Fashion Style

While at Coterie, the fashion trade show at New York City's Pier 94, mentally assembling our dream wardrobe this weekend (Theory pants, Elizabeth and James jacket...), we noticed a booth coming up on our left that had boutique buyers circling like sharks. It was Paper Crown, Lauren Conrad's new (non-Kohl's) fashion line. Conrad herself was there to explain the line, wearing high-waisted leather shorts from the collection and '60s winged liner. We chatted with her about her favorite Paper Crown look and her all-time beauty hits and hair color misses.
Why the name Paper Crown? W
hen I was little I used to go to my grandmother's and we would always play dress-up; but when I would go there, I wouldn't have my dress-up trunk with me, so we'd make these paper crowns. That was our way of creating our own glamour—and that's what we wanted the line to be like.
Do you have a favorite piece?
I love the tiered dresses. [Shown above]
How would you wear your hair and makeup with one?
Well, it depends on where I'm going and how I'm accessorizing it—but I would probably wear my hair down, because it's a chiffon dress and it's flowy, and I'd go for a more natural makeup look.
What's the one makeup item you have to wear everyday?
If I can only put one thing on, mascara. I bet that's everyone's answer! I wear Maybelline New York Full 'N Soft mascara.
You've been rocking darker hair recently
I usually change the color a little bit, every two and half months I go in [to Chris McMillan Salon]; it's always really subtle changes.
So you're never going extreme—no fire engine red for you?
No! Actually, my hairdresser is a redhead and she pulls it off amazingly. But no, I tried red hair in high school and it did not look good on me. It was more a maroon.

What made you go for that at the time?
Oh, when I was in high school, on Friday nights I used to dye my hair out of a box. It was something to do. I would just get bored, I guess.
And how long did the maroon hair last?
Not very long! It was a red-brown that had turned into a purple-y maroon. I remember I showed up at school and we had gotten our new soccer uniforms that day, and it was the exact color of our new jerseys. Everyone said, "Oh that's so cool." And I was like, "I have to change this immediately! This is not intentional!"
Any other hair color regrets?
I had bleached hair for awhile. It was pretty bad.
But did you like it at the time?
I mean, I'm from Orange County, so it was the norm. Everybody had badly bleached hair [then]. But yeah, it's so funny because I'll look back at pictures and think, "Oh my God, I thought I looked so great." It's hysterical.