In ELLE.com’s series Office Hours, we ask people in powerful positions to take us through their first jobs, worst jobs, and everything in between. This month, we spoke to Jenna Lyons, the former creative director and president of J.Crew. Since leaving the company in 2017, Lyons has started her own false eyelash brand, LoveSeen, and joined the cast of The Real Housewives of New York City, while also working as a Shiseido partner. Recently, Lyons spoke at the brand’s “Potential Has No Age” Summit, where she discussed her views on healthy aging in conversation with Linda Evangelista. Here, Lyons shares why she embraces getting older, how being obsessive helped her career, and the surprising dream job she might like to try next.
My first job
I was a lifeguard at a housing complex. I did save two kids, because they would always come out of the pool, eat, and then jump right back into the pool. I took that job really seriously.
My worst job
Being the lifeguard at a housing complex. No, being a waitress was the hardest job I ever did. I did it for a summer, and it was brutal. I think everyone should do it at some point in their life.
The moment I knew I wanted to work in fashion
I figured it out when I was in seventh grade. I made myself a skirt, and the most popular girls in school asked me where [it was from]. That was a big deal, because they were hot girls on campus, and I was not. It was really amazing to have somebody give me praise for something I had made. Also, it was the first time I had something that fit me properly; I was really tall and skinny, so [until then] nothing really looked good on me. I was like, “Wait, I can do something that I love doing. I can make myself feel good. Maybe I can do this for other people.” It was an eye-opening thing.
How I worked my way up at J.Crew
I never thought, Is this the next step? I never dreamed I would get to the place that I did—never in a million years. I was just going to be a designer. I never really thought about [working my way up]; I just enjoyed what I was doing.
But when I was in design, oftentimes I wanted to have influence over the way something was styled, photographed, or how the copy read. I was very vocal and tried partnering with the other teams to be like, “Hey, I would love to do this,” or “Could we try this?” Through that process, I ended up taking on those departments, because I wanted the clothing to look the way I had envisioned it, and that required being part of bigger departments. I think it was just through obsession. I was obsessed. Still am.
What beauty means to me
[Growing up,] I had a genetic disorder. My teeth were conical—shaped like cones—and many of them were missing, so I got teased mercilessly. I had huge bald spots on the back of my head. I did not feel pretty. I was the one that got picked last at the cotillion—no joke, out of 200 kids, last. When someone reflects back to you that you look nice, particularly someone you admire or respect, it’s really powerful.
Beauty and fashion are very connected for me, as I think they are for a lot of people, and [my interest in fashion] made me much more interested in the application of beauty. I knew all the models’ names, like Renée Simonsen on the cover of Vogue and Isabella Rossellini. I became obsessed with the models and beauty and how different they all were.
My daily beauty routine
In the morning, I’m a little bit on the faster side. But at night, I have a whole serum situation. I like the Shiseido Vital Perfection Uplifting and Firming Advanced Cream. I’m a good kid. I brush my teeth. I’m good at slowing the process down. As I’m getting older, I have a little bit more ceremony around it, which actually feels kind of nice. I was very quick with how I took care of myself. Now, I lounge around it. I try lots of things.
How I feel about getting older
Please make me old. I’m totally down. I still want to look good, but I’m not tired of that whole process. I’m like, “Yes, bring it on. I’m just happy that I’m healthy.”
I find that as we get older, it’s so easy to be hard on ourselves. I do that, too. I’m not immune to that at all. But I do think healthy aging is about taking care of the emotional piece as much as the physical. That includes actually giving yourself time to have the process of going to bed and doing a whole ritual. There’s something really [caring about] respecting yourself enough to do that.
The dream job that I haven’t done yet
President of the United States. Someone needs to get in there. I’m not kidding. I’d just leave everyone alone and make everything pretty. If I couldn’t do that, my real dream job is I would have an animal rescue for puppies and horses. That’s what I’d really want to do. That would be the most fun job.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
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