FASHION Valley native's clothing suits 'Legally Blonde'

A Nanette Lepore creation also showed up on 'Sex in the City.'
By NANCILYNN GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
As Reese Witherspoon appears on the screen in "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde," pay special attention to the brightly-colored fashions worn by the actress. As it turns out, some of her outfits were designed by Boardman native Nanette Lepore.
As a producer of the sequel to the hit movie, Witherspoon had some influence over the clothes her character, Elle Woods, wears in the film.
"Reese Witherspoon went to my shop, and she referred the costume designer to me. She likes the clothes. So she suggested they call me, which worked out wonderfully," Lepore said.
Witherspoon visited the flagship store, Nanette Lepore Boutique in New York. Lepore has another boutique in Los Angeles and one in Tokyo. Her clothing line is also available at Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Marshall Field's and Nordstrom's. Her Web site, www.nanettelepore.com, contains a retail locator for her designs.
"Legally Blonde 2" picks up the story of Elle, a former fashion major who graduated from Harvard Law School. She is now working in Washington, D.C., trying to pass legislation against animal testing.
Fitting attire
Because of the continuation of the story, costume designer Sophie de Rakoff Carbonell had very specific ideas on how to dress the character.
"She knew what she wanted for Reese Witherspoon. We sent out some suits from my line and some dresses. They tried them on her just to get the fit right. Then we sent her fabric selection, and she chose the fabric that she wanted for each suit. She had a real idea about a real Easter eggy, real pastel-y palette. So she always looks colorful, but girly colors," Lepore said.
A blue-and-pink tweed Lepore suit Witherspoon wore in the film is featured in the July issue of Bazaar. A green dress and a pink suit were two of the other items from the line requested by the costume designer. Lepore acknowledged that she will not know which outfits will be in the film until she sees it.
"I'm not sure yet. I'm going to go to the premiere, and I'll find out for sure. I made about eight outfits for her," Lepore said.
There were to be two premieres in New York state -- Saturday in Southampton, and Monday in the Big Apple. "Legally Blonde 2" opens nationwide Wednesday.
Other sightings
This is not the first time a celebrity has worn a Lepore-created outfit in film or on television. In the final season of "Sex in the City," a Lepore-designed top is worn by Sarah Jessica Parker in her role as Carrie.
Lepore creates clothing for women who wear sizes 2 to 12. Witherspoon and Parker wear a size 2. Though the two celebrities are petite, she emphasizes that her clothing is not really for petites, but for the woman who fits into those sizes.
"Somehow they fit into the regular size, though. They can wear my showroom samples, which are made for 6-foot-tall models. They find them. They're perfect," Lepore said.
No move to film
By working on the film, Lepore realized that she would not change her career path to be a film costume designer at this point. She is extremely busy with her retail and wholesale business and designing her fall collection.
"It would be a lot of fun, but I'm so busy. It's a whole different career. I would have to close my company and try that one. I'm too set in my ways now to try something like that," Lepore said, laughing.
Her contribution to the clothing in the film allowed her to have the best of both worlds.
"I can be part of it. I get to go to the premiere, which is exciting and I don't have to do all the crazy hard work. I think Sophie Carbonell was working really long hours," Lepore said.