Lauren Conrad Covers REDBOOK April 2013

When it comes to building a wardrobe, Conrad explains, “Whenever someone comes up to me and says, ‘I’m having trouble shopping.’ I tell them to pull out their 10 favorite, most-worn pieces, then build a wardrobe around them. You need to figure out what you gravitate toward, what makes you feel good—and those staples are going to be different for everybody.”

As for her own inspiration when designing her line, Lauren noted, “At first, I was just designing for myself. Then I started getting comments from women who didn’t have my body type, saying things like, ‘I have a larger chest and can’t wear this tent-shaped dress.’ So I’ve learned to make pieces that don’t necessarily flatter me but look great on someone else.”

Lauren also wants to make sure she distinguishes herself from the celebrity fashion designer crowd- “I spent years in school for this. It wasn’t just, ‘I like clothes! I’m going to make some!’”

And she suggests that wannabe fashionistas don’t forget to have fun. “When you’re growing up, you play dress-up – it’s a game, it’s a pastime. And then as you get older, getting ready and looking nice becomes this constant stress. I want to make it fun again.”