Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause’s Favourite Things

From her career as an actor to making headlines at the centre of the Selling Sunset whirlwind, Chrishell Stause has lived a life in the spotlight. Now, she’s turning her hand to fashion design for her second collection with Lipsy London.

Regardless of her not-so-personal life being used as a constant storyline throughout the show, whether it’s her divorce from actor Justin Hartley in season three, the journey to buying her own home in season four, or the constant drama with co-star Christine Quinn throughout, the winner of MTV’s Best Reality Star remains upbeat, bright and breezy in nearly every situation.

In the midst of filming season six and having just been nominated for an Emmy, the real estate agent couldn’t be prouder of the show: “in a sea of reality shows, to be one of five in that category nominated was honestly such an honour.” Catching up with her, she’s down to earth, warm, and sunny - just what you’d expect if, like me, you’ve binged every season of the addictive series.

And her rise to fame hasn’t been easy. Before her breakthrough role in All My Children in 2005, in her book she describes living a tough childhood with parents who struggled with addiction. Now, she’s juggling not one but three successful careers as a reality TV star, a realtor, and an actress, not to mention dipping her toe into creating clothing. As she describes in a recent interview with W Magazine: “I would never be good at a nine-to-five, anyway.”

So we caught up with her in anticipation of the release of her most recent collection with Lipsy London to talk style, homeware, and top tips for selling houses.

What have you been up to recently?

I’ve just attended the Emmys where Selling Sunset was nominated as the Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. Unfortunately, we didn’t take home a trophy, but in a sea of reality shows to be one of five in that category nominated was honestly such an honour. So that’s been pretty exciting. And we’re filming season six of Selling Sunset right now.

What inspired you when collaborating with Lipsy on this collection?

So, this is our second collection together, and I feel like we really outdid ourselves this time. Lipsy are such a great partner because they listen - they don’t want me to just slap my name on something. It’s the perfect blend of everything I love in clothes - you want that chic, designer, sophisticated, sexy look, but you don’t want to be spending thousands of dollars on one outfit. You also don’t want fast fashion that’s going to fall apart after one use. They’re such a boss in this space, and they allowed me to have a lot of fun with it.

What’s your favourite piece from the collection?

Before I say my favourite, I want to give some love to the red power suit. It’s a piece that really stands out, can be zipped up in a second, and makes you feel so confident and ready to take on the world.

But then the houndstooth coat is such a star because it’s a perfect blend of the quality, fit and style. It’s got that oversized look that’s on trend right now and I absolutely love it. I hate that I’m living in a heatwave right now, and I can’t wait to head over to London so that I can wear it. I think that will be one of the quick sell outs.

How would you describe your personal style?

I would say that it’s a blend of sophisticated, sexy, fun, and playful. I definitely wanted to incorporate all of those things in the collection because whether it’s the bodysuit with the rhinestone detail or the cropped tweed jacket, it’s just some way to have a little flirty fun.

Obviously some of these looks are perfect for the office and I love that some of them can really do double duty.

What are your wardrobe staples you wear all the time?

I feel like it’s nice to have versatile bottoms, whether it’s leather pants or a high waisted skirt that’s like midi length - we have one in the collection that’s fun with a tie on the side. Also those one piece things like the jumpsuit or the green dress, when you literally just step into it and you’re ready, so you don’t have to think about a top and a bottom. I’m always having to run and look pulled together so those things come in really handy for me, personally.

Would you have any tips on dressing up an office look for the evening?

One thing I loved so much about the collection is how interchangeable all the pieces are. A fun way to wear the satin button up shirt, that I instantly did after adding to my closet, was to throw it over a tight dress, leaving it unbuttoned with the sleeves pulled up and tied at the bottom, so instead of a blazer you have a silk cover on the dress which is perfect for the office. Then you could take it off when you go out for drinks with the girls after.

What’s something you’ve recently bought for your home?

I would have to be my couch. It’s hard to get right - they can be expensive and can take a million years to get delivered, but finding the right one is really important. I wanted white which looks so nice but then of course it’s not very functional, so you have to get the right fabric where you can bleach it… honestly, it’s such a process. I feel like anybody that’s tried to buy a couch has probably gotten it wrong a couple of times before getting it right, but I finally did it.

This couch is from Restoration Hardware, but it’s custom made with your own fabrics and dimensions which is why it takes so long.

What are your top tips for selling houses?

First of all I think that it’s important to get advice from the right expert to get the price right because I think pricing it is really important. You don’t want to overprice or underprice it, and I think that’s half the battle of getting the full value of what you’re what you’re entitled to.

Then get those quick fixes done that don’t take a lot of time or money but make a big impact. Have a handyman come to do a day’s work to get everything done, whether it’s a light fixture that’s hanging off the wall in a room you never use, or a doorknob that doesn’t work properly. Then do a fresh coat of paint.

If you’ve got the time and the money to do renovation, start with the things that will make the biggest impact like the kitchen or the bathroom.

What are your top tips for renovating?

I think a lot of people could do with renovating, but instead of doing it they go ahead and sell the property to move somewhere else. But if you actually have the time and money, you could spend something like $30,000 modernising the kitchen, the bathroom, things like that, and you’ll get way more back when you go to sell the house. It just instantly adds value.

Focus on changing out the countertops, taking out any carpet in the house, and if you have any bold colours in the house, maybe make everything a little more palatable to everyone and not so specific.

What’s your career highlight? Do you have a favourite house you’ve ever sold?

I mean, it’s gonna be hard not to say my own house, because that’s obviously takes the cake for me working on getting that deal and that loan to go through. It was so stressful. And obviously, I was emotionally attached at that point. And, yeah, it was just not only a career high, but a life goal. I could sell a $50 million house and it wouldn’t beat me buying my own house.