Style by Chelsa

The Insider: Chelsa Skees

Chelsa Skees plays many roles at Of a Kind: friend, customer, model of this week’s Blue Flute Tank by Tucker, and life-saver—she’s the one responsible for pulling off the epic sample sale we’re hosting tomorrow at the Ace Hotel in NYC (11a to 7p—come!). To boot: She also has silly-good personal style cultivated during her years working right alongside Francisco Costa at Calvin Klein, and ninja makeup skills she’s been honing since age five. —claire

Q: Our photographer, Jamie, completely lost it over how good your makeup looked when you showed up to model the Tucker tank. How’d you get so good?

A: I started wearing makeup when I was way too young—like, five. I was wearing my mom’s makeup, you know? And she’d come home and be like, “What the hell are you doing with all this makeup on your face?” So it has always been an interest for me. In college, I decided that I would work for Clinique, and then after college I was offered the opportunity come back as a trainer.

Q: And what did you do after leaving Clinique?

A: Right when I moved to New York, I worked for College Humor for a very brief time. Then I started at Calvin Klein, where I was the studio manager. I managed the budget, I managed the team, I managed the fashion calendar, and I was the liaison between the production side of things in Milan and the designer side of things in New York.

Q: You’re always wearing stuff from new designers. Who’s your favorite?

A: I definitely have to say Julian Louie. He went to Cooper Union to be an architect, and I think there’s something really lovely about that. Designers who have an architecture background are always designers I end up loving because they have a really interesting view.

Q: We love your glasses so much we made you put them on for the photo shoot. Have you always worn them?

A: No—I just started needing them, but I kind of love the excuse to accessorize with them. I went in for my eye exam and told the doctor, “Oh, there’s nothing wrong with my eyes.” I walked out that day with a pair of classic, olive green frames by Paul Smith [pictured]. And then when I had my hair dyed blond, I bought pink 3.1 Phillip Lim ones because I thought, “What the hell? It’s Barbie style!”

Q: You own a couple of Of a Kind editions—which is your favorite?

A: I love the Erin Considine necklace. When I wear it, I like it to be the focus—I’ll put it on with a crew neck in a neutral color. I also just bought the Maxx & Unicorn wallet for my boyfriend Dennis [Crowley, co-founder of Foursquare], and he loves it. He actually sent me the link to it first and said, “Should I buy this?!” I told him not to because I wanted to surprise him with it.