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.
Lyons attended the 2011 CFDA Fashion Awards in a high-low look that featured a simple Oxford shirt and a lime green, sequin midi skirt.
Lyons went shirtless with a velvet tux jacket and pull on tailored trousers at Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 13th Annual An Enduring Vision Benefit in 2014.
Lyons predicted SS22’s sweater-around-the-waist trend (as showcased at Bottega Veneta and Louis Vuitton) back in 2014 with this low-key cool look.
Winter fashion week dressing is hard to master, but Lyons always did it with ease, mostly by layering on jacket after jacket like she did here in 2015.
For a J.Crew presentation during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in 2015, Lyons mismatched her stripes by pairing a crisp, striped button-down shirt with wide-leg pinstripe pants.
Yes, you can wear pajamas to the Met Gala. At least, that’s what Lyons did in 2015 for the museum’s China: Through The Looking Glass exhibit.
Lyons made gala dress codes seem flexible when she wore this taupe bomber jacket with matching puddle pants to the 2016 Brooklyn Museum Artists Ball in 2016.
The designer paired once-stuffy loafers with a midi skirt, a cropped military jacket, and a leopard-print coat to attend Mara Hoffman’s presentation during NYFW in 2017.
Lyons arrived at Loden Dager spring 2011 in the 2010s equivalent of a Canadian tuxedo, aka clashing denim (skinny jeans specifically) paired with heels and lots of gold bangles.
Lyons went casual to Prabal Gurung’s spring 2014 show in a cropped leather bomber, jeans, and a white button-down shirt with a chic gold cuff styled over her sleeves.
Next: These 30 J.Crew Items Just Turned Me Into a Shopper for Life
