Heroes Among Us

Yep. Right there. In the closet. As I’m thinking about how I have absolutely nothing to wear to a wedding next month, Mariah Carey’s shoe closet is floating through my mind. I mean, what would I do with that many shoes?

I’ll tell you what I’d do… every day, I’d carry along two extra pair, and I’d rotate them on my feet every four hours.

Not sure if you noticed or not, but the photo only shows the neutral shoes. I am positive there are six other identical areas for reds, greens, blues… it is mind-boggling to even think about.

As “famous” closets go, besides the one to the right, one of my favorites is the most practical. Sure, it was fictional and crammed full of Prada, but on Sex and the City, character Carrie Bradshaw knew where to find a bargain. And that makes me feel some sort of a kinship with her (or with the writers of the show, I’m not sure which).

Of course, my closet isn’t stacked with Prada and Manolos, but I have had a few Carrie moments in my life. If there is a clearance sale, I’m going to find it. I have supersonic ears for those markdown guns. Although, when living in Chicago after college, I did buy a couture suede purse that cost nearly three-quarters of my rent. And rent in that city isn’t cheap, kids. Like, take a normal city’s rent and multiply times three. I learned my lesson afterward, because I had to eat peanut butter sandwiches for two months to make up for it (I think that also might have been be a “Carrie” moment.)

Here’s a look at some more celebrity closets. It will make you a little jealous, but look at it this way: you may not have all of their clothes or their money or their fame… but you don’t have all of their crazy problems either.

{Top right, Mariah’s shoes. Above, the second “wing” of her closet. (photos from InStyle unless noted)}

{Carrie’s SATC  closet. Surely you knew that before I told you. Isn’t it one of the most recognizable closets on the planet? (photo: HBO)}

{Oprah’s closet in one of her many homes. LA or Chicago? I dunno. I do know, however, that the great Nate Berkus designed it for her. (photo: O Magazine)}

{Olivia Wilde’s closet… the cedar-lined walls and big window bring a bit of nature to an otherwise edgy and elegant space. The wood against the black chandelier and silver mirror is surprisingly inviting. P.S. Maybe I could wear her dress to the wedding? Well, maybe not to a wedding, but that dress needs to be worn by me, somewhere, somehow. Except I’m sure it is about  98,324,601,733 dollars.}

{Padma Lakshmi of the Food Network is always dressed classy, yet sexy. I also love that she has a billion pair of black pants. (photo: Harper’s)}

{Did you expect anything less from Christina Auguilera?}

{Dressing room of Aerin Lauder, Estee Lauder’s granddaughter. The blues, yellows and browns are so natural and sophisticated. With the deep purple dress as a teaser, I can only imagine what is inside that white wardrobe.}

{Love the yellow jacket Eva Longoria is wearing in this photo. You know someone is living the good life when they have two empty Tiffany’s bags on the floor of their CLOSET.}

{Nicky Hilton’s style is miles above her sister’s, and I’d die to spend an hour just looking at the clothes in that room. And touching them. Oh, how I want to touch them.}

{Dressing room of Tory Burch, purse designer extraordinaire. (photo: Vogue)}

{A little rocker, a little glam. Fergie’s closet  looks as if it’s as big as two bedrooms in my house.}

{The dressing room of the master bedroom in the East Wing of the White House, 1962. Jackie Kennedy liked it blue… (photo: Architectural Digest)}

{…and in 1981, Nancy Reagan liked it salmon. (photo: Architectural Digest)}

{My absolute dream closet? Rachel Zoe’s… but only if she comes with it. She could just pop from behind a fur coat each time I have a style question. Oh, and we’d need to do something about those size minus-9 clothes.}

****A couple of times a week, I’ll share my favorite room of the moment. That’s the great thing about daydreams, you can have them as often as you want! Favorites weren’t meant to have limits.

All people dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in
the dusty recesses of their mind, wake in the morning to find
that it was vanity. But the dreamers of the day are dangerous people,
for they dream their dreams with open eyes, and make them come true.
--T.E. Lawrence (AKA Lawrence of Arabia) 

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