Those of you who recognize Ariana Grande from her flame-tressed character, Cat Valentine, on the Nickelodeon show ‘Victorious’ may only know the zany, effervescent, wild fashion side of the 18-year-old. The real Ariana attests that her personal style is WAY different and is looking forward to fall to experiment with new denim silhouettes, bold coats and, of course, CHANEL CHANEL CHANEL. We caught up with the 18-year-old singer, dancer and actress (who is newly signed to Universal Republic Records) to talk about her best back-to-school beauty, shopping and accessorizing tips.
Cat’s supercute but definitely stylistically out there. How do your tastes differ?
Cat dresses like an absolute maniac most of the time! It’s like, medium cute. It’s definitely different from my personal style and differs even more from my performance style. My performance outfits are very Marie Antoinette, sparkly corsets, giant underwear, and full skirts. And then we do another look that’s ’50s-inspired. Poufy skirts, big bows. Very fun, girlie and young but otherwise, when I’m not in costume I dress really normal. I love high fashion, I love Chanel but at the same time I love a hoodie, jeans and American Apparel sweatpants.
What other brands are you fond of?
My favorites are all over the place. I mentioned Chanel, I love American Apparel, I love Miu Miu and Rebecca Taylor. My style is somewhat classic.
What do you think of Hailee Steinfeld being the face of Miu Miu at 14?
I think it’s amazing that the fashion industry is giving such wonderful opportunities to young actresses and besides, I just love a full eyebrow. I have enormous skyscraper eyebrows so I check hers out and they’re great.
Any fashion tips for our readers who are headed back to school, like, NOW?
I always loved to defy the uniform code because I went to a prep school. I would throw in something to dress up a school uniform. My polo would be the regulation collared shirt but then my skirt would be really short and I’d throw in high socks, a hoodie, a cute cardigan, a big headband or a cool neklace so it wouldn’t be the same thing every single day because that would drive me crazy. Whatever school you go to, high socks are a fail safe for looking amazing.
What kind of school bag did you rock? We can think of about 837493742837 backpacks that we want right now and we’re long out of college.
I went through so many bag phases. I had a rollie backpack which wasn’t that cute but it was great since my back never hurt. I had a bubblegum pink Jansport that broke my neck every single day and all my friends wrote on it. When I was little I had a Paul Frank satchel that I might have thought was the coolest thing ever but that was then [Laughs].
What hemlines will be huge for you in the fall?
Tea length is really cool. I haven’t had the time to really experiment with that tea length, midi silhouette but I really want to. It’s flattering and elegant and I really admire the ’50s and ’60s inspiration. The cool thing about women’s style back then is that it wasn’t all created from a desperate place to get men’s attention. It was more like coy and subtle. It wasn’t like, “Here’s my skirt, here’s my butt cheek.” I love short dresses as well but right now it’s all maxi and tea length for me.
What about beauty trends?
I don’t like having naked nails and I’m really into gels right now. They last so long and your nails get strong as long as you don’t pick or peel them off. I’m really into light pink, pastels and shimmery. I really like crackle polish and think it looks great on other girls but I think it’s a little too hardcore for me. The other thing is my hair right now. I just got it cut three inches and I’m using Moroccan Oil because my hair is red on the show and dying it has taken a toll. I have extensions now which is great but I’ve also been in the position where they’ll be sent to me last minute (my hair is shorter than people think) and we won’t have enough time to cut them. So sometimes I feel like I am being devoured by hair extensions. I have to figure it out. I’ve had to bleach my real hair so many times and it’s felt like a brillo pad. Awful. At any point in the season, your whole life, if you can avoid bleach at all costs, please do. Abort mission.
If you were heading off to college, what jeans would be your go-to?
I haven’t been shopping in forever but you know what I really like right now? I really want to wear those wide-legged jeans. With some clunky heels. I wear skinny jeans like J Brands and Current/Elliott but I love wide-legged trouser denim on other people.
Are you going to buy a new fall coat?
I want to! I think when we’re done with this interview I am literally going to go out and go shopping. For me, I love more of a classic coat or jacket. I’m not big into trends but I’d love an Audrey Hepburn coat, with big buttons, a longer length in a really bold color. They’re the best.
