Kathy Hilton Lives the Luxe Life
If Kathy Hilton wasn't a society lion and mother to Paris and Nicky, she says said she'd probably be an actress. Her latest role is on the Young and the Restless where she appears as herself, and saves the day for the overstressed staff of Restless Style.
But before she went downstairs to do that, Mrs. Hilton ("It's Kathy!" she insists) stopped by the RS covershoot. Y&R viewers will find out why, later this month.
In person, she's elegant without being stuffy, warm, approachable and GAME - what other famous woman could you get to empty her purse for a picture? She made a very good impression on RS staffers, who, given the general insanity of the Fashion, Publishing and Society worlds, have seen the Good, the Bad and plenty of Ugly, too...
Kathy Hilton doesn't photograph well. Meaning that as glamorous as she looks in pictures, in person, she's much prettier. Warm, friendly and positively chillaxed for a mother of four (her two sons Barron and Conrad are still at home), Hilton comes across as one of those people who "host" no matter where they are, introducing people to each other, drawing people out, talking about her own life, asking everyone about theirs.
It's an attractive trait, particularly since she lives much of the time in a high-profile world where pretentiousness - not friendliness - plays well. Until recently, RS readers probably knew Kathy Hilton best as mother to Paris and Nicky, maybe for her skincare line Kathy Hilton Beauty, and definitely as a glamorous fixture on the fashion-and-status-obsessed Manhattan/Hamptons social scene.
But there's another side to Hilton, one she's exploring with more frequency now that she and her husband are settling in in Los Angeles. Before she was a socialite and a mother - long before, in fact - Kathy Hilton was an actress. You'd have to go to TV Land to see her, and the actress you'd see was younger than her youngest son is now, but she landed some guest roles on some major sitcoms including "Bewitched," "Family Affair," "Happy Days" and "The Rockford Files."
She is turned out in her usual impeccable style: Chloe top, Paris jeans, ("Hey! You have to support your family, don't you?") ivory sandals from Jimmy Choo, a vintage Van Cleef chain off of which hangs a gold, four-leaf clover, each leaf inscribed with the name of one of her children, and a tan Birkin bag. All the epitome of LA chic. RS had to investigate...
RS: We heard that Y&R asked you to bring some of your own clothes to the set. What did you bring?
KH: Just a few things I thought would look good. Really dressy blue jeans, a Jil Sander blazer, pink Brooks Brothers shirt, a Dolce & Gabbana leopard tunic, and some Christian Louboutin shoes in nude with an open, what do they call it? Oh, yes, peeptoe.
RS: Sounds great. Is that a real Birkin?
KH: It is and I have the funniest story about it.
RS: Tell us.
KH: I got it in Dublin. I was there with my daughter at this very elegant department store where she was going to a perfume launch. And they had an Hermes counter and I thought "well, let me see if they have any Birkins, they're so hard to get back home."
RS: And?
KH: "No! they didn't have any. They were all out. None to be had." (laughs) And then, I was walking through the department store later with the president of the store and I said "Oh, it's such a shame you're all out of Birkin bags!" And he said "What? We must have some!" So we went to the counter and he told the salesperson to go check the stockroom and of course, way in the back of the stockroom, hidden, was this bag I'm carrying now. (laughs) I was so excited!
RS: It really is like trying to buy contraband on the street, or guns on the black market, isn't it?
KH: (laughs) Apparently!
[Next week: Kathy's Style advice for those of us who don't have $6000 to spend on a bag, and the Beauty supplies she won't leave home without...]