Elyse Walker (Kunst)

*****
Boutique Owner & Co-Founder, ForwardbyElyseWalker.com. Los Angeles

“The best part of owning my own boutique is being able to walk into a 6,500 square foot closet and pull something the night before leaving for a trip!” Elyse Walker told us.

You have to admit, it definitely is an enviable and unique privilege to own your own store stocked with the A, B, Cs (as well as the E-Zs!) of fashion: Alexander McQueen and Alaïa, Balenciaga and Brian Atwood, Carven and Charlotte Olympia and everything else thereafter. So we weren’t too shocked when we had the honor of digging through Walker’s own walk-in at her Santa Monica abode. Her pristine penthouse overlooks the ocean and despite the foggy haze covering the city that particular day, Walker had that whole I-just-walked-out-of-water beachy waves going on. Oh, and that dewy glow? Walker points to her bottles of Natura Bissé; she loves their Diamond Extreme Cream.

Her handsome husband showered us with his famous popcorn—Walker says she can’t live without it— and we were given a tour of her home-slash-museum, which was filled with pieces by Damien Hirst and RETNA, one of her favorite artists-turned-friend.

Walker’s closet is an archive of art-like pieces showcasing the likes of Peter Pilotto, Givenchy, Isabel Marant and more. (Let’s say it all together now, “All our friends are here!”) And we got to love a woman who’s not afraid to embrace our “If it’s nice, buy (er, borrow from your store?) it twice!” rule of thumb. (See: her Alaïa booties; Fact: Cov-alums Sasha Charnin Morrison and Khloé Kardashian doubled up on these very same shoes.) Cause the best things come in twos, right? But leave it to the expert buyer to take said rule to the next level, purchasing not two, but three pairs of Chloé’s Susanna studded boots and a trio of Balenciaga snakeskin totes.

Credit card limit aside, we can totally get behind her “If it’s nice buy it thrice” mentality. So next time you find yourself torn between three items in various colorways, just ask yourself: WWEWD? “What would Elyse Walker do?”

http://www.thecoveteur.com/elyse_walker

http://www.ForwardbyElyseWalker.com