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Martha Stewart is very busy. The domestic deity, businesswoman, media mogul, and television personality is turning 82 this August and showing no signs of slowing down or fading away. She just went viral for her historic Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover as well. And now Stewart has also just become the face of the adult wearable safety device Silvertree Reach, which she says she’s been wearing everywhere, whether under the cuff of her sleeves or on full display. “If it didn’t work and if it weren’t such a big deal and so affordable, I wouldn’t be so excited about it,” she says with a laugh.
This attitude is rather typical of Stewart, a former model known for her good sense and good taste. When it comes to her fashion choices, Stewart seems to know exactly what she wants: a signature mix of Max Mara, Brunello Cucinelli, and Hermès. In between meetings for her various and ongoing products on a bright June day, she tells me she’s always been a big Hermès fan. “I love wearing it, but I do so much TV in the kitchen and it’s such expensive clothing that I don’t wear a lot of it in the kitchen. That said, I’m not very messy, so I rarely spot anything, but heaven forbid if I wore something like one of my leather blouses. I’d not be happy.” She also tells me she’s a big fan of the French house’s shoes. But don’t expect her to build a Birkin collection anytime soon. “What are handbags?” she says coyly. “I have a Bandolier phone case, which is my pocketbook.”
This summer Stewart is also resurfacing her favorite va-va-voom wardrobe staples from the back of her closet. “I have my original Armani suit in my closet, the one I bought when I went public,” she says. The runways are ripe with a new wave of power dressing, but the fact that Stewart says she’s going back to the originals speaks volumes about the lasting impact of great silhouettes. “I probably have 40 Armani suits that I keep in my collection,” she says. “I just took out some Hermès suits, probably from 25 years ago—double-breasted blazers and single-breasted blazers, oversized blazers that everybody’s wearing now. I just dug out a black Hermès suit from at least 25 years ago. It’s oversized. Looks like a nice men’s jacket. I wear it over a little skinny pants, little black sleeveless top, and it looks like a billion dollars. It probably would be a billion if I tried to buy it now.”
As a SI cover girl, Stewart also knows a thing or two about shopping for swimwear. Her rules? “Flattering, but not too tight and not too revealing.” And she loves fashion favorite Eres for one-pieces and Cynthia Rowley rash guards.
When I ask her what the best piece of fashion advice she would ever give to someone is, she’s very straightforward: “I don’t buy junk,” she says, very matter-of-factly. She also has a well-defined set of favorites: Martha denim shirts, puffer vests, diamond-stud earrings, and Robert Clergerie wedges (she’s stocked up in every color). She’s not one for trends. “My fashion perspective doesn’t really change with age as much as it changes with an inch or two, here or there,” she says. That doesn’t mean she never branches out; this season she’s started wearing a new style. “I don’t wear a lot of dresses, and all of a sudden I’m wearing dresses because Max Mara has really cute dresses,” she says.
As we move on to the topic of beauty routines, Stewart shares her go-tos without hesitation: highlights once every two or three months and natural makeup, done by her trusted artist of 15 years, Nicole Daisy Toye. “Rarely do we put false eyelashes on,” she says. “It’s just my look.” But skin care is where she takes a liberal and maximalist approach. “Clean your face well every day,” she says. She also does masks two or three times a week. “I got up at four o’clock this morning, and I put on a collagen mask from Mario Badescu on my face and chest because I’m doing a TV shoot today. I left it on for two hours. Always take your makeup off at night. I don’t care who you’re sleeping with, just take your makeup off. And lubricate—layer on serums and creams. I put a lot of stuff on my face.” And what about exercise? “Getting ready for the Sports Illustrated shoot was really excellent because I lost 22 pounds doing Pilates—my new favorite sport, which I do three times a week,” Stewart says.
Musing on being a style icon of a certain age, she says “less is more for a lot of women who are getting older.” Her best beauty advice? “It really helps when you can go and sit in the department stores and get your makeup done. They’re not always the best, and they won’t give you advice about skin care, but really good makeup artists help you.” And in case you’re wondering whether there’s anything she’s never leaving home without, it’s her Alastin HydraTint Pro mineral sunscreen. “Last week somebody took pictures of me going into the Today show, and the pictures are beautiful,” she says. “I had not a stitch of makeup on except for Alastin, and I looked really good.” For America’s entertaining icon, great style is intrinsic.