The 5 Questions We Ask Everyone: Styl’d Star, Julie Weiss

Rachel Zoe may be the most well-known celebrity stylist out there, but not for long. Julie Weiss, stylist to the stars and mentor on MTV’s newest reality show Styl’d, is gonna give that skinny style maven a run for her (oodles of) money.

Weiss may look like your typical fun and laid back L.A. girl, but when it comes to style she means business. She’s tough, she knows what she wants, and she gets it, because when it comes to fashion, this girl knows her sh*t. Though it was a slow start full of long hours for very little pay (her first assignment was a full day shoot for only $75!), Weiss worked her way up from assisting at department store fashion shows to dressing Hollywood’s finest. She’s styled stars like Kanye West, Britney Spears and The Pussycat Dolls.

And now she’s passing on her fashion knowledge to 6 aspiring celebrity stylists. And by “passing on her knowledge,” I mean, “trying to get these kids to stop being so lazy and start putting some clothes on people.” Julie’s a busy gal, but we tracked her down last week (on a break from getting Julianne Hough ready for the CMAs!) to get her take on trends, her role on reality TV and, obviously, her favorite song to blast in the car while roaming those crazy L.A. streets.

5 Questions We Ask Everyone:

1. What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
[I was driving home after] I was at a bar and I had a few drinks. We had left Mexican food in the car that we had eaten before and I was shoving a quesadilla down my throat when a cop pulled us over. I started freaking out. I’m like “Omg, I had some drinks, it’s 2 AM, I’m going to get a ticket.” So he makes me take a sobriety test. He looked at my eyes with the flashlight and I had to walk the line and everything.  I was freaking out. Thank god I passed. And then he asked me out! He was like “Can I have our number?”  And he let me go.

2. Name 5 things you can’t live without:
My car, my flats/flat boots because I run around a lot, my cell phone, my Chanel purses and French Vogue.

3. Do you have any advice or personal motto you live and work by?
I don’t really have a motto, but I like honesty, respect and good character in people. I respect people that try and work hard; it doesn’t go unnoticed. Even if you’re not doing a great job, it’s important to try and improve.

4. What is your Favorite song to belt out in the car or alone at our house?
I love that new Fergie song Meet me Halfway.

5. Finish this sentence: In ten years I will be _____?
I will have a clothing line in Wal-Mart. I’d like to have clothes that everyone can afford in all financial backgrounds that are trendy and cool. I would want to do something creative and stylish that everyone could have a piece of.

5 Questions Just for Julie…plus a bonus one:

1. On the show Styl’d it looks like you’re a take no crap kind of a woman. Are you doing this for TV or is this your way of teaching the junior stylists?
I’m definitely tough on them but not for no reason. This is what’s going on and this is my response to the actions that are seriously happening on the job; the cameras are going all day, but we are working for real. These are real people; real things; a real, normal day and they are messing up and not listening. I’m trying to mentor them too, of course; like I said earlier, I see potential if you’re trying to improve and trying to learn. I understand this is new to them, but at the same time they’re here and they’re so lucky to be in this position, so work hard and try to maintain it and make us feel like we made the right decision in choosing you over all these other kids.

2. Obviously having a sense of style is important in being stylist, but what else is does it take to be successful in the field?
You need to be able to multitask, make quick decisions, and just be smart. You have to be well organized and take high pressure throughout the day, every day. You have to keep going and make everyone happy – the publicist, the record label, the management, the commissioner for the music video, the actual celebrity… So many people have a say and it’s really high pressure and lots of opinions [so] you have to know your limits.

3. Who is your favorite celebrity client thus far in your career?
Right now I’m working with Julianne Hough and I’ve worked with her for a while. She’s a star in the upcoming film Footloose, she was on Dancing with the Stars, she’s a country singer. She’s really changed; she’s gotten more rocker edgy. When I met her she was more country. When we did her first album it was all boots and jeans. Now we’re going a lot edgier, rocker country. I love how we’re transitioning and where her image is going and that I’m going along for the ride with her. She’s really evolving.

4. What is your biggest go-to fashion item or trend right now?
Buckle boots are really big right now. I love boots. There are so many of them – you can get really edgy ones that criss-cross with a bunch of buckles and a high heel, to over the knee, to a flat boot. It’s a huge trend for fall, wearing them with or without tights. They are accessible in all price ranges and styles that are comfortable for all kinds of people; everyone can find a boot for them and have a boot for fall

5. What’s the biggest fashion mistake that people make?
Some people really want to be trendy so these kids put 18 things on, all at once. It’s too much. It’s overkill. It’s like, chill, you can get it in in a week, not in one night. It’s all about balance.

Bonus: Do you have any tips for college kids? A way for them to always look pulled together on a limited budget?
Definitely with accessories. You can easily change up different looks. I just got the cutest scarf from Forever 21. It was $5.50 and it’s amazing. I’ve gotten three compliments already. It’s a vibrant plumby-purple and it looks like it could be $150. Scarves are big for fall; they are fun accessories that you can find from H&M to Target to Forever 21. You can take that scarf and be casual during the day for class and then you can go out to a bar and have it around your neck for some color with a cool jacket and a dressier top and jeans, or with a dress or a skirt and tights. Oh and tights, too. You can find them at all price rages and there’s such fun tights out right now. It brings a fun element of fashion to a look. It’s a small price, but it makes a big statement.

[Catch Styl'd - and all the fashionista drama that comes with it - Tuesday nights at 11pm EST on MTV.]