Ashley Weston

My Refinery29 “30 Under 30 List” Shoot: The Menswear Stylist

I’m honored to be included in Refinery 29’s 30 Under 30 List as “The Menswear Stylist” to watch. The list includes some of the most influential and inspiring individuals who are killing it in their respective industries…and as you might have guessed, we’re all under the age of 30.

You can see the full interview at the link below but thought it would be fun to share a couple of the interview questions that didn’t make the cut:

Q: Which celebrity would play you in the movie version of your life? Why?

A: Sandra Bullock – 1. She’s hilarious. 2. Have you seen what she looks like? She’d make me way hotter and funnier than I really am!

Q: When you were a kid, what did you think you were going to be doing at this age? Explain.

A: I seriously thought I’d be an astronaut at this point in my life. But clearly that didn’t pan out…Nor did being a weather woman, rocket scientist, zoologist, and Olympic gymnast.

See the full interview and pictures here:

Refinery 29 30 Under 30 List

Get This Look: What To Wear To A Summer Evening Party

Classic film star Anthony Perkins shows us how to wear a short-sleeve sweatshirt to a summer evening event.

This past week, a guy friend called me up and asked what he could wear to a summer evening event that wouldn’t leave him drowning in his own sweat. A simple shirt and trousers would look too underdressed, but a jacket, even a light one, would not help with the sweating problem. I immediately recommended he go with a short-sleeve sweatshirt.

They’re lighter than a jacket, made out of breathable cotton, and are comfortable to boot.

Follow these steps to recreate Perkins’ look:

Choose a light colored short-sleeve sweater, like this Club Monaco Terry Short-Sleeved Crewneck, $60.
Wear over a darker colored short-sleeve button-down shirt, making sure the collar stays underneath the sweater.
Roll up the sweater’s sleeves but make sure your shirt sleeves aren’t peeking out.
Finish with dress pants and dress shoes.

Photo: The Impossible Cool

How To Mix Patterns

Nick Wooster, master of sartorial style & Creative Director of J.C. Penney, clearly knows what he’s doing when mixing patterns.

The key to wearing patterns, especially bold ones like this herringbone jacket and harris tweed tie, is to break it up.

Without the solid black vest, his outfit would just look like one giant fabric swatch and frankly, like you’re trying too hard. The vest frames the tie, allowing it to complement the outfit, and helps break up the 2 different patterns. Look at how much cooler, almost relaxed the outfit looks with that vest. Adding the white cotton pocket square also helps.

Let me also mention the other details that really pull this all together:

The collar of his shirt lays neatly under his vest – as it always should!
Hair perfectly coiffed.
Facial hair groomed impeccably.
The thickness of his frames complements the jacket pattern.

Source: The Sartorialist

My GQ Photoshoot: Comedy Central’s Key & Peele

Check out my latest shoot for GQ ’s February issue. Styled Comedy Central’s famous sketch duo, Key and Peele AKA Obama and Luther (his angry id).

During the shoot, I decided to join in and become Obama’s angry ninja 🙂

You can imagine the shoot was filled with laughter and funny jokes. These guys were awesome! My team and I couldn’t stop laughing throughout the shoot.

And loved working with photographer Dan Winters again! The last shoot we worked on was the Mars Rover/NASA team for GQ’s Men Of The Year issue.

Check out the spread in this month’s GQ featuring Beyonce on the cover.

How To Wear A Tuxedo Like These Leading Men

Curious about how to look as slick as these guys did in a tux at the 2013 Golden Globes?

Ben Affleck killed it last night in his navy 3-piece Gucci tuxedo. The fit was incredible. His bow tie perfectly complemented the width of his lapels which is a MUST when wearing a tux. The only (tiny) problem I have with this look is his vest. It seems to be a bit short which explains why we see a bit of his shirt peeking through at his stomach. Regardless, bravo!

Leonardo DiCaprio, hands down, wins Best Dressed of the night. His classic notch lapel tux was well tailored and just so slick. The hem of his pant had a slight break. Patent leather tux shoes. And the perfect size bow tie. Everything about this look was on point.

I adore Bradley Cooper. And I love his beautiful Tom Ford tux, with those powerful-sized lapels. However, I’m distracted by his bow tie, which looks so tiny in comparison to the width of his lapels. I wish the bow tie were bigger. Guys, take note. Your bow tie should always complement the width of your lapel. Wider lapel, bigger bow tie. Slimmer lapel, smaller bow tie.

What did you all think? Who were your Best Dressed Men at the 2013 Golden Globes?

GQ Photoshoot: The Cast of Parks and Recreation

I was home at my loft, waking up to a cup of my favorite Vietnamese coffee when I got an email from my agent that said I’ve been booked for a GQ shoot…taking place in less than 24 hours!

Prepping for this shoot was INSANE! A crazy 24 hour adventure styling 10 people, but not just anyone…It’s the entire cast of “Parks and Recreation:” Amy Poehler, Aziz Ansari, Rob Lowe, Rashida Jones, Adam Scott, Aubrey Plaza, Chris Pratt, Nick Offerman, Jim O’heir, and Retta. And this is for the GQ Men Of The Year issue.

To put this in context, a normal shoot styling 1 person usually takes 3 days to prepare.

This time, we only had 24 hours to get together as many looks as possible for each of the 10 people. For me personally, that means at least 5 options for each person…so we’re needing 50 looks now…multiplied by pants, shirts, jackets, skirts, dresses, shoes, belts, etc…hundreds of pieces I will need by 6am! THE NEXT MORNING!!!!

Luckily, I have great contacts here in LA and with a team of 4 assistants helping me pull, we were able to make it happen!

Here are some behind the scenes pics on set. We shot at the old CBS studio, home of where “Parks and Recreation” is filmed; and the concept of the shoot was classic 70’s Hollywood Squares. After my team set up all the clothes, we were astonished to realize we filled up 8 rolling racks and 3 accessories tables filled with shoes, ties, belts, pocket squares, tie bars, and jewelry.

Some of my fav looks:
I chose a sexy yet conservative Dolce & Gabbana lace top for Amy Poehler which she looked so chic in; and for me, I couldn’t imagine Aziz Ansari in anything less than this John Varvatos 3-piece suit. He has a very debonair quality, don’t you think?

We had such an amazing time on set! Chris Pratt and Nick Offerman were so funny and great to work with! Jokes were flying left and right. Amy Poehler was awesome, Aziz Ansari is just so cool and smooth. I also got to teach my favorite tie knot, a half windsor, to Mr. Adam Scott.

I just want to thank Danielle Levitt who did a fantastic job photographing the cast, and I’m SO glad everyone at GQ loved the spread. They’re truly an amazing team to work with!

Don’t forget to check out the show, Thursdays at 9:30pm PST on NBC.

Check out the spread in this month’s GQ featuring Rihanna, Channing Tatum, and Ben Affleck on the cover.

How To Dress A Celebrity: Go Behind-The-Scenes With A Celebrity Menswear Stylist

Have you ever wondered what goes in to styling a client for a big event? I’m going to take you on the inside – from the moment I’m booked on a job to lint rolling the client’s outfit before they step onto the red carpet.

Monday, 11am:
I receive a call from a member of my client’s team that an outfit is needed for a big event they’re attending on Thursday. Crap, that’s only 72 hours. We’ve got only one day to pull looks (outfits) from the designer’s showrooms (where their latest collections of clothing are held for magazine shoots and celebrities to use) before the fitting (when the client tries on the looks for the first time) takes place on Wednesday.

My team and I immediately get to work putting together a mood board.

With all the great Fall pieces to choose from this season, I decide to steer away from the norm of a suit. It’s important that my clients always stand out from everyone while still ensuring the look is an honest representation of their personality. For this event, my team and I took inspiration from Paul Newman.

Newman’s easy going style was an art form that all men should embody.

We decide a jacket with a strong collar layered over a sweater will be the foundation of the look. We come up with a bunch of possible combinations. Should we pair a grey cowl-neck sweater from Billy Reid with a leather jacket? Or how about a camel cowl neck layered over a button-down shirt and tie as seen on Burberry’s catwalk? Paired with a charcoal blazer? Perhaps Jil Sander’s classic black crewneck sweater and dress pants is effortless enough? A merlot sweater? After looking through designers’ lookbooks (a picture book of the season’s newest looks) for the right pieces, we race off to email and call showrooms to request the pieces. We’ve got only an hour before the NY showrooms close for the day.

Tuesday, 6am:
Between gulps of coffee, I’m calling New York showrooms, confirming the looks we requested the day before will be sent out in time to arrive at our office by noon tomorrow – just in time for the fitting with the client. My team and I then set about running around LA, securing (we call it “pulling”) clothes from designers who have their samples here in LA. It’s important to not entirely depend on samples coming from NY, in case some of the packages don’t arrive on time… or at all. Always, ALWAYS have a backup, especially if the packages are coming from NY. Too many variables can happen – bad weather, theft (this has happened a few times) and other acts of God.

Wednesday, Afternoon:
24 hours before Thursday’s event. The team and I gather all the looks – luckily, all the NY packages came on time (whew) – and load them into our cars to meet the client wherever they are – if they can’t meet at my office. Typically, the fitting can go one of two ways: One of the looks works perfectly without any fuss or the looks aren’t winners and I quickly rework the looks based on my intimate knowledge of the clothing and my client’s personal sense of style.

Once agreed, the clothes are pinned into place – this shows my tailor exactly where things need to be taken in, hemmed, etc. The outfit is then rushed to alterations. My tailor is used to my last minute requests. Everything is always urgent in this profession.

Tip: If you’ve ever wondered why stars looks so great on the red carpet, the biggest factor, aside from a few others, is having every piece of clothing altered to fit them. Whether off the runway or off the rack, clothes never fit perfectly. GET. THEM. ALTERED.

Thursday, Afternoon:
A few hours before the big event the finished pieces are picked up from the tailors and rushed to the client’s house. You’re probably thinking “Why do stylists need to be there when all the client has to do is put on the clothes and leave?” In a perfect world, that’s exactly how it’d be. But this isn’t a perfect world, so we’re there to ensure everything is absolutely perfect. In menswear, the smallest details are extremely important. The pants have to be cuffed at just the perfect length, the buckle of a belt positioned just right, the shirt tucked in just enough, I could go on for days…

With one roll of the lint brush, the look is complete and they’re on their way to walk the red carpet.

Definitely my favorite moment of the entire process is seeing pictures of that final look on the red carpet – it’s such a great feeling to see my clients look effortless, polished, and 100% true to themselves!