Reese Witherspoon talks about the inspiration behind her new lifestyle brand Draper James
‘Welcome to Draper James, a new shopping experience inspired by Southern style, grace and charm’.
Honestly? Even if we didn’t know that Draper James is the new endeavour of graceful, charming Southern belle Reese Witherspoon, we probably could have taken an educated guess based on the site’s welcome message! Although we’ve so far only been teased with a few little details, it sounds like Reese’s lifestyle shop is going to be extremely personal, reflecting her unpretentious character and style to a tee.
Gwyneth’s done it and Blake’s done it, now it’s Reese’s go and we’ll eat our 70s inspired floppy hats if it doesn’t turn out to be the best celebrity lifestyle brand yet. Likely to be slightly less preachy than Goop and slightly less, well, odd, than Preserve, Draper James feels like it has the potential to be the most down to earth site.
‘I love all the Southern traditions that I grew up with…my grandmother instilled in me a love for dressing up and hosting family. She surrounded herself with colourful flowers and beautiful things. I wanted to bring all these ideas to a retail experience’, Reese recently said of Draper James.
Expected to sell everything from bed and bath items to fragrances and cosmetics, to lingerie to stationary to baby gear, Draper James is set to launch in May this year. ‘We will sell products made in the South by local artisans who are sharing their own traditions (think looming blankets, casting silver, and denim)’.
As if we didn’t already trust that Reese Witherspoon is a wonderwoman and therefore would have made the store a success all by herself (Oscar nominated for Wild, no biggie…!), she’s hired former CEO of French Connection and Nicole Farhi, Andrea Hyde, as Draper James’ CEO! Talk about professional power couple.
Known for her impeccable interior design style and laid-back preppy-cool dress sense, Reese is already a walking example of her new businesses’ values. We kind of need it to be May already so that we can get our hands on a slice of that Southern life!
