Kristina O’Neill

I have been desperately trying to figure out how to describe my good friend, Kristina O’Neill, a former colleague and editor of the WSJ. magazine. My best? She is very much like Jo in Little Women. Kristina is one of the most authentic women in fashion I know. Enthusiastic, completely lacking in pretense (a feat in itself when it comes to fashion), hard-working, and glamorous without really realizing so. Kristina is a working mother with a gorgeous daughter and adorable husband.

I have watched her grow into her position over the years and am proud and not at all surprised at what she has accomplished. Despite her hectic schedule, she was happy to answer my extensive questionnaire. Of course, so am I….

Current Uniform: Black, black, and more black. I am making a real effort to pull myself together more, and black seems to be the easiest route. That means I’m mixing all my shades and textures, so a typical outfit is my thick linen Alexander Wang jacket with an ankle-length Zero dress, Uniqlo heat-tech tights, and my suede Burberry wedges from last winter. I bought a pair of Celine tuxedo pants with a satin cummerbund that I love wearing with a white T-shirt, my Rick Owens motorcycle jacket, and my Michael Kors Mongolian vest. I am not precious about my clothes, and the more push-pull in an outfit the better. I am STILL rocking my Balmain fringe boots from a few years back—those are going to be hard to retire. I’ve also been wearing red lipstick morning, noon, and night.

Weekend Uniform: I wish I could say that it’s a huge departure from my workweek uniform, but it’s not: more black! Current/Elliot dark-gray jeans, Alexander Wang sweatshirts and T-shirts. It’s been so cold, I broke down and bought a Patagonia vest to layer under everything—my puffer, my furs. I haven’t felt the real motivation to put on proper footwear, just my trusty L.L. Bean boots.

What are you obsessed with for spring? I just bought my first Zero Maria Cornejo dress, and boy do I feel late to the party. Not sure how I’ve gone this long without her in my closet. I also loved all the denim on the runways, especially at Celine. I will probably splurge on the denim tunic when I’m in Paris.

Current favorite bag and shoes: A navy-blue quilted Chanel 2.55. It’s a bit oversize and feels so right against all the black. I’ve been on the hunt for a red jersey 2.55, but I haven’t had any luck. (Karl, if you are reading this, please reissue!) I wish I could say there’s some new footwear in my wardrobe, but I’ve been pretty uninspired lately. So back to the Burberry and Balmain boots!

You can never have too many… Striped T-shirts. My friends are ready to have a stripe-rvention!

Women whose style inspires you: Duh, Kate Moss! But also Stella McCartney, Phoebe Philo, and Sofia Coppola.

Carrying her Papier + notebooks and wearing K. Jacques sandals

Five essentials: couldn’t help myself, I did 10!
1. Quelques Fleurs perfume, so granny but so right!
2. Cartier stationery with my name engraved in hot pink
3. Papier + clothbound notebooks in gray
4. My stack of gold rings. I wear five on my ring finger—a superthin Jennifer Meyer with a teeny-tiny diamond, a superthin Caitlin Mociun band, my grandmother’s engagement ring from 1946 engraved with my grandfather’s name, a Cartier Entrelacés ring, and an organic Dean Harris ring my husband gave me as a “ring holder” when we got engaged and I couldn’t make up my mind about an engagement ring. The irony is that I only wear this ring now!
5. Falke tights
6. By Terry Baume de Rose
7. Klorane dry shampoo—non-areosol
8. Color with Reyed at Fekkai
9. Lancôme Red Haute lipstick
10. K. Jacques gladiator sandals. I always have three or four pairs in rotation when the weather warms up. I already bought my summer ones—red suede Fregate fringe gladiators and the classic Agopos in silver.

Hotel: The Lancaster in Paris

Favorite vacation spot: Bluefields Bay, Jamaica, and my parents’ house in Virginia. But I’m also very fond of the staycation.

Long-flight musts:
Back issues of The New Yorker and current issues of Grazia, People and Us Weekly
iPad
Armand Diradourian cashmere blanket
Lots of water to balance out the wine!

Favorite sites: I’m a Net-a-Porter fiend. I very rarely set foot into brick-and mortar stores these days, so almost all of my purchases come from NAP. I also love jcrew.com and shopbird.com.

Being a WORKING mom means… There’s no such thing as quantity time; it’s all about quality.

Favorite non-work activity: QT with my husband and daughter