Louise Roe EXCLUSIVE: The Death Of Bitchy Girl Politics And The Dawning Of A New Age

There’s been a movement brewing in celeb-land for a few years now.

But while Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Lena Dunham, Taylor Swift et al have been trying to call an end to women throwing shade on other women, encouraging an attitude of support and sisterhood instead, there’s one part of the entertainment world that’s been slow to catch up.

Is the fashion industry the last bastion of bitchy girl politics?

Louise Roe is a fashion commentator, much in the same vein as Giuliana Rancic, Kelly Osbourne and former big gun Joan Rivers have been for the hugely popular and highly controversial E! network show Fashion Police.

In fact, Louise has appeared on and even hosted Fashion Police, during her television career.

Despite this, there’s something about Louise Roe’s brand of commentary which stands in contrast to the hyper-critical, stinging repartee that underpins the E! show.

As Kelly Osbourne and Kathy Griffin have led a mass exodus and Fashion Police seems to be on the road to inevitable demise, there are some women trying to set the terms for the next session of the fashion high courts.

Louise Roe is one of these women.

Fashion Friends

Louise has had an interesting and varied career, with writing positions at Vogue.com, Elle UK and In Style magazines, presenting roles for Elle and Access Hollywood and now her own television show Plain Jane.

In that time, she’s come into contact with some pretty big names – not least Olivia Palermo and ex-art director Joe Zee, from her time at Elle US.

And she doesn’t have a bad word to say about a single one of them, even despite some naughty prompting on my part.

“I’ve met some of the most incredible, kind people. The fashion industry gets a bad rap sometimes, and I think that they are not mutually exclusive – loving fashion and being a good person,” she attested.

“I’ll always bow down at the altar of say, Lucinda Chambers and fashion editors like that for their experience and knowledge and talent,” she continued.

Louise has just brought out a new book – Front Roe: How To Be The Leading Lady In Your Own Life – which is part fashion tome full of insider tips, part self-help and during it’s release, she’s seen some of these established fashion friendships become about as rewarding as she could have hoped.

The book has featured in People Magazine’s Style Watch, and her launch party made it into Hello Magazine.

“It’s really nice to see my old editor friends flying the flag and putting it in their magazines and online,” Louise smiled.

Let’s Celebrate Each Other

“Look at RewardStyle,” mused Louise, “[Amber Venz] is a revolutionary. An example of somebody who wants to help. She’s like: ‘Let’s take these bloggers and make them their own bosses, ambassadors and entrepreneurs.’”

“She’s making millionaires by the week…and she’s smiling and sweet while she does it,” she concluded.

Going into more depth about the sea-change that’s begun to take place with Kelly O and Kathy G’s departures from Fashion Police, Louise considered it to be a marker of our desire to be more celebratory when it comes to discussions of style.

 “They both made points about celebrating all sorts of diversity within fashion,” she said, “Just look at Kelly  - she’s got a shaven head and purple hair and people love her. People WANT to celebrate all different styles and shapes and sizes.”

“I speak in my new book about shape and size actually,” she continued, “It’s time we finally accepted that fashion can and should be used to improve your confidence. It can be used in a positive way.”

#AskHerMore

The #AskHerMore campaign, supported by celebrities such as Reese Witherspoon, Cate Blanchett and Diane Kruger, was started in order to encourage journalists to shift their focus from an actress or female celebrity’s outfit choices, in order to “spark deeper conversations”.

As a firm defender of women’s achievements and virtues, you might assume that Louise would be behind #AskHerMore.

“It’s funny you should touch on that,” she began, “because my book is about self-confidence and women clubbing together [to create a better environment for ourselves] – but the AskHerMore hashtag irks me.”

“In America, it translates as ‘Oh fashion, why would you ask her about fashion. It’s insignificant and that is belittling her,’ and I disagree,” Louise stated.

“I think fashion is an art form,” she proceeded, “Especially at the Oscars – are you going to ignore Cate Blanchett’s amazing dress? There’s a huge team of people in a multi-billion dollar industry - [from] hair and make up artists, hair and nail technicians to stylists to seamstresses - who have worked their BUTTS off, creating this incredible moment from head to toe. Of course you should ask her more, about character, about their life’s aspirations, but don’t not ask about the fashion because it’s wonderful, inspiring, it’s a fairy tale and a whole world of people have devoted their life and skill to it.”

So really, by ignoring one female celebrity’s fashion choices, you are actually discounting a whole host of people’s hard work, achievements and artistry.

An interesting point of view.

Role Models
 
One of the things that Louise deems integral to a woman’s psychological as well as professional development, in the fashion industry or otherwise, is having a great role model.

It goes part and parcel, of course, with changing the way women speak about each other as, instead of merely accepting and celebrating other people’s achievements, we can also learn from them.

“Mentors are so key, not just in careers but in life. Sadly there are some not great ‘role models’ that young girls aspire to be like. If I had a daughter I wouldn’t want her to aspire to be like some of the celebs that are out there now. So positive role models are really important.”

“There’s, like, Michelle Obama, but she’s the First Lady. We need some in-betweeners who are closer to your age or your cultural background,” Louise considered.

“Sheryl Sandberg I look up to, but there are some who aren’t famous. For example, my first editor at In Style who is still a friend. She was just very kind from the get-go. And she inspired me career-wise. I remember her considering her first book, and she’s now on her eighth best-selling novel in a row!”

Speaking of what makes a great role model, Louise said: “The common theme is that they’ve always had time to be nice and to sit down for a coffee if I’ve needed it and to LISTEN rather than be racing at a thousand miles an hour.”

It's not like she's the first to utter any of these things, but what Louise is saying is really important. And when added to the voices of all the other women saying the same, could contribute to a tidal wave set to change the way women communicate and co-exist, not just in the fashion industry, but in general.

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How To Be A Leading Lady In Your Own Life

Considering Louise’s book, as well as fashion, beauty and interior design, is about how to grow your confidence and to approach life and yourself from a better perspective, we solicited some of her key tips for taking charge:

Direct Kindness Inwards - “There is a chapter at the end which I never planned to write called how to be kind to yourself. As I was writing the book I realised I hadn’t totally addressed this recurring theme that we are pretty tough on ourselves. We are our own worst critics – we’re always saying I should get that promotion or I should be a better mum or I should be a better girlfriend or thinner and taller,” Louise said.

“I recently did some yoga and at the end when you are having your calm down moment – she asked us to think of a word and I had ‘kindness’ in my head. And she said ‘now direct that at yourself’ – it really struck me – what we give out and think of others isn’t always the same way we treat ourselves.”

“Just let it go, give yourself a break and then you’ll end up acting in a kinder way to every one around you.”

Be Each Other’s Cheerleaders - “It’s about…women being each other's cheerleaders, because I truly believe we’ve got a choice, especially in the workplace – you can be a mean-girl or you can help someone up.”

Use Fashion The Right Way - “I speak in the book about shape and size and would never advocate ‘oh you know what, I think you need to slim down or tone up’ – great if you want to do that too, but this is what your body is now, so time to get to know it and learn how to dress it.”

Find A Mentor - As she’s already said in some depth, mentors are REALLY important.

Give Back - “I volunteer at the Step Up Women’s Network. There are young women who are very underprivileged – super bright but no one in their family has ever been to college. And we teach them how to apply for a job or write a resume or we just talk about boys and shoes, but it’s like a big sisterly role. “

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What do you think of Louise's point of view? Let us know in the comments!

Louise's book: Front Roe: How To Be The Leading Lady In Your Own Life is available now on AMAZON and FOYLES.