About Amanda: She often plays the role of a loveable goofball with slapstick antics, but in real life Amanda Bynes' style sense is no joke. We chatted with the movie star at the launch of her line "Dear" for Steve & Barry's, and she gave us the inside scoop on her fashion tastes and inspirations.
Her New Clothing Line: Amanda is so hot now, it only made sense for her to expand her talents into fashion. So when Steve & Barry’s called and asked her to design an affordable line of clothing, Amanda jumped at the chance! She tells how the collaboration came about: "They called me when I was doing Hairspray and they said 'We want you to design a line of clothes for Steve & Barry’s.' They said 'Sarah Jessica Parker is designing a line for us and we want you to be the other girl designing it.' It was such a big honor for me, and I was like oh my god, are you kidding? Are you asking me? Are you sure?" From there the rest is history.
The Design Process: Even though she's incredibly busy, Amanda is still a very hands-on designer for her new line. She says: "I was very involved in the design process! A lot of this stuff is stuff I would want to wear. It’s like shopping in my own closet – it’s freaky! I wanted stuff that if I liked, then hopefully other people would like." She even went as far as to model some of the clothes after favorite items in her closet! She says "I brought in my own favorite jeans and said I want jeans that have this color, and this stretchiness." How cool is that?
Her Fashion Role Model: When we asked Amanda who she admires in the fashion world, she gushed: "Definitely Sarah Jessica Parker. I look up to her – she’s such a fashion icon and a role model. I feel like she’s a great mother – I’m not going to be a mother for long time, but I think she does it all – she’s an actress but she’s very classy, and I think she does a really good job of doing it all."
Style Inspirations: Aside from being inspired by SJP's quirky fashion sense, Amanda admitted that she was also really into vibrant hues for her collection, saying: "We just wanted to go with a lot of pastels, colors that you could really wear. And then we have a lot of pops of color like turquoise. I love color!"
Why the Line is Called Dear: So how did the name of the line become "Dear?" Amanda says, "It came about because we were all sitting around a table looking at different prints for shirts, and there was a little silhouette of a deer, and I thought oh that’s really cute, what if we call the line "Dear!" And so it just sort of clicked. Let’s call it "Dear" like something that is dear to me, like sweet to me."
Her Design Future: With her first collection a huge success at the store, you can expect to see a lot more of Amanda's "Dear" line in the future. She says: "I’m definitely going to be working with Steve & Barry’s for awhile, so we’ll be incorporating different things for all the different seasons. I’m contracted with them for 5 years – the same as Sarah Jessica Parker." But don't count on Amanda giving up acting anytime soon - she says that even though she loves designing, "performing is the thing that will always be the #1, pure love of my life."
Amanda's Own Personal Style: So aside from pieces from her own line, what does Amanda like to wear? She says: "I would describe my own style as being comfortable. I love jeans, and I love mixing preppy with casual." Sounds like the kind of laid-back, cool wardrobe that we'd expect from such a cool girl like Amanda Bynes!
