This Celebrity Stylist Will Make You Rethink What It Means to Be Fashionable

"I look at my closet like collecting art, in a sense," Cristina tells us. "Collecting key pieces that you’re going to watch come and go [in and out of style]." Aside from holding onto a few pairs of flared jeans from the past ("When flares came back, I didn’t have to buy a single pair!"), she also stores items she knows will be on the trend rotation, such as animal print.

"If you have the one really great animal-print blouse in your closet, you might not wear it for a moment," Cristina admits. "But if one day you’re putting on that black suit and you’re like 'I want to do something different,' you might say, 'I want to put on my leopard blouse with it to spice it up.'"

Cristina says that she's obsessed with French women and tends to draw inspiration from them. "They have this effortlessness to how they throw things together. Even if it's a denim shirt and a black pair of jeans, it always looks sort of cool and unique." She also finds inspiration through black and white photography, artists, and all things dance-related, rather than scrolling through the feeds of bloggers.

It's not about what's in style at the moment, Cristina tells us somewhat firmly. "It’s more about dressing for your body type, dressing for your lifestyle, and figuring out key ways to get out of your comfort zone and do something a little different and unexpected."

"You know how some people say that if you haven't worn it in a year get rid of it?" Cristina asks us. "I couldn’t agree less with that." Instead, she advises to hold onto a few special items. "I know we don't all have these massive closets, but if you find something you really like that looks great on you, it doesn’t matter if it's 'in style' or not."

"Think about the Lauren Huttons or Audrey Hepburns or Sophia Lorens," the stylist reminds us, listing stars with iconic looks. "They’re all dressing for their body type — Audrey being, like, gamine style, very European-inspired, and Sophia being more voluptuous and sexy and curvy. You wouldn’t expect to see these women wear what the other woman wears because it doesn’t make sense."

Cristina reveals that she encourages women and clients not to be overwhelmed by the idea of "how to get dressed." "If you’ve got a few strong go-tos you know look great on you, don’t change it."

Keeping with the same sort of aesthetic doesn't mean you can't add a little flair. "Just spice it up a little bit with a different lipstick color. Or if you always wear a silver jewelry, try wearing rose gold. If you're somebody who never wears bangles, try stacking a few bangles."

"[When it comes to] women that other women look at and think 'Wow, she looks gorgeous!' it's usually about the overall vibe and style of the whole look — and the attitude of the woman in it," Cristina says. "It's not necessarily 'Oh I love those Chloé boots!' or 'I love that crossbody bag!' Even if you want to use somebody as broad as a Kate Moss — it's women who really understand how to get different moods and characters out of themselves and how to have a bit more fun with it."