Rachel Zoe talks motherhood, psychology and styling John Wayne

Rachel Zoe, stylist, fashion designer and author of “Living in Style: Inspiration And Advice for Everyday Glamour,� (written with Monica Corcoran Harel) kicked things off at the Festival of Books on Saturday morning. She was interviewed by photographer, TV personality and friend Amanda de Cadenet before a capacity crowd of 150.

Clad in a black jumpsuit and 6-inch Brian Atwood heels with a 1-1/2-inch platform (the audience asked), Zoe and de Cadenet chatted for 45 minutes. While their conversation -- and questions from the audience -- ranged from how to embark on a fashion career (“Don’t have a sense of entitlement,� Zoe offered, “There is this lack of modesty when you start [your career] these days.�) to how she would style John Wayne if the actor were alive today (“A Tom Ford tuxedo,� she answered without missing a beat), there were two throughlines: motherhood and psychology.

FULL COVERAGE: Festival of Books

Zoe explained that she had studied psychology in college and, while her career went in a direction she hadn’t expected, she said she uses her psychology degree “every single day.�

“If someone isn’t comfortable they’re going to look miserable,� she said, “and what this book is about is telling people they can do [their look] in 10 or 15 minutes.�

Zoe said she also uses psychology in styling her celebrity clients. “Say the Oscars are March 1,� she said. “We usually start around November or Dec. 1. The things we consider are: What do you want to look like? What are your colors? What message do you want to put out? If someone has been in a really emotionally wrenching movie, we’re not going to put them in a princess dress. It’s about making them look unique and different but also being their best selves.�

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She also said being a mother of two (her youngest is 3 months old) has not only changed the way she approaches her work schedule (“I don’t like to do things on the weekend,� and at about 5 o’clock every day I feel this gravitational pull toward my kids,�) but how she interacts with clients.

“Being a stylist is a lot like being a parent,� she explained. “You need to be patient. You need to step back and understand what’s being communicated -- whether you’re dealing with a celebrity, a private client or a child.�

While her first book “Style A to Zoe,� penned seven years ago, was about helping readers re-create the red carpet glamour that helped put Zoe on the style map, she said the new book is geared toward showing readers that they don’t need a “red carpet gown or an up ‘do� to be glamorous. “I think of this book as Rachel Zoe 2.0 - I wanted to show that you can make it easy and effortless. If you feel good, you look good - that’s what this book is about.�

One key piece of advice -- especially for the busy career woman / working mom: “A lot of it is about having ‘go-tos’- a few sure things in your closet whether it’s three things or 30 things, a certain dress or jeans, that you can mix and match and accessorize. You can literally get ready in 10 to 15 minutes.�

As it turns out, Zoe very much took her own advice in getting ready for Saturday’s appearance. “I got ready in like, three minutes - literally - this black jumpsuit was on the front rack of my jumpsuit section,� she said. “and I figured it was black, I’ll be out in the sun and I’ve got [son] Skyler with me so I’ll probably end up having food smooshed all over it. And I was done.�

“I wish I could say I have a diagram or a blueprint to everything I do,� she told the crowd. “But 90% of the time I wing it.�

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