Melissa Rivers: Style Maven

By Kristen Henning via wwd.com

Melissa Rivers is a part of the cool crowd. The daughter of Joan Rivers and co-star of reality TV show “Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best” collaborated with Zappos.com for her first clothing venture for The Cool People. And the line, which launches next month on the site, could include footwear next, she said. “I would love to do shoes eventually,” Rivers said while in New York Wednesday to fête the new line. “My whole life is about looking good but being comfortable, so I tried to make clothes that go with [shoes] I already own.” Yet on Wednesday, she opted for a pair of orange snakeskin peep-toe pumps by Fendi to pair with a multicolored dress from her line. Here, Rivers sounds off on her other favorite brand names and the footwear trend she despises.

On her personal style:
“I’ve spent so many years uncomfortable on the red carpet, so in real life everything has to have comfort without sacrificing style. I’m a cool mom and I work a number of jobs, so I always use shoes to mix up the outfit. The shoes I wear to a meeting are not the shoes I wear on the baseball field [with my son]. I have teetered across a field or two when I was running late and had forgotten a pair of [flats] in the car.”

On her favorite summer footwear trend:
“I thought I was going to fight it, but I’m really into the fluorescent, neon, bright pop of color in a shoe.”

On her least favorite trend:
“The big clunky heavy soles are coming back. I understand when you want a more substantial shoe, but the big, huge, clunky shoes that look like orthopedic corrective shoes — I can’t do it.”

On heel height:
“Every year [my limit] seems to change. I’ll never do the big platforms because I have to be able to walk and drive in them. But I do have two pairs of heels I have to take off to drive. I can’t feel the pedal because the platform is too high.”

On her footwear brands of choice:
“On the red carpet, I’m always happiest in Manolo Blahnik. And I live in my Fiorentini & Baker boots and my Converse.”