This weekend, Bravo’s seemingly endless roster of cast members met in NYC for BravoCon, an annual celebration of everything from Summer House to the entire Real Housewives franchise. In true Bravo fashion, the drama was plentiful. But it wasn’t until a mid-convention taping of Watch What Happens Live that the most surprising and shocking announcement was made: Jenna Lyons is becoming a housewife. A real housewife of New York City, that is.
More likely than not, you know Lyons from her 26-year tenure at J.Crew, where she started as a junior designer right out of college and eventually rose to become president and executive creative director. There, and specifically during the late-2000s and 2010s, Lyons was responsible for shaping the wardrobes of practically an entire generation of women. She even has a New York Times-backed name to prove it: “The Woman Who Dresses America.”
As opposed to the classic, east coast aesthetic the brand was known for in the ’90s (the one that appears to be making a comeback right now under new head of women’s design Olympia Gayot), Lyons’s J.Crew was bright and experimental, with bold, chunky accessories paired down with a button-down shirt and animal print outerwear styled with clashing cashmere knits. Loud and upbeat, the designer taught women how to make officewear fun, going-out gear elegant, and casual ensembles for a nothing day exciting.
So, to celebrate the latest addition to Lyons’s CV, we rounded up all the ways the newest member of the Real Housewives family defined style in the 2000s and 2010s. Check it out below.
