Michael Kors Helps Nikki Reed Choose a Dream Dress

Michael Kors Helps Nikki Reed Choose a Dream Dress



Talk about a glam slam! Eva Chen tags along as Michael Kors helps Nikki Reed choose a dream dress for Teen Vogue's Young Hollywood party.

Some people, dear readers, just love being in the public eye. They'll jump at any chance to walk a red carpet or zoom in front of the camera at the slightest hint of a shutter snap. Not me! Despite all appearances, I am totally camera shy. I love a good red carpet--but from the sidelines, with a notepad and pen in hand for interviews, or reading all about it in tabloids. (Confession: I can trace my phobia to the time I was forced to walk the red carpet right behind Sienna Miller--a phalanx of paparazzi shrieking for her and one lone, sad flashbulb flickering for me.)

Of course, if you're a celebrity like, say, Twilight star Nikki Reed, you'd better love being in the spotlight. "I'm used to it after walking on over a hundred red carpets in the last two years, but it never really feels normal," she recently confided to me as we browsed the Michael Kors store on New York City's Madison Avenue. "I never think, Geez, I look hot. It's usually such a whirlwind that I don't even know what I really look like with hair and makeup until I see a picture of myself the next day."

That afternoon Nikki and I were on the hunt for the perfect frock for her to wear to Teen Vogue's Young Hollywood Party, an annual powwow of the silver and small screens' most promising talent. And as if shopping with Nikki wasn't quite "Is my life surreal or what?" enough, we were joined by none other than, oh, the king of the red carpet himself, Michael Kors. You see, Kors had recently created a fragrance that was pretty much perfect for Nikki: Very Hollywood Michael Kors Sparkling (a yummy blend of mandarin, black currant, and neroli). Inspired by Nikki's nascent stardom, he came to the fashion aid of the not-so-in-distress damsel. And Kors, being so very Kors, got along smashingly with Nikki. So much so that it was hard for Beauty Blogger to get a word in edgewise--a rare occurrence. Take, for instance, this rapid-fire exchange (which occurred within a minute):

Michael Kors: I'm so excited to be dressing you because if there's one thing I love, it's a girl who has a real body--I love curves--and one with a healthy glow.

Nikki Reed: Lucky for you, I have plenty of both! For a long time, I fought my natural gifts. But now that I'm in my 20s, I understand that it really is about loving your body and working with what you have. I don't need to look like a runway model.

Michael Kors: It's true. I think of models as genetic aberrations.

Nikki Reed: Totally! And 99 percent of guys don't want to date that, you know? They'd rather have a real girl, someone with a body. Actually, the turning point for me in my body acceptance was when I quit smoking when I turned 21. I started doing a lot more sports then. That was a big step for me in loving myself and getting over the stick-figure body-envy nonsense--and it was because I felt stronger.

Love Nikki's message! But I digress. The matter at hand--choosing a fabulous dress--beckoned. Each one selected by Kors was more shimmery, feathery, or slinky than the previous. Nikki began with an inky-blue body-con bandage number. "Done! I'm going to wear this," she said, twirling around in front of the full-length mirror. "That was so easy!" Kors, not to be deterred, handed her another gem: a flapper-y minidress with a feather hem. "Try this on too. One trick of shopping is to never automatically go for the first thing you try on," he advised. "It's all about options-- and, of course, being comfortable."

Darlings, Kors was right. After six more costume changes, Nikki found The One: a sparkly and swingy confection. She admitted that it was the antithesis of dresses she's worn in the past: "I adore the shape, but I've never actually worn gold before. I always thought it'd wash me out because of my olive skin." Au contraire, Kors said. "It's the opposite--it's so flattering. You look like a golden goddess." When party preening, strive for the best version of yourself, he said. "Too many girls approach it with a Cinderella complex. It's not about transforming yourself into a different person--because who you are to begin with is pretty amazing."