Kristen Turner: Quick Change Artist

 

Beverly Hills-based stylist and designer Kristen Turner likes to keep things fresh by changing her looks and style at whim. A young, self-professed commitment-phobe, she’ll change her hairstyle, boyfriend or clothing when she feels any of them require a new makeover. Rit Dye certainly comes in handy when restyling the clothing.

 

Kristen loves to play with color. She’ll dye a pair of stockings, and when she prefers another look, she’ll re-dye them to add interesting patterns, or mix colors together to create what feels like a new garment. “The possibilities with color and patterns are endless,” Kristen enthuses, “I’m always curious about a new process, or colors and effects. This season, Rit’s Fuchsia, Pink, Teal and Purple are hot.”

 

This re-vamping approach is also economical, since there’s no need to purchase new clothing or accessories when fresh fashion can be had for the price of a Rit Dye bottle or two -- or four.

 

 

CRAFTERNOONS WITH GLITTER N' GLUE!

 

On Kristen’s craft blog, Glitter n' Glue, she writes, “My favorite things in life are cocktails and crafts. I invited over a few of my fashion blogger friends to join me for a little of both. We sipped spiked lemonade and pulled out the bottles of Rit Dye for an afternoon of colorful crafting.” The results are spectacular -- and the ladies even dyed their clothing in heels!  

 

She also features timely Royal Wedding DIY Inspirations, costume jewelry paint makeovers, Sperry Topsider customization for summer, how to make a knockout skirt out of a pillowcase, unique charm bracelets, belts, bows, and much more.

 

On YouTube’s Threadbanger Style channel, Kristen’s web show, Vainglorious, features the latest fashion trends and crafting tips, and she has fun hosting it with her friend Kristen Reeves. On the show, for example, she’ll take a piece of costume jewelry – a glittering faux-diamond necklace -- and transform it into a trendy neon accessory for spring and summer. Or she’ll morph a pair of ordinary stockings into an eye-popping fashion treat. For Mother’s Day this year, Kristen demonstrated how she took a string of simple, white costume pearls and dip-dyed them, using ombré techniques, to create a truly distinctive gift.

 

INSPIRATION THROUGH THE AGES:

 

Reared in Houston, Texas and Morristown, N.J., Kristen’s early influences came from both of her grandmothers, who were as stylistically different as two women can be. Kristen spent time with each grandmother as a young girl, and reminisces, “My maternal grandmother was a teacher with a classic, polished look. She was always well put-together, with a buttoned-down sensibility. She wore Ferragamo and Louis Vuitton. My other grandmother, married to a musician, was more experimental. I loved to play around with her collection of wigs, costume jewelry, and leopard and zebra print clothing. Both women were my early, yet completely opposite, style influences.”

Her favorite designer is Coco Chanel because of her modern-yet-classic appeal, and she can wear Chanel from head to toe. She has a number of strong female role models in her life -- including her mom and a supportive family in general -- which gave her the confidence to forge her own creative path. She went to college in New Orleans at Loyola University before landing in Beverly Hills, with a large poster of Marilyn Monroe in tow.

 

MISTRESS OF HER OWN FATE:

 

Kristen arrived in California determined to accomplish something and eventually to give back to her community. When moving into her Beverly Hills apartment, a neighbor told her that Marilyn Monroe used to hang out there regularly when visiting one of the Marx Brothers. She and her mother glanced at Kristen’s Monroe poster with a shiver of delight. “I couldn’t believe it,” Kristen marvels, “It felt like fate.”

 

With an overview of life in the South, Northeast and West, and having tried her hand at retail and office work, Kristen knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that she prefers to maintain her independence and set her own schedule. She wants to be her own boss, and Beverly Hills is just the right place to call home. “It’s more difficult financially,” she acknowledges, “But it’s what I prefer. I want to control my own destiny.” For someone who craves change and creative inspiration, Kristen is in just the right place at the right time.