But a funny thing has happened since the series ended. Despite how she was portrayed on the show, Palermo has garnered a devoted and sizable fan base.
Legions of young girls the world over–especially in the UK–gush over her style. She has countless threads devoted to her style on The Fashion Spot–which is the sartorial seal of approval–and when she goes to the beach in a bikini with her boyfriend she makes headlines in Brit tab the Daily Mail.
So we weren’t surprised when Palermo revealed a few months ago that she was launching her own blog. She’s got a built-in audience.
OliviaPalermo.com goes live next week.(Sketches by Tibi's Amy Smilovic will adorn the site)
So we hopped on the phone to chat with the ex-reality star, sometimes model, sometimes design collaborator, and newly-minted blogger to find out how her site will be different from say, Lauren Conrad’s. She dished to us about her vision for her site, why it won’t be just about fashion, and, yes, her plans to someday soon launch her own line.
I think everyone is expecting for me to do a site that’s all about fashion but there has to be a balance. My other interests–books, film, and travel–will also be represented. I travel so much and that’s where I get my inspiration. So it will be more of a lifestyle blog for sure. I’ll touch on my favorite designers and trends I see on the street–like snaps of really cool girls I see in Tokyo. Or if there’s a boutique in St. Tropez or Barcelona that I like and want to revisit. It will be a little bit of everything. My friends are always asking me for travel tips so [the site] will be a kind of a travel guide.
But you’re a fashion plate! What will the fashion coverage look like?
In terms of fashion I think that we’ll put a lot of young emerging designers on the site because that’s important to me. We’ll discuss what I see during fashion week and the more established designers too but I’m concerned about getting young talent the exposure they deserve. And with the rise in e-commerce, I can give young designers even more of an advantage [when I feature them on my site]–we’ll have click to buy.
I really want the reader to understand that fashion is a more than just a pretty dress–I have a serious understanding and appreciation of the fashion industry. I want that come through.
People love the way you dress–will your outfits be posted on the site? Will you dole out styling advice?
A lot of what I’m wearing you’ll see on the blog. You saw that Vogue UK “Today I’m Wearing” feature that I did? We’ll do a play on that that will show the things I’m wearing that not everyone sees. The way I dress is about mixing and matching. We’ll focus on one item I wore–a skirt or a necklace–that girls can relate to.
I’ll also offer tips and tricks I’ve learned. No matter where I am, even if I’m on the subway, and I see a girl who has her hem undone I’ll be like “Here is some double sided tape.” If your sweater is pilly, I’ll show you how to take a razor to it.
How much writing will you be doing for the site?
I’ll try to write at least two to three pieces a week depending on my work load, and an editor’s letter each month. I’ll write the big stories that I want to discuss. But I don’t want to say that I’m writing every post because I’m not. I want people to understand that I’m open to people who have just come out of school to write. It’s not just about me. I have 15 writers working with me and they all came from Harvard so they can write very well–I got lucky. {Ed.Note: Olivia’s team provided a correction to this statement–not all the writers are from Harvard. They include Yale and Stanford grads, and also some with “great journalism/fashion talent.”} I also have Elizabeth Nicholas on as Editor at Large and Elle’s Kyle Anderson helping out with accessories. Of course, at the end of the day everything goes through me–I’ll have the final say on everything–just trying to be an editor!
And I know everyone asks you this, so forgive me because I’m going to be that person who asks again: do you have plans to design a collection any time soon?
Designing is something I will 100% do in the future. I just have so much going on right now–I have modeling, the blog, and other projects in the pipeline. I want to build my fashion company the proper way, in time. I can wait a little bit. But once I settle down a bit more and create a line it will most likely be evening wear. There is so much ready to wear out there already.
VIA : Style.com