"I go through tons of Post-its and spiral notebooks—it's like I don't hear something unless I write it down. And I have a thing for white pencils." Psst! We discovered those fierce burgundy shoes, which Hillary wears "with tights and a flirty skirt or dress all the time", are only $80 at shoemint.com. (Like them too? Glamour readers get 20 percent off their first pair of shoes on the site with promo code ShoeMint20!)
In 2005 Hillary Kerr and Katherine Power, who met while working for Elle, were just two of the many millions of us scanning celebrity-gossip sites like perezhilton.com every day. But these fashionistas weren't in it for the gossip; what they really wanted to know was where they could get the clothes the stars were wearing. A year and endless late-night planning meetings later, they launched Who What Wear, one of the first websites and e-newsletters to analyze paparazzi shots of celebs for their outfits and then tell readers how to re-create the looks, complete with shoppable links. Now the site, based in Los Angeles, is a fashion-world must-read: "Who What Wear is like your coolest girlfriend, the one with that It factor and perfect sense of style," says Erika Bearman, SVP of communications at Oscar de la Renta. The newsletter recently hit one million subscribers, a milestone that made Kerr cry, which she says is actually OK to do in the office (thanks for that, Hillary!). And it keeps growing, with guest editors like Katie Holmes, Jessica Alba and Kate Bosworth. As the company expands—Who What Wear Beauty just launched—Kerr says she's logging long hours and loving it. "I never thought I had the work ethic to be an entrepreneur," she says, "but when you're passionate about something, you want to do it all the time. Once you've found that one thing, just go for it."
"Surrounding myself with beautiful, captivating images like these
helps me tap into my creativity. My mom is a first-grade teacher,
and she sends me cards all the time. I loved this cat mask one from
Halloween."
"Say yes to everything. I've done things that felt overwhelming at the time—like volunteering to go to Spain for a big story when I was just an assistant—but they turned out to be the most amazing learning experiences."
"Even though it's hard, try not to be the office gossip. Remember, every industry is small."
"Don't act entitled. All that grunt work teaches you what goes into everything else, which will help you handle bigger projects when you move up."
"Comparison is the death of happiness. People get caught up in who gets what account or assignment. Just focus on doing the best work that you can."
"I know the H isn't for Hillary, but wearing this Hermès belt makes me feel like a superhero."
Check out her planner.
6:15 A.M. Rolling out of bed early today to drive to BeachMint, a social-commerce company in Santa Monica, California, to host its live-stream event on Facebook.
7:45 A.M. Makeup, hair, wardrobe. I go with my typical uniform: an Étoile Isabel Marant top and a black Dolce & Gabbana pencil skirt. I deal with so many major decisions in a day that having the little ones figured out just makes life easier.
10:00 A.M. Showtime. Minus a few glitches, the event is a success.
12:30 P.M. Grab lunch (a brown-rice bowl) while driving to Who What Wear's headquarters, in L.A.
1:00 P.M. Back in my office, 467 emails await. I scan for urgent messages and mark others unread so I can come back to them later.
2:30 P.M. Turn away from the computer and edit. This is 100 percent focus time.
4:30 P.M. Next month's planning meeting. Everybody pitches—great ideas always get a boss's attention.
7:30 P.M. Off to dance class with Tracy Anderson. This, or drinks or a date, is my "hard out." I won't leave work if I'm not forced to.
9:00 P.M. Home in West Hollywood. Nightly must-do: reading something unrelated to fashion or work. It clears my head so I can fall asleep!
