The Charmed Closet of Kat Odell

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Style Icon is semi-regular series that highlights Angelenos who aren't strictly in the business of fashion, but who have an affinity for style, clothing, retail?or just plain looking good.

Good food/resto writing and fashion do not usually go hand in hand (anyone ever seen a picture of Jonathan Gold?), but if you're Eater editor Kat Odell, these two things pair up as seamlessly as peanut butter and jelly, chips and salsa, chicken and waffles -- okay, clearly, we're not as creative or knowledgeable about food as she is about fashion. We spent some time with her to talk about her own influences and history, how shes's made two worlds that often seems mutually exclusive mesh up so well, what (and who) she loves, and the best LA restaurants for dressing up and making your own scene.

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So first things first. What are you wearing?
My skirts from BCBG, the top is Jen's Pirate Booty, my wedges and bag are Chloe. The coats is vintage.

What's your style all about?
I'm really inspired by the 60s and 70s I love color and patterns, a mix of bold and bright, and earthy hues. I have a ton of vintage?I am a big fan of vintage Missoni and Pucci. I would definitely say I have a preppy side as well, I like to mix preppy and vintage. I love big gold jewelry -- my style is more mismatched than matched. I like mixing new and old. Also, I really do like to be comfortable. I bought these insane Brian Atwood 6" pumps for NYE 2011 and tried to wear them... I walked around barefoot most of the night!

Have you always been into fashion, or was there some sort of crystallizing moment for you?
When I was six my mom had given me this Pucci nightgown she used to wear and at the time I would play dress up in it -- but I remember thinking how ugly it was so I rarely ever actually put it on. Fast-forward 15 years and I rediscovered the nightgown and started to wear it as a dress. It's such an amazing piece that I still have in my closet.

So if you're so fashion-obsessed, how did you get to be a professional foodie?
In high school I interned at Cosmopolitan magazine in the fashion department and didn't have the best experience and decided food was more of a career path for me and fashion was more of an expensive hobby. I started a granola business in high school called Kat's Super Yummy Granola which was sold at a local gourmet food store and when I applied to college I sent in a sample of my granola with my college acceptance essay. In college I wrote a restaurant review column for my school paper called Cuisine with Kat and got many of my peers to trek out to far out lesser known restaurants. That was so rewarding, to hear someone mention a restaurant they tried/loved because I had written about it. From there I was in Manhattan?I worked for Buzzy O'Keeffe, the owner of the River Cafe in Brooklyn, Water Club, Pershing Square, and I ran the front part of one of his restaurants. At that point I thought I might want to own a restaurant. Decided against that and was hired by Bon Appetit magazine and moved to Los Angeles for the job. I left Bon App after about two plus years, started teaching these underground cooking classes and then I was hired by Eater. About a year ago I was also hired as the restaurant and drinks editor of LA Canvas so now I do both and freelance here and there as well.

Where are your favorite places to blow dough in LA?
Satine, Planet Blue, Milk, Ten Over Six, American Rag, Madewell, Intermix, Principessa, Madison, Calypso, and the Melrose/Fairfax Flea Market. I am also really into interior design and love love love Kelly Wearstler and Jonathan Adler.

What about your favorite designers and labels?
Missoni, Pucci, Thread Social, Tucker, Cynthia Vincent, Alexander McQueen, Chloe, Sergio Rossi, Brian Atwood, Fendi.

What's your biggest LA fashion pet peeve?
Harem pants.

If you had $1,000 to spend on anything in LA, what would it be?
I would probably buy a black Moncler bomber jacket. That's has been on my purchase list for a while.

So now that you're all dressed up?where do you go? What are some of the restaurants with a fashion scene as good as the menu?
In Downtown, there's Patina. Cleo in the Hollywood area. Ray's and Stark Bar in Mid-City. In West LA, there's Eveleigh; Scarpetta in Beverly Hills, and on the West Side, The Tasting Kitchen.
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