Saturday, Oct 27 9am - 5pm

As Cate Adair, costume designer for Desperate Housewives, prepares an event in collaboration with Minneapolis-based companies Chamilia jewelry and Be The Match, she dished with us about fashion and dressing Bree, Lynette, Susan, and Gabby.

Stop by Aurora Jewelers in Eden Prairie on October 20 from 2-7 p.m. for a Chamilia jewelry party. Cate Adair will be there from 5-7 p.m. to talk about tips on making Chamilia’s customizable bracelets, necklaces, and earrings to reflect your style and personality. During the jewelry party 10 percent of all Chamilia sales will benefit the Be the Match charity.

Here’s what Cate had to say:

mspmag.com: Where do you get your inspiration for designing on Desperate Housewives?

If you got to read the scripts I read, you would be inspired as well. The world of Wisteria Lane is sort of very clear in my head and we’re a mixture of iconic Americana mixed with Mid-century mixed with the amazing fashion that you find out there today. Then I throw in some vintage and secondhand for good measure. We’re also in the Eagle State (a fictious state), so I get to pull visual reference material and inspiration from different parts of the United States, which is lovely.

mspmag.com: Who is your favorite character to style for?

Oh, you can’t ask me that! That’s like asking who your favorite puppy is or which my favorite Chamilia bead is; I can’t do that! The only difference is that there are more than 600 of the Chamilia beads and I have six fabulous housewives and a slew of delicious-looking men and then some teenagers and babies to boot.

mspmag.com: How does a woman’s outfit speak for her before she even introduces herself?

I think the wonderful thing about American fashion and American style is that it doesn’t have to be the big statements that necessarily tell somebody who you are.

My girlfriend shows up to a soccer game and she’s in four-inch fantastic heels, trying not to squish into the mud, that makes a very specific statement, as opposed to me with my English background, who immediately puts on flats, or my sneakers or trainers, or if it’s been raining, a pair of Wellies. And then, that’s before you get into wonderful pieces like jewelry where even if we’re all up at the crack of dawn in jeans and a beaten up, old sweater, we still put on jewelry . . . because that’s the only thing we have time for.

mspmag.com: Do you have any fashion or style tips for women in the Twin Cities?

First of all, I love the Twin Cities. I’ve been lucky enough to come and visit your part of the world once before and I found the people to be unbelievably friendly and warm and nice and down to earth and hospitable. I wished I’d stayed longer. So that’s my shout out to you guys because I had the most wonderful time and I met really cool and interesting people with wonderful stories.

So, yes I do. Be yourself. Embrace fashion, enjoy it, have fun with it, don’t take it too seriously. And use the pieces of it that speak to you. Don’t feel that you have to look at what’s in the magazines and use all of it.

mspmag.com: Why have you decided to make appearances across the country in collaboration with Chamilia?

I feel very strongly that where we can give back to valuable
causes, we should. Because the thought that any life could be saved . . . We’ve all
had friends who’ve been ill, or loved ones that have been perilously close to
death, and I think this is where modern medicine is extraordinary. The fact
that a stranger registers themselves into this bank [for Be the Match], and that somebody’s life
can be saved, is an extraordinary and a wonderful thing.