a show stopping gown. When I heard we needed to be on the pink to burgundy color spectrum I immediately thought a bright red was the right choice for me.

I immediately reached out to my bestie and one of my favorite designers and asked him to draw up a few options for me. Bravo has an approval process so we all don’t show up in too similar a look, or the exact same one. Although, somehow that did happen at this reunion, just thankfully, and of course, not to me! My friend took a bit of awhile (they are booked and busy) to get back to me with options and I started to worry. I had looked at other designers and collections to get inspo and had a few back ups ready but all of them made me feel like Goldilocks. Not quite right.

There was the one that was gorgeous but mostly because of a cape that would have been complicated to sit in, and hard to see the detailing on. There was one that was so stunning, but really would have flattered someone fairer and more of a cool tone of color analysis than I am. Then there was the one I loved, but just would never look half as fabulous sitting down as it would standing.

A stylist I work with often had also reached out to me and made some suggestions. I liked her ideas but none felt quite right. Until…

This same stylist said the retailer she worked with was a big merchant for Carolina Herrera and what if we went and met with the team about an archival or never before walked in a runway show piece? I wear quite a bit of Carolina Herrera and try and never pass up the front row seat at their runway shows they always offer me. I know the creative designer and the team and love being in their atelier.

Carolina Herrera is known for beauty. They are known for their classic silhouettes and timeless looks. Wes Gordon, the current creative director at Carolina Herrera, is all about honoring the brand’s foundational principles while putting his own twist and perspective on collections. Gordon’s vision for the brand emphasizes the concept that beauty and power are interlinked, making many of his designs both dramatic and feminine.

Something immediately felt just right about this fit. The stylist and the founder of the retailer reached out to Herrera on my behalf and an appointment was made to go and see a specific, and extraordinary gown.

The remarkable red rose gown the Carolina Herrera team had created for Karlie Kloss to wear to The Met Gala! When the team reached out and said this exact dress (once loaned to Kloss) was in their archive and they would love for me to come try it on and I was exhilarated!

The gown was created by Wes Gordon himself in collaboration with Karlie for the 2021 Met Gala. The theme of the gala was In America: A Lexicon of Fashion. This particular dress was inspired by America’s flower; the rose. It also included nods to the house founder herself in the 1980’s style sleeves. The entire dress is made of 25 yards of silk! And the train was nine feet long!

I was so thrilled to see this moment in fashion history in person. Whatever happened with the fitting and the reunion, this made my fashion loving heart delighted. I kept saying it was beyond a dream to just be in the room and get to see the dress up close.

That was, until it was on. Once it was on I knew it had to be the one!

I arrived at their NYC atelier and got helped into the gown. It was incredible just hanging on the rack, but once on I felt like superwoman in her cape! Talented seamstresses came to help pin my into the dress and see what work would have to be done to take this down from statuesque Karlie Kloss’ to fit me! We would need to make some alterations based on our bust and height difference, but also, to ensure the proportions stayed correct. Merely shortening the dress wouldn’t work as I would need to be able to sit for long periods of time at the reunion and we wanted the torso and train to have the precise ration to the length of the skirt that would suit me best.

Wes himself came to chat with me and help try and fit the dress and ensure it would be flawless. We have chatted over the years at runway shows, events and during the ordering of my previous pieces but to get to work with him on this gown was a once in a lifetime experience. This couture level gown is exceptional and has lived such a life even before I arrived. Of course Karlie wore it on the red carpet at The Met Gala, but at the after parties Wes literally cut the train off so she could move with ease. It was later recreated and attached and put in the house archives. Just waiting for me to come find it one day a few years later.

To get to talk to Wes about the design process behind this gown that just exudes vivaciousness and glamour and get advice about ho to channel the spirit of this gown at my first reunion was the perfect prep. Who needs facials and IVs when you have the exhilaration of being swathed in historic couture? I was going to be able to perfectly read these women as I was coming in perfectly red.

This gown was the exact right fit for me. The statement shoulder felt like the perfect callback to the first time I was seen on RHOSLC (in the red heart YSL coat) and the right bookend to my first season. I went in and out with big red shoulders! The silhouette also was optimal for sitting on a couch and “discussing” the season all day. It was interesting and dynamic and held the focus in a face framing way. I am not a huge jewelry wearer (and won’t be after that reunion conversation) and this dress spoke for itself with only the most delicate touches of sparkle needed. Plus, I may or may not, but definitely did, live for the looks on the women’s faces when I walked past them with my train to get to the couch I was seated on across from them at the soundstage. The longer the train the further away you have to be behind me! I know, I know, I am extra, but feeling confident and watching it eat at those who can’t stand to see you pleased does carry a bit of schadenfreude. I shouldn’t allow myself that epicaricacy, but sometimes being wrong (and stunning) feels so right. I am apologetic to my cast mates who ended up on the same couch as me, I know one in particular really had to fight to be seen over my shoulders all day and I am sorry! I have promised her after this, and another big dress related incident recently to wear more streamlined clothing when spending time with her!