Erin Walsh wants to reframe the way we think about investment pieces in 2025.
The 42-year old celebrity stylist, known for dressing A-list stars like Anne Hathaway and Selena Gomez, does not define “high-low dressing” as a mix of expensive designer items with fast-fashion trends with a short shelf-life. Instead, Walsh believes every purchase should be made with equal intention and care, whether you’re eyeing The Row’s Margaux bag or a cozy knit set from Old Navy.
That’s why she’s partnering with the Gap-owned company to discuss upcoming winter trends and holiday wish lists as consumers shape their New Year’s style resolutions. “When I was a little girl, my grandmother would always say to pay very close attention to what accessories you would invest in,” she tells me over Zoom. “But it does excite me when I see brands that are at a lower price point make things in a more quality way, because quality, inconsequential of price point, is what you should invest in.”
Read moreAnne Hathaway Walked the Red Carpet in a Stunning Shirtdress From…Gap?
Andy Sachs–approved.
Walsh describes her personal style DNA as “elevated accessibility” and “effortless elegance,” two phrases that instantly recalls one of this year’s most iconic fashion moments: Anne Hathaway dressed in a white Gap shirt dress with a sheer corset and Bulgari jewels—a look that was, of course, crafted by Walsh.
But how does Walsh apply that same approach to fashion to clients with varied tastes? Or say, the sister-in-law you still need to cross off your Christmas list? In a recent conversation with Glamour, Erin Walsh shared some of her favorite gifts, holiday party dress codes, and the controversial It-sneaker making a comeback in 2025. Hey, the “high” in “high-low” dressing has to come in somewhere—and with this particular shoe, I mean that in more ways than one.
Do you have any helpful tips for plus ones this holiday season, especially if the dress code is unclear?
I’m gonna sound like my grandmother…Make an effort. It’s the holidays. I was watching that show with Kristen Bell that’s so good, Nobody Wants This. She rolls in in that fur jacket. [Laughs] It’s like a mink or something…I think you want to walk the line of not being too ostentatious, but also like being elegant and accessible. It’s always going to go back to those two words for me.
If [the party’s with] people I didn’t know. I probably wouldn’t wear jeans. I probably would wear some kind of black knit mini dress and boots or maybe an oversized, faux furry cousin of Kristen Bell’s coat. Or a sparkly skirt with an oversized sweater. I would want it to feel elegant and accessible. That’s a note that you usually can’t strike out on.
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I was excited to talk to you because I usually dread “holiday party dressing” as someone who tends to avoid all things sequins and red. How do you approach holiday dressing without abandoning your personal style?
What are the holidays? They’re a celebration, asking us to step more into that feeling of joy. So, do we see a lot of sparkle around us and a lot of red and gold and glitz? Sure. If that doesn’t feel like you, what makes you feel sparkly? I think you don’t have to get so literal about it. Your personal style should only be about what makes you feel like your best self every day and at every occasion.
I’d love to apply that ideology to two of your clients who seem to have very different styles: Selena Gomez and Anne Hathaway. How would you define their personal styles and what type of holiday trends might you embrace for one of them that you wouldn’t embrace for the other?
They probably could both use some peace, so maybe something cozy. For someone like Annie, the denim category is somewhere we’ve been having more fun recently. So, these barrel jeans that Old Navy’s doing, I’d love to see those on her. I think they’re really cool, and they surprisingly look good on so many body types. Really, it doesn’t make sense to me. [Laughs] I think some of those, like easy, everyday elements feel cool for her, for sure.
I think with Selena, some of these really elevated, polished pieces. She wore a lot of black this fall. [When styling Selena] I think, “What feels crisp and elevated and essential?”
High-Waisted Barrel Ankle Jeans
Old Navy
Abercrombie & Fitch Mid-Rise Barrel Jeans
Abercrombie
Selena recently kept her winter coat on while walking the red carpet. What’s something you look for in a good winter coat?
I think sometimes people use coats as like a safety net, and that’s okay, because your clothing should make you feel held and protected and comfortable. But if you can find a way to do that, what you’re wearing is also a means to highlight your best features. If that’s an oversized coat, which I think are quite cool, you have to think about the proportion of it. You don’t want to look like you just got lost in your grandfather’s old jacket. If I wear an oversized coat, then I’ll probably wear something more lean underneath.
Or even if it’s like, a wide-leg jean or a barrel jean, you want to cinch the waist or find ways to accent the silhouette properly, so you don’t get lost in your clothes. Yeah, I love a really great shoulder in a coat and if it has that kind of effect, then I like it go in a bit so, again, you don’t get lost in your clothes.
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We all know about Secret Santa and White Elephant parties, but I recently learned about “Favorite Things” parties, where each participant gives an item they love to all the other attendees. What would be the item you’d bring to a Favorite Things party?
I have never heard of that but it sounds very smart. I think everyone deserves, like, a great luxe knit outfit. I think that’s that, like will always spark joy with whoever your customer is, whether it’s your grandmother or your best friend.
I read something online that if you give someone shoes, they walk out of your life but giving shoes is actually one of my favorite gifts, because it’s kind of inconsequential to your body shape and size. Whenever I’ve given a great shoe, especially, like, a cool slipper, that seems to be very effective. I have Old Navy’s new ones right here—they’re kind of shearling, tan, and cozy.
Faux Fur Mule Slippers
Old Navy
Bombas Marled Gripper Slippers
Nordstrom
Speaking of shoes, there was a huge sneaker boom over the past few seasons, particularly when it comes to the Adidas Samba. I know Anne Hathaway is a big Samba girl.
Yeah, she loves her Sambas.
What do you think is the next It-sneaker of 2025 that we should all be putting on our holiday wish lists?
Isabelle Marant’s making a comeback, for sure. It’s funny because I first had them 10 years ago when they came out—no, more than that, she’s had them forever—but her wedge sneaker is for sure making a comeback. I love that.
I think there’s variations on sneakers, like ones that feel like a mix of a Clark and a sneaker that feels very cool to me—I think Chloé did one. Last summer, everybody was wearing mesh flats and and there’s a lot of sneaker derivatives of that I think are kind of fun. Certainly not in winter, that’s more of a spring spring shoe. I love a chunky shoe, like it just proportionately makes me feel stronger. I probably will never be a Sambas girl for that reason.
Isabel Marant’s Bekett Hidden Wedge High Top Sneaker
Nordstrom
Silent D Scarlett High-Top Sneakers
Anthropologie
What’s another trend you’re excited to see in 2025?
I am so averse to the “trend” word. I think if people got more thoughtful about what they decided to keep and put in their closet and what felt essential—because you should only buy things that feel essential to you—that trend would make me feel very happy, because everybody would be getting dressed, not wondering if they really liked something, or if they felt like their best self. Because if you make those choices when you buy something, then every day when you go to your closet, you’re not confused.
I have a rule for online shopping that if I add something to my cart I have to wait two weeks before I’m allowed to buy it. If I’m actively thinking about it two weeks later, that means I really want it.
I love your two week rule, I think that’s genius. I’ve learned to trust my instincts so deeply about every single thing, and I apply that to my clothes. The one exception to that rule is when I’m traveling. I get very confused, and it’s kind of the only time I really lose my shit. And then I might like, come home with my suitcase and be like, what? But I also make the exception because those are time capsules of a moment in time, and then you have a connection to those people and that place. So it’s still intentional, but it’s a little bit intentional-on-drugs.
What was your last in-the-moment travel purchase?
I was just in Rome, and I bought a whole porcelain espresso set because I was so obsessed with how cute the little cup in the hotel room looked every day. So I got a set of Ginori china which was crazy. Another place I love to go shopping is Denmark. They have great, great shopping. A lot more color there than I tend to wear. People dress more…It’s weird, they have this monochromatic way of dressing, but then they’ll make like a wild, intentional choice, and they do it with enough rarity that it doesn’t feel crazy, it feels focused. I like it.
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By Jake Henry Smith and Malia Griggs
The post Anne Hathaway’s Stylist Erin Walsh Swears These Controversial Sneakers Are the Next It-Shoe of 2025 appeared first on Glamour.
